GNApp - an open source augmentative and alternative communication framework

Abstract

The National Accessibility Portal (NAP), is a five-year research and development project aimed at addressing some of the marginalisation issues of people with disabilities. One of the core areas that NAP is striving to address is the critical human need to communicate with others through new and affordable technology. Countless individuals with speech disabilities are prevented from exercising their basic human right to communicate due to the lack of an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device. It is within this context that the GNApp (Grand-NAP-Application) framework is being developed. This framework is a highly configurable, low-cost open source alternative to AAC, which is more aligned to the South African needs (for example culturally and localisation configurable). This poster introduces NAP, AAC and the GNApp framework