A powerful, private AAC app for iPhone and iPad. Completely free - no subscriptions, no accounts, and completely offline. Thousands of symbols in 7 languages, bilingual support, switch scanning, word prediction, and usage analytics for SLTs.
Children tap symbols to build sentences, then hear them spoken aloud using the device's built-in voice.
Fully Customisable
Caregivers can add, edit, and organise vocabulary items with custom images, labels, and pronunciations. Core Zone rows keep high-frequency words visible on every board.
100% Private & Offline
No subscriptions or accounts. Everything stays local on your device. Back up securely using your personal iCloud container.
Kid Safe
Built for Apple's Kids Category. No ads, no in-app purchases, no external links accessible to children.
How It Works
SpeakPad is designed as two distinct spaces - a distraction-free communication board for your child, and a powerful admin area for you.
1
For the Communicator
A safe, locked-down communication board where your child taps symbols to speak aloud. The fixed grid layout means buttons never move, helping them develop muscle memory and communicate with confidence.
2
For the Caregiver
Hidden behind a secure parental gate, the admin area gives you full control. Customise vocabulary, add your own photos, adjust grid sizes, manage multiple child profiles, and view detailed usage reports.
Designed for Caregivers
SpeakPad includes a caregiver area (protected by a strict parental gate) where you can customise the communication board, add your own real photo symbols, create sub-boards for different topics, manage multiple child profiles on one device, and back up your data to iCloud or AirDrop individual boards directly to teachers and therapists. A persistent Core Zone keeps high-frequency words from your home board visible on every sub-board, and caregivers can customise exactly how many rows appear.
Practical tools like Word Finder (search across all boards), a Recent Words bar for quick reuse, and Undo Clear (5-second recovery window) make daily communication faster and safer. Parents and Speech Language Therapists (SLTs) can adjust settings (such as touch repeat intervals, grid sizes, and vocabulary masking) to perfectly suit an emerging communicator's needs.
What is AAC?
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) helps people who have difficulty with spoken language to communicate.
SpeakPad provides a grid of picture symbols that children can tap to build phrases and sentences, which are then spoken aloud by the device. The rigid grid structure supports motor planning - meaning buttons never move, allowing a child to learn locations via muscle memory.
Who is SpeakPad for?
SpeakPad is built specifically for children with speech or language impairments who would benefit from a dedicated symbol-based AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) tool.
Autism Spectrum (ASD)
Provides a clear, predictable communication pathway for non-speaking or minimally speaking autistic children.
Apraxia of Speech
Removes the physical motor planning barriers of spoken language by providing an easy-to-use visual framework.
Down Syndrome
Supports early intervention and bridges the gap between receptive and expressive language skills.
Cerebral Palsy
Accommodates diverse motor skills with highly customisable grid sizes, iOS Switch Control support, and touch accommodations.
See SpeakPad in Action
At a Glance
Designed with Fitzgerald Key coloring for nouns, verbs, adjectives, and more. Visual consistency speeds up language acquisition.
Sentence Building
Words flow naturally into the message bar, enabling emerging communicators to string together full thoughts and sentences effortlessly.
Caregiver Controls
Locked behind a parental gate, caregivers can adjust the grid size, edit vocabulary, create custom folders, and manage child profiles safely.
High-Quality Symbols
SpeakPad includes 16,900+ symbols from the Mulberry Symbol Set and ARASAAC - open-source collections (CC BY-SA 4.0 and CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) of crisp, recognisable symbols created exclusively for AAC use.
apple
play
happy
book
A True Universal App
SpeakPad is completely free and unlocks the full experience on both iPhone and iPad simultaneously. Built with adaptive layouts to ensure perfect touch targets across all device sizes.
Smart Language Tools
SpeakPad is designed to support natural language development, accommodating diverse households and growing vocabularies.
Bilingual Support
Perfect for multilingual families. Display two languages on every symbol with seamless multi-language text-to-speech capabilities.
Grammar & Popups
Long-press words to access morphological variants (like plurals, past tense, and comparatives) teaching proper sentence structure in all 7 supported languages.
13 Ready-Made Board Packs
Start with a curated vocabulary pack, from early communication essentials to social and independence, then customise every word, symbol, and board to fit your child's needs. 1,143 items across 91 boards, all in 7 languages.
Word Prediction
Predicted next words glow directly on the communication grid. Tap the keyboard button in the message bar to type words with on-device word prediction for literate users.
Recent Words
A dynamic row showing the 7 most recently tapped words for quick reuse.
Advanced Clinical Toolkit
SpeakPad goes beyond simple grids. It includes advanced accessibility tools usually only found in expensive enterprise communication apps.
Visual Scene Displays
Upload context-rich photos (like a playground or a kitchen) and draw invisible tap-targets over objects to trigger speech. Perfect for early communicators.
In-App Switch Scanning
Built-in row-column, linear, and group scanning with configurable speed and audio cues. For external Bluetooth switches, SpeakPad works with iOS system-level Switch Control.
Usage Analytics & Reports
Private, on-device tracking of word frequency, session duration, and communication rate. Export PDF reports, CSV, or JSON for IEP meetings and therapy documentation.
Sentence History
Review spoken sentences. Re-speak previous messages, find frequent phrases, and track daily communication in the analytics dashboard.
Profile Management
Support for multiple child profiles on a single device, ideal for speech language therapists and schools.
Word Finder
Quickly locate any word with a dedicated search tool that scans across all boards.
Mistake Recovery
Accidentally cleared your message? A helpful undo feature restores your message bar instantly.
Printable Boards
Generate high-quality PDF versions of any board with vector-rendered symbols and Fitzgerald Key colours. Choose orientation, bilingual labels, or black-and-white mode, then print or share.
For Professionals & Therapists
We know Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs) and pathologists rely on evidence-based design. SpeakPad's core architecture was developed around three non-negotiable principles:
Strict Motor Planning: Buttons never reflow or shift when grids are resized. A word stays exactly where a child learned it.
Vocabulary Masking: Hide advanced vocabulary without altering the board layout. Introduce words progressively (Progressive Disclosure) as the child's skills grow.
Fitzgerald Key Compliance: Core vocabulary color-coding is built-in by default to aid in rapid visual scanning.
SpeakPad is a reliable, robust tool to send home with parents for daily use between therapy sessions.
Full accessibility is built in: VoiceOver labels on every element, in-app switch scanning (row-column, linear, and group), Dynamic Type support, and configurable touch accommodations (hold duration, repeat filtering). Compatible with iOS head tracking and AssistiveTouch. Requires iOS / iPadOS 17+.
