Kelly Berta, a 24-year-old Pennsylvania woman with apraxia of speech and arthrogryposis, a disease that affects her muscles, is using an iPad to communicate with people outside of her immediate family. Berta's speech difficulties led her to develop her own language that her mother understands, but the iPad and its applications allow her to use icons to express her thoughts to others and gain more independence. "This gives her a way to say things in a way that everyone can understand," Carrie Kane, a speech-language pathologist, said.