Later this year, voice options in the LAMP Words for Life® app will change and Ivona voices will no longer be accessible. We wanted to inform you of this change in advance so you have time to consider your options. If you are LAMP Words for Life user and have an Ivona voice selected, you will receive a pop-up notice encouraging you to change their voice.
The decision to remove Ivona voices was made due to changes in Apple’s operating system as well as the extremely limited technical support for these voices. We wanted you to be able to thoughtfully choose your next app voice option rather than experiencing a poor-quality voice or having it go away unexpectedly.
Your voice is an important part of your AAC experience. Consider exploring other available voices available now. There are many voices available to you at no charge within the LAMP Words for Life app. You may discover a voice that’s similar to your current choice, or you may decide to start fresh with a different voice style.
Inclusive voices from Almagu offer a wide range of voices that are realistic and representative of a variety of age groups: child, teen, adult, and senior. Use the voice sampler to try out the 35+ voices currently available.
Acapela is a text to speech option available for all PRC-Saltillo apps. Voice options in English (US/UK/AUS) and Spanish (North America/Europe) are available at no cost; Canadian French voice options are available as an in-app purchase.
Make a standard voice more personal by going to the settings menu within LAMP Words for Life. Adjust the pitch and rate of speech by sliding a button to the desired option.
You may also choose to create a unique custom voice with The Voice Keeper. They also offer coaching through The Voice Keeper Kids via Zoom to help children who would like to be a voice donor.
Consider a Personal Voice for your AAC app with Apple's synthesized voice option available for devices with iOS 17. Develop your voice directly on your iPad® or iPhone®, save it to your device, and it can be integrated into your app when you select it from the settings menu: Settings > Voice > Choose Custom Voice > Apple Personal Voice. Note: This feature is currently only available for English voices and vocabularies.
If you’re not sure what to do next, connect with your AAC communication team. What does your local speech-language pathologist think? What about asking the perspective of your teacher so you can best be heard in your learning environment? Is it time to consider moving from a child voice to a teen voice? Or from a teen voice to an adult voice? Your PRC-Saltillo AAC Consultant is also just a phone call or email away to help you consider your options.
For more information, or if you have any questions, please reach out to the iOS app team at info@aacapps.com.