Experiences using an AAC

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Hi all.

I've read on here that some of you all who have trouble communicating use AACs. What are your experiences with them? How do they help you communicate? Are they akward to use? Do you have anxiety when you pull it out? How do other people react when you use them? Any other thoughts about them that you have?

Thanks.

When I can't talk, I either use mime (if it's something simple), pen & paper to write it down, or my iPhone.

Or I don't communicate what I want to say and get very frustrated and end up in meltdown/shutdown. This is actually the most frequent occurence at present because most people are weirded out when you suddenly start writing/typing instead of talking, and that makes me feel like a freak.

Mime is fine for most simple things, and most people although they think it's odd just take it in their stride.

Pen & paper seems more accepted than iPhone. Plus it means you can write the note and then leave it for the person you want to communicate with, which I wouldn't do with my iPhone

With the iPhone I have several ways of using it:
- typing messages in notes and passing them to the person to read
- using the SpeakIt! app (I do this rarely, but would really like to use it more)
- having a text conversation between my iphone and the person's phone, even if they are sitting next to me (because sometimes when I can't speak, I don't want them to speak either).

Thanks for the reply.

I mime too. Never really thought about it till now but that's what I do. I also write a lot. I leave notes around for other people to find. And text on my phone.

I'm looking for solutions to communicating in a group. I go to a support group for depression/bipolar and a 12-step group. It's expected (but not technically required) to share at these meetings. I'm getting frustrated because sometimes my pace is about a word a minute.

It sounds like the SpeakIt! app on the IPhone would work except, I don't have an IPhone and they seem like they'd be an expensive monthly bill. I'm on a limited income. I have a laptop I could technically use if I found some text to speech software.

Edited: Deleted the software recommendations I made because I realised if my colleagues searched for those names (which they might, given our work) this post would come up and it would be obvious who I was. I'm not quite comfortable with that idea yet.

Anyway, the post I just deleted named a couple of good pieces of free text to speech software that Seph (and others) might want to try on their laptops to help with communication. Please PM me if you want the details.

I use Speak It on my iPod. Yes, I have anxiety, because my staff thinks that I can talk and so I should. So I won't use it if staff is here... which is a lot of the time.