Dubai Healthcare CityDHA LicensedAAC & GLP Specialists

Choosing an AAC Device for Your Child: How We Run Trials

Do not buy anything yet. A structured four-week trial tells you exactly which app fits your child — before you spend a dirham on the wrong one.

The right way to choose an AAC device for an autistic or non-speaking child in Dubai is a structured trial, not a guess at the app store. At Starwalkers Clinic in Dubai Healthcare City, every AAC trial compares exactly two shortlisted apps — chosen from Proloquo2Go, TD Snap, TouchChat WordPower and Avaz based on your child’s language profile — over four weeks of therapy sessions, including a week where the leading app goes home with you. You finish with one clear answer: which app to buy, and why. Trial sessions are priced as standard therapy sessions (AED 170–199), and no referral or diagnosis is needed.

Why we never say “just buy an iPad and an app”

Many families come to us having already bought a communication app that their child now ignores. It is not the child’s fault, and usually not the app’s either — it is a mismatch. An app that suits a child who builds language word by word can frustrate a child who learns in whole phrases and scripts. And an app the parents find confusing dies on the shelf within months, however well the child did with it in clinic.

That is why our trials measure two things with equal weight: how your child takes to each app, and how workable it is for you at home. When a child pushes a device away, we do not record that as failure — we record what happened just before, because those moments often tell us more about the right system than anything else.

The apps we trial — and why only two at a time

We shortlist two apps per child from four systems we know deeply: Proloquo2Go, TD Snap, TouchChat WordPower and Avaz. Avaz joins the shortlist when a recorded human voice matters to your child, or when budget is the deciding factor. Trialling more than two apps sounds thorough but splits the child’s learning time so thinly that no app gets a fair chance.

Alongside the apps, a low-tech option — a core board, communication book or personalised phrase cards — runs in parallel from the first week. It is never competing for the purchase decision; it is your backup for the bath, the beach and the school run, and it shows us what your child understands regardless of screens.

How we choose which two apps your child trials

The shortlist comes from your child’s language profile, worked out in the first session. Children broadly process language in one of two ways. Some build it word by word — first single words, then two-word combinations, then sentences. Others learn in whole chunks: phrases from cartoons, songs or favourite people, used as single units of meaning. That second pattern is called gestalt language processing, and it changes which app layout will make sense to your child.

If your child is a gestalt language processor, we load their own scripts and phrases into both trial apps before they first touch them, so the device speaks their language from minute one — we never make a child start from someone else’s vocabulary. You can read more about this approach on our gestalt language processing therapy page and our guide to echolalia and scripting.

The four-week trial, week by week

Week 1 — Getting to know your child

Language profile, communication styles, sensory preferences and your family’s context (languages at home, who will model, budget range). Both shortlisted apps are introduced gently, with your child’s own words and interests already loaded.

Week 2 — A fair comparison

Both apps are alternated across the same activities — snack, play, books — so the comparison is like for like. We track engagement, navigation, voice acceptance and what your child does spontaneously, not just what they do when prompted.

Week 3 — The leading app comes home with you

You take the front-runner home for five to seven days with a simple one-page log — real mealtimes, real bedtime, real life. One in-clinic session that week gives the runner-up a final fair look.

Week 4 — The decision

Final scoring across both apps, a written recommendation, and a parent meeting that covers the purchase, set-up and funding or insurance pathway. Trials are reviewed by our medical director at the midpoint and before the final recommendation.

The full trial runs eight to twelve sessions over roughly four weeks, at two to three sessions per week.

What you have at the end

One clear purchase decision — a named app, with the evidence behind it, so you buy once and buy right.
A written recommendation report you can share with your child’s school, paediatrician or insurer.
A child who already knows their system — therapy continues on the same app, so nothing is lost in the handover.
A parent who can actually use it — because parent confidence is scored throughout, not assumed at the end.

Who runs AAC trials at Starwalkers

AAC trials at Starwalkers are run by our speech-language therapy team, all DHA-licensed: founder Nazma Sheikh (speech-language therapist, NLA-trained), Shadha Shebin (Senior SLT with AAC specialisation) and Mizha Fathima (SLP specialising in AAC and gestalt language processing, Avaz-trained, NLA Professional Competence). Occupational therapy input is available when motor access or sensory factors affect device choice. We are in Al Razi Medical Complex, Building 64, Dubai Healthcare City, open Monday to Sunday.

Questions parents ask about AAC devices

Will an AAC device stop my child from learning to talk?

No. Research consistently shows AAC supports spoken language rather than replacing it. Children often speak more once the pressure to speak is lifted and they have a reliable way to be understood.

Which AAC app is best for an autistic child?

There is no single best app. Proloquo2Go, TD Snap, TouchChat WordPower and Avaz are all excellent systems that suit different children. The right one depends on how your child processes language, their motor and visual preferences, and what you as a parent can model daily — which is exactly what a structured trial measures.

Should I buy an iPad and an app before the assessment?

No — please buy nothing before the trial. The most common AAC problem we see in Dubai is a device bought first and abandoned within months. The trial exists so your purchase is the right one.

How long does an AAC device trial take?

About four weeks: eight to twelve sessions at two to three per week, including five to seven days where the leading app goes home with your family.

My child repeats phrases from cartoons. Can they still use AAC?

Yes — and this matters for app choice. Children who learn language in scripts and chunks are gestalt language processors, and we pre-load their own phrases into the trial apps before they first use them, so the device speaks their language from the start.

Does the device really go home during the trial?

Yes. In week three the leading app goes home with you for five to seven days with a simple log to fill in. How an app behaves at your dinner table tells us things no clinic session can.

How much does an AAC trial cost in Dubai?

Trial sessions are priced as standard therapy sessions at Starwalkers — AED 170–199 per session, with package options; full details are on our speech therapy cost page. The app or device purchase is separate, and your budget is built into the recommendation — including Avaz when cost is the deciding factor. We also help you explore insurance and funding pathways.

Ready to find your child’s voice — on the right device?

Message us with a few lines about how your child communicates now. We will tell you honestly whether an AAC trial is the right next step.

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Choosing an AAC Device for Your Child: How We Run Trials in Dubai