The "dwell time" can be defined as the amount of time a user needs to focus their gaze on a button in order for the device to register it as a selection. The shorter the dwell time, the faster a selection is made. AAC Users can work with their speech therapist to determine the appropriate dwell time so they can easily make selections while also reducing accidental activations.
This article covers how to adjust "dwell time" as well as other common selection settings.
First, locate the "Eye Gaze Settings" in Mind Express.
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Select Menu in the upper left-hand corner, then Settings.
In the Mind Express 5 Settings, select "Access."
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Select "Eye tracking" from the left-hand access options.
Customize the eye gaze settings.
Click the
next to any setting for an explanation of that setting.
Select
Scroll down to find "Select" section.
The following settings are customizable in this section:
| Dwell selection | Toggle "on" for selections to be made by a user gazing or dwelling on their selection for a certain amount of time |
| Dwell indicator | Use the drop-down to choose how the dwell time will be visually represented when a user is looking at a button. You can also change the color of this indicator. |
| Dwell time | The amount of time a user has to gaze on a button before it selects. Use the plus and minus buttons or the slider to adjust the time. |
| Repeat dwell | When this is toggle "on", once a button has been selected, it will be repeated over and over at the end of the set dwell time if the user does not gaze away. Leave toggled "off" for the dwell to trigger a selection only once. |
| External dwell - jitter margin | Define the area to look at so a new dwell time will start when leaving the defined area. |
| Dwell memory time | This is useful for users who struggle to stay on the button for the entire dwell time. When a dwell memory time is set, the dwell time is paused when the user looks away from a button. When the user looks back to the target before the dwell memory time expires, dwell time will not restart from the beginning but will resume from the pause. |
| Delay time after selection | After a selection, all input is ignored for a set period of time. This prevents the user from selecting the same button multiple times. If, for example, the delay time is set to 2 seconds, after selecting a cell the input will be ignored for 2 seconds. |
| Show more dwell times | Toggle "on" to set custom dwell times that you can then assign to different types of buttons. |
Select by Blinking
As of 11.2025, this setting should be turned OFF to avoid program glitches.
Select using a switch
Toggle select using a switch "on" for a user to make a selection with a switch (rather than using "dwell"). This can be used on its own, or in conjunction with a dwell selection. Adjust the options as needed.
Select the green "OK" button in the lower right corner of the menu to finalize your changes.
If you have any questions about the above process, you are more than welcome to reach out to our Forbes AAC Tech Support Team for additional assistance. Options for contacting them can be found here: Contact | Forbes AAC | Augmentative Communication
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