You Haven’t Lost Your iPad App

Like many of you, I’ve been paying attention to the devastation in Texas following Hurricane Harvey. In the aftermath, there have been relief efforts to meet the needs of people living in the affected areas. If you lost an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) system in the hurricane or if you’d like to help people who lost AAC,  USAAC has set up a website for AAC Relief.

Even if you were not in the path of the hurricane, this information might help you. There may be a time that your child’s iPad gets knocked into a pool. Or maybe you put the iPad on top of your vehicle to buckle your child into his car seat. As you pick up speed, you catch a glimpse of something in your mirror and hear the thud of your child’s AAC system meeting the road. Stuff happens. Electronics (and books) get damaged.

But once you purchase an iPad app, you do NOT lose it.

If something awful happens to an iPad within the first two years, it’s covered if you elected AppleCare. Take it to an Apple Store, and they’ll repair or replace it. If it’s not covered, refurbished iPads are available. The $200-$500 cost of an iPad is significant, especially if it’s unexpected. Also, especially if your family has lost everything in a natural disaster. However, it is financially accessible when compared to the $5000-$10,000 cost of a traditional direct access dedicated device.

The good news is that if you are using an iPad-based communication app, you have not lost that app. It is safely stored in the cloud and tied to your iTunes account. Once the iPad is replaced, download the previously-purchased app from the cloud.

Here’s how it works:

• Set the iPad up with the same iTunes account used to purchase the communication app.
• Go to the App Store badge icon on the iPad.
• Touch “Purchased” along the bottom of the screen.
• Find the app to download. It should have the picture of the cloud and arrow, if you’ve already bought it.
• Touch the cloud and arrow symbol to download the app onto the iPad.

That’s it! You have your AAC app back. Additionally, this process works if you have multiple iPads in your home and you want to put the AAC app on each of them.

My last hopefully helpful suggestion is to make sure you back up the vocabulary setting! If you’ve done that, you can import that vocabulary from Dropbox, iTunes, or email (for Speak for Yourself), and your AAC system is up and running!