User manual

1. Introduction

What is AbilityMic?

AbilityMic is an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) app. It helps people who have difficulty with spoken communication express their needs, thoughts and feelings through symbols, images and speech synthesis.

Who is it for?

• People who communicate with it — children and adults with speech difficulties
• Therapists and speech-language pathologists — professionals setting boards up for their clients
• Caregivers and family — the people supporting everyday communication

Which devices does it run on?

Note: The iPhone, iPad and macOS versions are a separate, native SwiftUI app. It works the same way for the user, but it is sold only through the App Store.

Offline use

AbilityMic is offline-first — it does not need a constant internet connection. Speech synthesis and on-device AI run locally. An internet connection is optional and adds capability (better suggestions, board downloads, sync).

Interface languages

The app is translated into 16 languages. There are two ways to change it:

• Quick switcher — the flag button on the icon rail beside the board ("Change language" → "Choose language")
• Settings → Interface Language

Both open the same list.

Every language in the list is written in its own language (its endonym), so it can be found even when the interface is currently set to a language the user cannot read.

Note: changing the language requires restarting the application.

Translation status: English and Polish are complete. In the other fourteen languages some of the newest screens — chiefly My Memory (chapter 22) — still appear in the base language. The features themselves work normally.

2. First Launch

The Home tab on an Android phone — the screen you see after the setup wizard.

Setup Wizard

The first time you start the app, a setup wizard takes you through these steps:

Step 1 — Select Language

Tap the flag for your language. The choice covers both the interface and the boards that are downloaded.

Step 2 — Check the Voice

AbilityMic speaks for you, so the wizard checks straight away that the voice can actually be heard. The step comes right after the language choice, so the test sentence is spoken in the language you have just picked.

Press Play the sentence. The app says: "Hello. I want to tell you something." — an ordinary sentence rather than a technical message, because what you need to hear is the voice you will be speaking with. Right after it plays, the wizard asks: "Did you hear that voice?"

If there is no speech engine on the system, or the engine does not answer, the wizard says so itself — you are not left with silence and no explanation. A longer checklist: chapter 21.

The step can be skipped — some people use AbilityMic without speech. Next works whatever the result of the check.

Step 3 — Age Verification

The wizard asks you to confirm your age group (date of birth). This selects the right safety settings and consent flow. If you are 18 or older you can skip this step.

Step 4 — Terms and privacy

Two acceptances are required before you can continue:

• End User License Agreement (EULA) — grants a personal, non-commercial licence to use AbilityMic
• Privacy Policy — your data stays on your device; no tracking, no ads

By continuing you confirm that you are at least 13 years old (or have a parent's or guardian's consent).

Step 5 — Download Communication Boards

The app downloads the recommended boards for your language. This can take a moment, depending on your connection.

Step 6 — Ready to Go!

Every setting can be changed later in Settings.

Each step offers Next, Back, Skip and Finish (on the last screen).

Signing in (optional)

After the wizard you may see a sign-in screen:

• Sign In — enter your email and password to use online features (board sync, cloud AI, confirming a purchase made on the website)
• Continue without signing in — work offline

Tip: You can create an account later. Core AAC communication works with no account and no internet.

Tutorial

On first launch the app shows a short tutorial covering the sentence bar, the SPEAK button, settings and switch access. You can skip it and return to it later.

3. Purchase and Licence

AbilityMic is a paid app. On startup it checks whether an active purchase is confirmed for your account.

The purchase screen

If no purchase has been confirmed yet, you see the Purchase AbilityMic screen:

Which route is yours?

• Bought in a store (Google Play, Microsoft Store, App Store) → choose Restore purchase
• Bought on abilitymic.com → sign in on the purchase screen and the app unlocks

Note: A USB or debug install is not a store purchase — Google Play will report the product as unavailable, and the app will offer the website instead.

What the base purchase includes

• AAC communication boards
• Offline text-to-speech with installed system voices
• Local board import and export
• Accessibility-focused keyboard and touch navigation
• Offline-first privacy for core communication

Plans

AI Support may come with a free trial — the app shows its length and renewal date on the subscription screen.

Use Manage subscription to open your platform store's subscription settings.

Important: Core AAC communication needs neither the AI plan nor an internet connection.

Forgotten password

You can set a new password for your abilitymic.com account yourself, without writing to support.

1. Go to abilitymic.com/account/reset-password — the same address sits behind Forgot password? on the sign-in screen.
2. Enter the account's email address and choose Send reset link.
3. Open the link from the message and set a new password — at least 6 characters, typed twice.

Too many sign-in attempts? After five wrong passwords, signing in to that account pauses for about a quarter of an hour — that is brute-force protection. Wait it out, or set a new password with the link above.

4. The Main Screen

When the app opens you see the main screen — the communication board.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Oops │ Clear │ Help │ System │ Chat app             │  ← top bar
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Tap tiles to build a sentence…                     │  ← sentence bar
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                     │
│ [EN] │ [Tile]  [Tile]  [Tile]  [Tile]               │  ← icon rail (flag = language)
│      │                                              │
│      │ [Tile]  [Tile]  [Tile]  [Tile]               │  ← board
│      │                                              │
│      │ [Tile]  [Tile]  [Tile]  [Tile]               │
│      │                                              │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Memory │ Suggestions    [ SPEAK ]  [SOS]           │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

The communication board on an Android tablet — a composed sentence with an AI suggestion.

The Top Bar

The top bar is shared between desktop and phone — the same buttons in the same places.

Beside the board sits an icon rail carrying a flag button — the quick language switcher (see chapter 1).

The Sentence Bar

Below the top bar sits the sentence bar, which shows the sentence being built. While it is empty it reads "Tap tiles to build a sentence…".

5. Building a Sentence

How to build one

1. Tap tiles on the board — each tile appends a word to the sentence bar
2. Choose a tense (if the grammar bar is switched on): was / is / will be
3. Press SPEAK — the app reads the sentence aloud

The Food & Drink board on iPhone with a sentence suggestion (English UI).

The same board on an Android phone — the suggestion chip offers “I want water.”

How words are joined

AbilityMic tells two kinds of text tile apart and joins them differently:

This keeps alphabet boards and morphology tiles working, while ordinary words no longer run together into one string.

Correcting

• Oops (undo) — removes the last word added
• Clear — empties the whole sentence bar

Pinned phrases

A board can carry pinned phrases — ready-made sentences available in one tap, for example "Hello!", "Thank you", "I need help", "Yes" / "No".

Babble mode

Babble mode is an exploration mode: you hear the sound or the pronunciation of a symbol, but it does not go into the sentence on the sentence bar. It is meant for playing with speech and for getting to know a board. Turn it on from the menu or the toolbar button.

6. Tiles — Layout and Badges

Tile layout

A tile is a symbol plus a label. Where the label sits is controlled by Show text above symbol on tiles (Settings → Appearance):

• on — text above the symbol
• off — symbol above the text

Symbols scale to the real cell size, so they stay legible on dense grids.

Tile size

Tile and text size are set under Settings → Appearance (Button size, Font size). If a board is too dense for the screen, pick the MasterGrid variant that matches the device — see chapter 9.

7. Moving Between Boards

Boards form a hierarchy — a tile can lead to a child board.

Getting around

Both can be shown or hidden in the toolbar settings — see chapter 14.

Context frame

With My Memory enabled (chapter 22), the app can ask "Where am I?" and set a context — a place or an activity. Suggestions then fit the situation, not just the last few words.

10. Writing in a Chat App

AbilityMic can sit beside WhatsApp or Messenger and paste your sentences into them. Turn the mode on with the Chat app button in the top bar.

Setting it up

1. Open the chat app beside this board — with the button in AbilityMic, or yourself (WhatsApp, Messenger in a browser)
2. Click the message box in the chat app
3. Come back to AbilityMic, build the sentence and press Copy — AbilityMic pastes it into that box

On Android the chat app stays beside you in split screen. On a computer you can dock the AbilityMic window left or right (Left / Right / Float), set its size (S / M / L) and turn on Always on top.

Options

Privacy: the sentence stays on this device — it goes to the clipboard or straight into the chat window. AbilityMic does not send it to the cloud.

Limitations: the mode does not work while kiosk is on (switch it off first). On some systems AbilityMic cannot paste by itself — then Copy puts the sentence on the clipboard and you paste it in the chat app (Ctrl+V).

12. Sentence History

Browsing

1. Open History from the menu
2. You see every sentence with its date and time

Sorting

• Newest first
• Oldest first
• Favourites — only sentences marked with a star

Actions on entries

Privacy: history is stored locally and encrypted.

19. Accessibility

Accessibility settings on iPhone.

Element sizes

• Minimum button size: 44×44 px (48×48 px preferred)
• The SPEAK button: 56 px
• Tile symbols scale to the real cell size — they are not artificially shrunk

Keyboard navigation

• Every element is reachable from the keyboard
• Tab — move between elements
• Enter — activate
• Escape — close a window or overlay
• A visible focus indicator (3 px ring)

High contrast mode

Meets WCAG 2.2 AA as a minimum, AAA on critical screens. It honours the Windows system high-contrast mode.

Scaling

The app works correctly at 100%, 125%, 150% and 200% zoom.

Scanning mode and switches

For people with limited motor control:

Scanning highlights elements in turn — one click or one switch press selects the highlighted element. If you use external switches, turn on Switch access in settings.

Scanning does not commit a language choice or any other list selection — moving through an item does not select it.

Reduced motion

• Reduce animations
• Reduce transparency — disables the glass effects
• Reduce motion — minimises transitions

Screen readers

Every element carries accessibility labels, roles and descriptions. Tile function badges and live tiles are described in words (for example "n new messages").

20. Keyboard Shortcuts

Global

Button editor

21. Troubleshooting

The app does not speak / SPEAK does nothing

The usual cause is that no speech engine is enabled in the system, or that the voice data for your language is missing. The app writes a message to the status bar.

1. Check the system volume
2. Android: System settings → Accessibility → Text-to-speech — select an engine and download the voice data for your language
3. In AbilityMic: Settings → TTS — check the volume and the selected engine
4. Try the Native (system) engine

If the speech engine does not respond, AbilityMic stops waiting after 10 seconds and returns to the ready state — the SPEAK button is not left stuck.

Words run together into one string

In therapist mode, check whether the tile is defined as a standalone word rather than a letter or ending. Standalone words are appended with a space; letters and endings are glued on.

AI suggestions do not work

1. Check Settings → AI
2. In Cloud mode — check your internet connection
3. Switch to Local or Phi
4. If the local model has not been downloaded — open Model downloads

A board will not load

1. Check that the file exists where you pointed
2. Refresh the board list
3. Check the format — OBF, OBZ, BM2 and Grid3 are supported
4. Try loading a sample board from the library

Tile symbols are too small

1. Settings → Appearance
2. Increase Button size
3. Increase Font size
4. Check that the board fits the screen — on a phone choose the MasterGrid 4×8 variant, on a tablet 5×11 or 8×10

Some screens appear in another language

1. Check Settings → Interface Language, or the flag button on the icon rail — the language is set in the app, not only in the operating system
2. Restart the app afterwards — without that some screens stay in the previous language
3. If it affects one board only, that board may have no translation — check its language under Edit board

English and Polish are currently complete. In the other languages the newest screens — chiefly My Memory — still appear in the base language.

The Chat app mode does not paste

1. Click the message box in the chat app, then come back to AbilityMic
2. Switch kiosk off if it is on
3. If the system does not allow an automatic paste — use Copy, then Ctrl+V in the chat app

The purchase is not recognised

1. Bought in a store → Restore purchase
2. Bought on abilitymic.com → sign in on the purchase screen
3. A USB/debug install is not a store purchase

Smart Home will not connect

1. Check that the devices are on the same network
2. Verify the endpoint address and the token
3. Make sure the selected platform is the right one

The app is slow

1. Settings → Appearance: turn Animations off and Reduce transparency on
2. Switch AI to Phi
3. Close other apps running in the background

Resetting settings

1. Run the setup wizard again
2. Check settings validation in the diagnostics menu
3. As a last resort — delete the settings file and restart the app

23. AI in AbilityMic — Transparency and Control

AbilityMic uses artificial intelligence to make it easier for you to say what you mean. The AI never speaks for you and never makes decisions about you.

The AI Assistant on iPhone — local AI that also works offline.

Where AI is used

AI is not used for: drawing the board, running tiles, reading your sentence with a system voice (the Native engine), history, or export. That part of the app always behaves the same way.

Everything stays on the device by default

AbilityMic uses on-device models first. Nothing is sent to the cloud until you deliberately turn on the matching consent.

What a cloud request actually carries: besides the sentence itself, the app appends conversation context — up to four recent snippets, or the turns of the current conversation with their speakers — and a short hint about your style. That is the content of your conversations, not just symbols.

If you would rather it did not, switch off Conversation context and user style (Settings → AI) or Partner's speech as context (Privacy Center), or work in Local / Phi mode, where nothing leaves the device.

A suggestion is always a proposal

Every AI suggestion waits for your decision:

• Use suggestion — replaces your sentence with the suggestion
• Keep my sentence — leaves your sentence unchanged

The AI never changes the sentence bar on its own. If you ignore a suggestion, your sentence stays as it is.

Why this suggestion?

Turn on Explain AI Suggestions (Privacy Center → consents) and each suggestion will show why it appeared — a recent repetition, the time of day. The explanation is computed entirely on the device.

Memory suggestions carry their own explanation: Why this? on the memory strip and Why do you know this? on each entry show the sources it came from.

What the app has learned about you

Everything the app has learned about you is visible and editable in the My memory window: every entry can be edited, disputed, hidden or deleted, learning can be paused, and the last change can be undone. See chapter 22.

Turning AI off

Settings → Privacy → Privacy Center → Consent Preferences. You can switch off, separately:

• Cloud AI Consent
• Online AI services
• AI Symbol Generation
• Partner's speech as context
• Second brain (My Memory)

Memory can also simply be paused rather than switched off — see chapter 22.

The app then returns to offline operation. You can also switch Settings → AI to Local or Phi, so suggestions work with no internet.

AbilityMic works without AI

The board, the tiles, sentence building and speech output always work — with AI off, with no internet, and when the cloud service does not respond. An AI failure must never cut you off from communicating.

What AbilityMic does not do

• It does not diagnose and does not assess clinical status
• It does not recommend therapy or treatment
• It does not recognise emotions from face, voice or behaviour
• It does not rate you on how fast or how you use the board
• It does not use disability for marketing or sales purposes

A note on naming: Emotion mode in the appearance settings is nothing but a board colour set that you choose yourself. The app does not detect or guess your feelings.

Actions outside the app

Anything that leaves AbilityMic — sending a message, a call, an email, a Smart Home action — is performed by you. In the Chat app mode, "Copy also sends" is off by default: the sentence goes into the message box and sending stays in your hands.

Disclaimer

AbilityMic is an assistive communication tool. It is not a medical device and is not intended for diagnosis, treatment or health monitoring. Health tiles only read and speak measurements that come from your device or health app — they do not interpret them and draw no conclusions from them.

24. Privacy and Further Information

Principles

• Personal data encrypted with AES-256 GCM
• Data stored locally on the device
• No user tracking, no ads
• Telemetry and insights only with consent
• Cloud features are opt-in — they need explicit consent
• Processing follows GDPR; medical data rests on GDPR Art. 9(2)(a) (explicit consent)

Privacy Center

Settings → Privacy → Privacy Center. One place where you decide what AbilityMic collects and how it is used.

The Privacy Center on an Android phone.

Consent Preferences

Every consent except the two required ones can be withdrawn at any time.

Location: AbilityMic does not collect continuous background location. Location is used only at the moment an emergency alert is raised, and it is never stored permanently.

Data Management

What these buttons do not cover. "Delete All Data" does not remove boards, application settings or the consent record — consents are withdrawn separately in the section above, and boards are deleted from the board list. The export excludes recordings, boards and the encrypted profile fields (address, phone numbers, medical notes); those are left out deliberately, so that the export file does not become an unencrypted copy of your sensitive data.

The warning the app shows before deleting currently also lists boards, settings and consent records — a wider scope than the button actually has. The description above is the accurate one.

Deleting the account requires password confirmation and is irreversible after 30 days. You can cancel it within that window. The same process is available at abilitymic.com/account-delete.php.

Children and guardians

• On first launch the app runs Age Verification
• Users under 13 require parental or guardian consent (COPPA) — the Privacy Center records the name of the person giving it
• Some optional services are not available on child accounts
• Children's data is not used for advertising profiling

Medical data

Medical notes (allergies, medication, conditions) require separate, informed consent. This data is:

• stored locally only, on the device,
• encrypted (AES-256),
• never sent to any server,
• protected by a PIN or password, if one is configured.

You can withdraw consent at any time and delete all medical data with one click.

Medical disclaimer: AbilityMic is an assistive communication tool and is not a medical device. It is not intended for diagnosis, treatment or health monitoring. See chapter 23.

Symbol libraries

Non-commercial sources are available only after educational mode is enabled under Settings → General.

Data export

• Boards — OBF, OBZ
• Boards for printing — PDF (with page size and orientation options)
• Sentence history — to a file
• Conversation recordings — audio files

Contact and support

• Interface: 16 languages
• Documentation: English, Polish, Spanish
• Support: support@abilitymicapp.com
• Licence and credits: About (in settings)

AbilityMic — Communication without barriers.