Home Support Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) DynaVox FAQ's DynaVox DV4, MT4, Speaking Software and Editing Software FAQs

Download/view the PDF version (240 KB)

A visual scene display (VSD) is a photograph or picture with active areas or hotspots that a user can select to communicate. Blackstone (2004) defines a VSD as a picture, photograph or virtual environment that depicts and represents a situation, place or experience. Individual elements such as people, actions and objects appear within the visual scene.

For example, a photograph of someone’s desk may contain a photograph of their family, a computer, some keys, some stationery and some books. The objects on the desk could be pressed or clicked to produce their names, e.g. keyboard, screen, pens, computer. The photograph could be clicked on to move to an additional display with a family photo. People in the photo could then be clicked on to retrieve their names. Or a photo taken on a trip to the zoo could be used to talk about the trip, who went on it, what they did and what they saw. It may also be used to retrieve the names of animals or people in the photo.

A VSD can be a single photo or a group of photos. The picture below shows a visual scene display designed for the user to talk about a trip to Canberra. The main photo is used to set the topic and to talk about the trip. The buttons around the sides give further information about particular people or sights.

Research into VSDs and their use with young children with developmental disabilities, people with acquired communication difficulties (such as those who have had a stroke or head injury) and people with multiple disabilities is just beginning. So far, the indications are that VSDs may be an option to support social communication and retrieval of vocabulary for those who find more traditional communication grids difficult or challenging.

For more information about VSDs with young children you can go to the 2006 CSUN Conference session report:
http://www.csun.edu/cod/conf/2006/proceedings/2963.htm

For information about VSDs and people with aphasia you can go to the Powerpoints of the AACRERC session presented by Beukelman et al:
http://www.aac-rerc.com/pages/news/pdfs/AAC%20and%20Aphasia%20A%20Review%20of%20Visual%20Scenes%20Display%20Project%20handouts.pdf

For a review of Visual Scene Displays written by Sarah Blackstone you can go to:
http://www.imakenews.com/aac-rerc/e_article000344804.cfm?x=b11,0,w

And keep an eye on the web as more information about VSDs is available each time we look.

To create your own VSDs in the DynaVox Speaking software you will need to have selected the photo or photos that you wish to use. In this example, we will use the following photograph of family dinner party at a hotel.

Setting up your digital photo as the background of a page

Prepare the picture:

1. Make sure the picture you want to use is no larger than 800×600 pixels. Use third-party graphics software to edit or size the picture accordingly.
2. Once the picture is the proper size, copy it in your My Pictures folder.

Create a new page

1. Select the pull-down menu button from the title bar at the top of the page.
2. Select Page Editing.
3. Select Page Editor.
4. Select the pull-down menu button from the title bar at the top of the page.
5. Select File.
6. Select New Page.
7. A keyboard will appear. Type in a name for your new page. In this example we will call the page “Pub”.
8. Select OK on the keyboard.
9. A new, blank page will now be on the screen, as shown:

Set the picture as the background of a new page:

1. Select an empty spot on the page. A blue line will appear around the page to indicate it has been selected.
   
2. Select the Modify button in the title bar. The Modify Page window will open.
   
3. Select the Background Picture button.
   
4. The select a Picture File menu will open.
   
5. Select the Show All Directories check box.
   
6. Navigate through your hard drive until you find where you have stored the photo. If your photo is in your My Pictures folder you will need to select the cross next to your C drive to expand and view its contents, then select the cross next to Documents and Settings, select the cross next to your user name, select the cross next to My Documents and finally select the My Pictures folder.
   
7. In the right viewport, select the image and click OK.
   
8. Back in your Modify Page Menu, select the Background Mode pull down menu and choose Best Fit Picture.
   
9. Press OK.

The imported picture will now be in the page background.

Adding Active Areas to the picture

Now that you have your photo in the background, you need to add some active areas so that the page can be used to tell a story or to communicate with.

Active areas are like buttons though they have no borders or defining appearances. Selecting an active area will activate any behaviours that have been assigned to the area. Please follow these steps to add an active area to a page:

Please be sure that you are still in Page Editing before following these instructions.

1. Select the arrow to the right of the Message Window tool in the Tools palette.
   
2. Select the Active Area Tool.
   
   • Note: This tool resembles a starburst
   
   
3. Select an area on the screen where the active area will start. Hold the selection and drag out the boundary for the active area.
   
4. The Behavior Editor window will appear.
   
5. In the Behavior Editor menu, select the behavior that the active area will perform. For our purposes this will usually be Speak Text.
   
6. Select the Add button.
   
7. A keyboard will appear. Type in the text that you want the button to say. For our example we are going to type “This is my Mum. She loves a good bottle of wine.”

   Press OK when you have finished.

   Note: You may assign multiple behaviors to an active area. If you wish to add other behaviours to this active area then do so now.
   

8. Once all desired behaviors have been added, select OK to exit the Behavior Editor menu.
   
9. Select the pull-down menu button in the title bar.
   
10. Select Exit Page Editor.
    
11. Select Yes to save the changes.
    
12. Select the active area to test the behaviors.

Repeat steps 1 to 12 to add as many active areas as you require.

---

If you have any questions or require any assistance with this process please contact Spectronics.

You can also get assistance at the DynaVox Knowledge Base at http://www.dynavoxtech.com/Support/kb/

Parts of this guide have been taken from the DynaVox Knowledge Base.

Reference

Blackstone, S. (2004). Clinical news: Visual scene displays. Augmentative Communication News, 16(2), 1-8.