Daily Use of the ECO2 (and Pathfinder)

     Most people probably recognize that my AAC device, the ECO2, allows me internet access like any laptop or smart phone would.  My older device was called the Pathfinder, and it was the last AAC device that could not access the internet.  Formerly, prior to the ECO2, I was forced to use a laptop connected to the Pathfinder in order to access the internet.  The ECO2 drastically increased my speed and allowed me to eliminate the chain of devices.
     I would not be able to complete my homework, get on Campus Connect, or have a Skype or Facebook conversation without the ECO2.  I doubt that many non-users have any idea how essential my communication device really is to me.  Because of my limited dexterity, it can take me a phenomenal amount of time to type a simple sentence.  Many times I have to answer a whole bunch of Facebook messages from the Purdue volleyball players and cheerleaders,

and sometimes those women can be downright impatient!  Luckily, the ECO2 helps me form sentences and spell checks me with greater accuracy than a regular device.
     When typing, whether it's in response to a Skype text, an online message or e-mail, or for homework or the great American novel, the ECO2 shortens my task.  I have categorized icons that represent various items. 

For example, an apple represents all food items, a shoe is sporting event related, while an image of "Father Time" represents all time indicators such as days of the week, months, and holidays.  If I tell someone that we can meet at the pizza place near the sporting goods store at noon on the second Thursday of January, this is how I would type that information.

From the Minspeak.com website (http://www.minspeak.com/):

            Minspeak is a way of representing language in a communication device.  If you show
            people a picture of something simple, like an apple, they will naturally associate more
            than one idea with that picture.  People usually say the most obvious idea first - "apple"
            - but then they start associating more ideas - "fruit," "red," "eat," "bite," and "hungry."
            Minspeak takes advantage of this natural tendency by using a small set of pictures to
            represent a large number of words in a communication device.

I just press the icon and it will keep breaking down the category into more specific terms.  Food is broken down into fruits, vegetables, desserts, main courses, breakfast items, beverages, etc.  I'm pretty sure I don't have an icon for kiwis, crème brulee, lobster bisque or eggs benedict, but I do have a caregiver that helps me edit my work and he is a real smart aleck!  The great thing is that I can create my own personalized icons for something as obscure as crème brulee.  Just the other day, I created an icon for my favorite celebrity crush, an Australian actress of Polish descent.  Her name is Yvonne Strahovski, so it's obviously a challenge to type her name.  She was in my favorite television show, but it was canceled.  I created the icon so I could easily check her Twitter updates for future projects.