What is Electronic Text

Point-and-Chat®, most simply, is the first software for Instant Messaging with a built-in screen reader, designed to be used in conjunction with Augmentative/Alternative Communication (AAC) devices. For many AAC users, especially those who have difficulty reading and writing, an AAC device is the primary or only way they can communicate with other people. This communication is primarily one-on-one and face-to-face. The goal of Point-and-Chat® is to take the skills that an AAC user has in producing the spoken word and provide scaffolding that will enable the AAC user to use those skills to communicate with the written word. The primary impediment to effective use of Point-and-Chat® by AAC users appears to be a lack of appropriate text-chat vocabularies for poor readers, including vocabulary strategies to re-establish conversations when the conversational thread has been lost.