What CocovoxKeyboard is
CocovoxKeyboard is an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) board built into Cocovox. You build a message by tapping words and pictures, and the board speaks it aloud. It can be used as a primary way of talking or alongside speech.
Turning it on
The board is off until someone asks for it, and it is switched on per account — on the account of the person who will use it.
Go to Settings → Accessibility and turn on the speech keyboard.
Nothing opens yet — that is deliberate. A board that seizes the message box the moment a setting is ticked is worse for the people who need it.
In a chat, open it with the AAC keyboard button in the row of controls under the message box, or press Alt+K. On a phone that button lives inside the More menu in the same row.
Tap words to build a message, then tap Speak to have it said aloud.
What is on the board
Three word sets
A mode switch at the top swaps the words between Class, Social and Needs. In Class mode, if a class is on the schedule, words related to that subject are offered first. The other two modes do not use the schedule.
Word suggestions
The board suggests the next word while you type. Some of those suggestions are made on the device and some come from an AI on our server — which means the words typed on the board are sent there, along with recent words and the current class name. This can be switched off in Settings → Display, and suggestions then come only from the device.
My Words
Words used often move into My Words, and words can be added by hand from Settings → Words. My Words chips can be reordered by dragging them, or from a chip's own menu for anyone who cannot drag. The rest of the board's layout is fixed — keys and boards cannot be rearranged.
Pictures on the buttons
Each word button can show an emoji, a standard AAC picture symbol (ARASAAC) with the word underneath, or the picture alone for someone who is not reading yet. Words with no picture yet keep their emoji rather than showing an empty key.
The voice
Talking speed can be changed for every voice. Pitch can only be changed on your device's own built-in voice — the Cocovox voices do not support it. There is no volume control in the board; use the device's volume.
Access methods
- Switch scanning - one-switch (the highlight moves on its own, one press chooses) and two-switch (one switch moves, the other chooses). Highlight speed, a rest break after a set number of passes, and ignoring a bounced second press are all adjustable.
- Dwell - for pointing with eyes, head or a mouse without being able to click. Resting on a word for a moment chooses it, and how long is adjustable.
- Keyboard - every control on the board is operable from a keyboard.
- Larger keys - a zoom control, a larger-text option and a fullscreen mode that gives the keys the whole screen.
- High contrast and colour-blind palettes - including a monochrome mode.
- Touch targets - the board's controls are built to a 44px minimum.
What is saved, and where
Settings, saved phrases and My Words are stored on the account and reach the other devices that account signs in on. Recent messages are not: they stay on the device they were typed on and are never sent anywhere.
There is no daily word target unless someone turns one on. Counting how much a person speaks is off by default, and the switch is in Settings → Display → Layout. With it off, the board simply shows how many words were said today, with no goal, no percentage and no streak.
Ambient listening
The board can listen to the room and offer words from what it hears. It is off unless an adult turns it on, and the terms are strict:
- The microphone audio is sent to our speech provider, ElevenLabs, to be turned into text.
- Only that text — never the audio — is then used to suggest words. Cocovox does not keep a recording.
- It runs only while the adult who turned it on stays signed in on that device. When the student signs in with their own account, it turns off.
- The permission lasts 30 days, then Cocovox asks again.
- For an account belonging to a minor, a parent has to approve voice features first.
For parents
Read this part before you plan around it, because one thing that sounds obvious is not true today: there is no parent-side screen for setting up the board for your child. The AAC settings belong to the account that uses the board. To set it up, you need to be signed in on your child's account — on their device, with their sign-in — and work through Settings there. Nothing in the parent portal configures the board.
What the parent portal does do for this:
- Privacy & Controls for each child - open the parent portal, choose your child, then Privacy & Controls. That page holds the microphone and voice permission, and it is where an ambient-listening permission can be withdrawn.
- Export your child's data and request deletion, from the same child page.
There is no report of what your child said on the board, and there is not meant to be. What somebody says on their communication device is theirs.
For SLPs and teachers
What you can configure today:
- The core word list the board is built from, and how many words are on it.
- Whether buttons show emoji, AAC symbols with words, or symbols alone — settable per student from the clinical configuration, which the board picks up for a student who has not chosen for themselves.
- Switch scanning and dwell, including speed, rest breaks and debounce.
- Adding target vocabulary to the student's My Words.
What is not in the product: there is no per-word usage report, no communication-frequency tracking over time, and no AAC data export for IEP documentation. If a previous version of this page led you to plan around one, that was our error.
