Unity® Connect is a reader application that integrates the power of the Unity® language on a PRC device with the convenience of an iPad. Now with Unity Connect, you have the flexibility and freedom to convert Unity vocabulary from your PRC device to an iPad.
Unity Connect does not contain vocabulary and is not a standalone AAC communication solution. It relies on PRC device Unity vocabulary files and uses the Unity Connect conversion tool to convert the PRC device vocabulary to a format that can be used on an iPad.
Unity Connect also features a PRC tutorial with information on PRC, Augmented and Alternative Communication (AAC), the Unity Language System, The AAC Language Lab and other PRC products and services
Download Unity Connect if you would like to view the PRC tutorial, or if you have a PRC device with existing Unity vocabulary that you’d like to transfer to an iPad.
Unity is a unique language system used to represent language in an AAC device. It uses a small set of easy-to-recognize pictures combined in short sequences to produce words, phrases, and sentences. Unity focuses on frequently used words. Research has shown that approximately 400 frequently used words make up more than 75% of our speech, regardless of age, gender, or background.
Who Uses Unity®?
Unity is used by people of all ages and abilities and can provide language to all levels of communicators including individuals who:
· are just learning to communicate;
· continue to learn language for communication;
· are fully competent communicators;
· have no reading or spelling skills or;
· are able to read and write.
The locations of the pictures (icons) remain fixed in Unity, permitting motor patterns to develop for frequently used words and phrases. When motor memory takes over, an individual begins to think about what he or she wants to communicate with the words instead of thinking about the locations of the individual words.
How Does Unity Work?
Unity has a language structure based on a few simple patterns. Once you learn the pattern for a certain type of word, you can explore and find other words that use the same pattern. Words in these patterns are color-coded for additional help. The Unity Connect Reader Application is symbol based for those who are not yet literate; however, those symbols are paired with text to support literacy development. The vocabulary, structure, and teaching approach are based on more than 45 years of PRC experience and field research and years of implementation with individuals of various language learning disabilities.
What’s included?
* High quality IVONA text-to-speech voices
* Ability to support existing PRC Unity vocabulary designed in the 4, 8, 15, 45, 60, 84 and 144 grid locations
* Vocabulary Builder: Allows chosen words to be visible while the remaining vocabulary is hidden
* Word Finder: Helps the user find where words are stored
* Ability to store customized vocabulary and edit individual buttons
Prentke Romich Company (PRC) is a member of a consortium of companies that are pioneers in the field of assistive technology and augmentative communication. The group includes Prentke Romich Company (USA), Saltillo Corporation (USA), Liberator Ltd. (UK), Prentke Romich Deutchland (Germany) and Liberator Pty Ltd. (Australia). These companies bring a broad range of products and services to provide the most comprehensive line of AAC solutions in the industry. The employee owners many of whom have been with their organizations for more than 20 years, have dedicated their careers to assisting individuals with disabilities through the use of technology.