Support

SpeakPad requires an iPhone or iPad running iOS 17 or iPadOS 17 or later. It is a universal app, available on both iPhone and iPad.

SpeakPad is completely free - every feature is included with no subscriptions, no paywalls, and no hidden fees. An optional tip jar lets you support development if you'd like, but nothing is ever locked behind it.

No. SpeakPad works completely offline. Speech, symbols, and all data are on-device.

In Caregiver Mode, tap any empty cell to add a new word: type a label, pick a symbol, and tap Save. To edit an existing word, tap it. For sub-board (folder) tiles, tap the pencil icon. To rearrange, press and hold a button, then drag it to a new position. Drop it on an empty cell to move, or on another button to swap. To add a folder that opens a sub-board, tap Add → New Category in the toolbar. If your grid is full, open Manage → Board Settings to increase the grid size.

In Caregiver Mode, tap Manage in the toolbar, then tap Board Settings and adjust the rows and columns. Items that fall outside a smaller grid are moved to empty cells rather than deleted. Sub-board grid size is locked to the home board so tile sizes and motor planning stay consistent.

SpeakPad uses Fitzgerald Key colour-coding, a system widely used in speech therapy. Green = verbs (actions), orange = nouns (things), blue = adjectives (describing words), pink = social words, purple = questions, yellow = pronouns (people), brown = prepositions (where), and grey = other. This colour consistency helps children find words faster through visual pattern recognition.

Long-press any word on the communication board to see grammar variants. For example, long-pressing 'go' shows 'going', 'went', 'goes', and 'gone'. Tap a variant to speak it and add it to the message bar. SpeakPad fills in these variants automatically in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese; for any language, you can add your own variants to a word in its Word Forms section.

In Caregiver Mode, tap Find in the toolbar. Type any word to search across all boards. Tap a result to jump straight to that board and word.

In Caregiver Mode, tap Select in the toolbar, tap the items you want to change, then tap Hide (tap Show to bring them back). Hidden items appear greyed out in the editor but are completely invisible to the child on the communication board. This lets you introduce vocabulary progressively without permanently removing words, a technique called Progressive Disclosure. For an automatic version of this, see vocabulary stages.

First, check that your device is not on silent (mute). On iPad, check Control Centre or the side switch if your model has one. On iPhone, flip the ring/silent switch on the left side so no orange is showing. Also make sure the volume is turned up. SpeakPad uses a special audio mode that should play through silent mode, but some devices require the ringer to be on. If you still hear nothing, go to your device's Settings → SpeakPad and make sure Speech is not disabled.

In Caregiver Mode, open Manage → Settings → Communication. Expand the Voice section to choose from all available system voices for your selected language, and adjust the speed and pitch with sliders. Voices marked with a star (★) are higher-quality enhanced voices. Tap Preview to hear a sample.

Yes. In Caregiver Mode, open Manage → Settings → Communication, then tap Language. Turn on 'Show Bilingual Labels' and choose a secondary language. You can set whether the primary, secondary, or both languages are spoken aloud. Each profile can have its own language pair.

Yes. When adding or editing a vocabulary item, you can choose a photo from your device's photo library.

SpeakPad includes 16,900+ symbols from two open-source collections: Mulberry Symbols (CC BY-SA 4.0) and ARASAAC (© Government of Aragon, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Both are designed specifically for AAC use.

A Visual Scene Display (VSD) uses a real photo - such as a playground, bedroom, or kitchen - as a communication board. Tappable hotspots are placed on the image, and when your child taps one, SpeakPad speaks the word or phrase. VSDs are great for contextual communication in familiar environments.

In Caregiver Mode, open Manage → Settings → Layout & Display, then tap Board Pack. Browse the available packs and switch to one. Switching replaces boards for the current profile only. SpeakPad creates an automatic rollback backup before switching, and you can restore it from the Data & Backup page if needed.

In Caregiver Mode, tap Manage in the toolbar, then tap Share Board. This exports the board you're viewing as a .speakpad file you can send via AirDrop, email, Files, or any other method. To move a whole profile between devices, use Export to File under Settings → Data & Backup instead.

In Caregiver Mode, open Manage → Settings → Accessibility, then tap Switch Scanning. Turn on 'Enable Switch Scanning' and choose a scan pattern: Row-Column (highlights a row, then the cells within it), Linear (scans cell by cell), or Group (highlights groups of rows, then narrows to single cells). Pick a scan mode: Auto-Scan advances on a timer (set the speed), while Manual Scan advances on each switch press. You can also set the highlight colour and a scan-step sound. A large on-screen switch button appears at the bottom of the board, so no extra hardware is needed. To use a physical switch, pair it as a Bluetooth device in your iPhone or iPad Settings; it then drives SpeakPad's own scanning directly, so you no longer need iOS Switch Control.

In Caregiver Mode, tap Manage in the toolbar, then tap Print Board. SpeakPad generates a printable PDF of the current board. You can choose options like orientation, black-and-white mode, and bilingual labels, then print or share the PDF.

When adding or editing a vocabulary item in Caregiver Mode, look for the Custom spoken text field. Type exactly how you want the voice to say it. Useful for names, places, or words the voice mispronounces (for example, labelling a tile 'Gran' but typing 'Grahn' so it sounds natural). Leave it blank to speak the label as written.

In Caregiver Mode, tap a vocabulary item to edit it, then scroll to the Word Forms section and tap Edit Word Forms. Add or edit variants such as tenses (went, going) and plurals (dogs), each with its own optional custom pronunciation. SpeakPad fills in built-in forms for common words in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. Tap Reset to Defaults to restore them. These variants appear when a child long-presses that word on the communication board.

Yes. SpeakPad imports .obz Open Board archives used by CoughDrop, Cboard, and several other AAC tools. In Caregiver Mode, open Manage → Settings → Data & Backup, tap Import Boards from .obz, then choose a .obz file from Files, AirDrop, or email. A .obz archive can contain one or many .obf boards plus images. Symbols, labels, colours, and folder links are preserved where possible.

Yes. For a complete SpeakPad backup, open Manage → Settings → Data & Backup and use Export to File to create a native .speakpad file. To share boards with other AAC tools, use Share Boards as .obz on the same page. The exported .obz archive contains Open Board .obf files that CoughDrop, Cboard, and other compatible tools can open.

Yes. Each child gets their own profile with separate boards, voice, language, and settings. To switch, tap the gear icon, pass the parental gate, choose Edit Boards, then open Manage → Settings → Switch or Manage Profiles. You can add, rename, and switch between profiles from there.

In Caregiver Mode, open Manage → Settings → Data & Backup, then tap Back Up Now to save to iCloud. To save a backup file instead, tap Export to File on the same page to create a .speakpad file you can store or share.

On your old device, open Caregiver Mode and go to Manage → Settings → Data & Backup. Either tap Back Up Now (iCloud) or Export to File to save a .speakpad file (via AirDrop, Files, or email). On your new device, install SpeakPad and finish setup, then open the same Data & Backup page: restore the iCloud backup from the list, or tap Import from File to load your .speakpad file.

In Caregiver Mode, open Manage → Settings, then under Help & About tap Usage Analytics. You'll see word frequency charts, daily communication counts, and session data. Use the date filter to narrow the range. To export a report, scroll to the Export Data section and choose Export as CSV, Export as JSON, PDF Report for SLT, or Plain Text Report. All analytics data stays on-device and is never shared.

Yes. In Caregiver Mode, open Manage → Settings → Data & Backup and turn on Keep devices in sync. When a newer backup from another device arrives in iCloud, SpeakPad shows an Update available prompt; tap Update to apply it. You can also turn on Update automatically when safe to apply changes without asking when this device has no unsaved edits. A safety copy is always made first, so any update can be undone from the backup list.

The Core Zone is the top rows of your home board - high-frequency words like 'want', 'more', 'stop', and 'help' - that stay frozen at the top of every sub-board. These core words are always one tap away, no matter which category board you navigate to. Turn it on and set how many rows it uses in Manage → Settings → Layout & Display.

Tap symbols to build a sentence in the message bar at the top of the screen. Press the blue Speak button to read the full sentence aloud. Tap any word tile to hear just that word. To clear the whole message, tap the × button. Your recent sentences are saved automatically - tap the clock icon to recall and re-speak previous messages, or pin a frequent one as a Saved Message.

Tap the keyboard button in the message bar to open a full keyboard from any board. As you type, SpeakPad suggests word completions based on common words and your own message history, all processed on-device, never sent anywhere. Tap a suggestion to accept it. This is ideal for users who are developing literacy skills. Caregivers can show or hide the keyboard button in Manage → Settings → Communication.

Saved Messages are reusable phrases you can pin for quick access. Build a sentence in the message bar and tap Pin, or open sentence history and pin a message from there. In Caregiver Mode, tap Manage in the toolbar and tap Saved Messages to reorder or remove them.

Modeling Mode lets a caregiver or therapist demonstrate language on the board without it speaking aloud, the technique known as aided language stimulation. Tap the gear icon, pass the parental gate, and choose Modeling Mode (Silent). Tapping symbols highlights them silently so you can show a child how to build a message. The first time, a short primer explains how to model. Choose Exit Modeling Mode to hand the board back to the child.

SpeakPad supports 7 languages: English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Portuguese, Hindi, and Simplified Chinese. All symbols, labels, text-to-speech, and the app interface are fully translated. You can also enable bilingual mode to show labels in two languages at once.

In Caregiver Mode, open Manage → Settings → Switch or Manage Profiles. Swipe left on the profile you want to delete and tap Delete. This removes all boards, settings, and history for that profile. If you want to keep your data but reset the boards, switch to a different board pack instead. SpeakPad creates a rollback backup automatically.

First, create a Visual Scene board: in Caregiver Mode, tap Add → New Category in the toolbar, choose Visual Scene, give it a name, and pick a photo from your library (or use one of the built-in demo scenes). Once the board is created, navigate to it and tap the Hotspots button in the toolbar. Tap anywhere on the photo to place a hotspot, then give it a label and choose a category colour. You can drag hotspots to reposition them and use the resize handle to adjust their size.

SpeakPad is permanently free, but if you'd like to support development, you can leave a tip in the app. In Caregiver Mode, tap Tip Jar in the toolbar (it's also under Manage, and in Settings → Help & About). There are three optional tiers - supporters get a small cosmetic badge as a thank-you. You can also help by leaving a review on the App Store or sharing SpeakPad with other families.

Tap the keyboard button (labelled 'Type') in the message bar at the top of the screen. The keyboard opens as an overlay on any board, so you never lose your place. Tap the button again to return to the board. Caregivers can show or hide this button in Manage → Settings → Communication. You can also create a dedicated Keyboard board via Add → New Category if you prefer a board-based approach.

In Caregiver Mode, open Manage → Settings and find the Child section. Tap the avatar to take a photo, choose one from the library, or remove the current picture. The profile photo appears in both Settings and the profile picker.

Vocabulary stages reveal the starter board's words gradually, so a child isn't overwhelmed early on. There are three: First Words (requests, people, and social basics), Growing (adds describing words, questions, and positions), and Everything (all starter words). Raising the stage only reveals more words; buttons never move, so the motor plan a child learns early still holds later. Words you add yourself are always shown. Set the stage in Manage → Settings → Layout & Display; you'll also choose a starting stage during onboarding.

Completely. SpeakPad collects no data at all. See our Privacy Policy for details. →

On the parental gate screen, enter an incorrect answer 5 times and a 'Forgot PIN?' option appears. Tap it and follow the steps to reset your gate. If you're using the maths-problem gate (the default), there's no PIN to forget; just solve the sum shown on screen. You can switch between gate types (easy maths, hard maths, or 4-digit PIN) in Manage → Settings → Accessibility.

Use Apple's Guided Access. Open your device's Settings → Accessibility → Guided Access, turn it on, and set a passcode. Return to SpeakPad, then triple-click the side button to start Guided Access. Triple-click again and enter your passcode to exit.