Apps for Communication Assistance

Communication is essential for building relationships, expressing needs, and fully engaging with the world. Unfortunately, issues with hearing, vision, mobility, and speech can all make communication difficult. Thankfully, modern technology can help you overcome these barriers. In fact, you can find plenty of tools to help you communicate on your existing smartphone or tablet! Today we're showcasing some of the best options to explore.

The Best Apps to Assist Communication

Spoken - Tap to Talk AAC

Spoken AAC app, shown on a smartphone and tablet.

Availability: Android, iOS, and Mac
Price: Free (with optional premium upgrade for $12.99/month, $99.99/year, or $249.99 for life)

Spoken is one of the best apps for anyone experiencing difficulties with speech. Whether you have a temporary condition or you've been diagnosed with something more serious, Spoken can help you get back to talking quickly. It's essentially a text-to-speech tool, but with advanced features and a large selection of realistic, customizable voices.

Spoken is a very flexibile tool. As you enter text, it will provide customized next-word predictions that get better and better as you continue to the use the app. It essentially adapts to the way you communicate and can guess what you're going to say next. You can also type, handwrite, or even draw to enter text and the app will automatically convert it to verbal speech. This makes it easy to keep up with the pace of a conversation.

Petralex 4 Ear

Availability: Android and iOS
Price: Free (with optional premium upgrade for $4.49/week or $79.99/year)

Petralex can provide communication assistance if you have hearing loss. It uses your smartphone to amplify voices and other sounds, meaning you'll no longer have to ask someone to repeat what they said or raise their voice. It can even make automatic adjustments to suit your specific needs.

The free features of Petralex include the aforementioned automatic adjustment, adaptation to different environments, amplification of up to 30 decibels when using a wired headset, and dynamic compression that allows you to amplify quiet sounds without lessening the overall volume. The benefits of a subscription to Petralex include the ability to create an unlimited number of profiles for different sound environments, “Super Boost” amplifier, and regulated suppression that can eliminate background noise. Overall, this is one of the best sound amplification apps we’ve found.

Although the base version of Petralex is free, you will need to acquire earbuds or headphones to use it if you don't have a set already.

Rogervoice

The Rogervoice logo on a light greenish-blue banner with vector art of diverse people happily using their phones.

Availability: Android and iOS
Price: Free

Rogervoice can help you communicate over the phone by providing captions for your calls. The best part is that it's completely free due to a federally-funded program for deaf and hard of hearing persons. It’s easy to set up and works seamlessly with your existing smartphone. It's a simple tool: when someone calls you, the app begins transcribing the phonecall in real time, word-for-word. It's not limited to English either — it can provide captions in 52 languages and is available in over 130 countries.

Google Voice Access

Availability: Android
Price: Free

Put simply, the Google Voice Access app allows you to control your Android device with voice commands. This can be particularly useful if you have difficulty manipulating a touch screen with physical movements.

Because Voice Access can be used for text editing and dictation (e.g. "type 'hello'", or "replace 'coffee' with 'tea'"), you can use it to help with email correspondence or communicating over text. It can also be used for basic navigation (“go back”, “go home”, “open Gmail”) or controlling the active screen (“tap text”, “scroll down”). If you need access to a full list of commands just say “help” at any time and choose the desired command. The app is free but only available for Android.

Proloquo2Go

Availability: iOS
Price: $249.99 with additional in-app purchases

Proloquo2Go is another text-to-speech app than can be used if you're having trouble speaking out loud. Unlike Spoken, it is a primarily symbol-based system with pre-selected words. However, you can adjust the vocabulary and layout to suit your age or skill level. Proloquo2Go is aimed at individuals with communication challenges caused by autism, cerebral palsy, or down syndrome. It offers many different languages and even supports bilingual use.

Language Therapy 4-in-1

A folder with all eight apps included in the Tactus Aphasia Essentials bundle: Comprehension, Naming, Reading, Writing, Advanced Comprehension, Advanced Naming, Advanced Reading, and Advanced Writing.

Availability: iOS and Android
Price: $74.99

Language Therapy 4-in-1 or Language Therapy: Aphasia by Tactus Therapy is a research-backed app that focuses on rehabilitating speech and language skills after a stroke. The app is unique because it is actually four apps merged into one — each focusing on a different skill to improve: comprehension, naming, reading, and writing. If you're a stroke survivor who has trouble speaking, reading, or finding the right words, it's worth giving this one a try to see if you can strengthen your abilities and get back to communicating normally.

The apps in Language Therapy 4-in-1 can also be purchased separately if you only need to focus on one area. There is also an eight-app bundle available on iOS devices called Tactus Aphasia Essentials, which includes these four apps, plus four "advanced" versions that you can move on to once you've increased your skill levels.