Assistive Technology and Autism:
I had worked with children who have Autism before and wanted to explore the different assistive technologies that are available for these individuals. Autism is a disorder that effect an individuals social and communication skills. Most children who have autism have delayed speech or have trouble communicating. They are also unaware of the social rules, making it hard for them to socialize with other children. The technologies that I found to support children with Autism are few. There is a system called PECS, which is a CD that has millions of pictures representing words. children with Autism usually use these pictures to make a sentence indicating their needs. It works very well for them as I have seen many children go from non-verbal to verbal through using this system. The newest tool that supports children with Autism is an app that can be downloaded onto in iphone or ipad. This app is called the Grace App. Basically what it does is speak for a child who is unable to speak. A child has a wide range of pictures to choose from and when they click on that picture icon, it is then put into a sentence and voiced through the iphone or ipad. I heard from parents that this app is very useful and most say that is changed their lives and the way their communicate with their children.After learning this, I know that I can easily incorporate this into my teaching. More and more children are being diagnosed with Autism and as a teacher, I need to be aware of these resources so that I can better teach my students and better my communication with them. Below is a prezi that I did on this topic( I"m still trying to figure out how to embed the prezi below so that you do not need to click on the link.)http://prezi.com/kk1c-mrqr3z2/assistive-technology/
Sites used to get this inofrmation:
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/articles?109
http://www.specialed.us/autism/assist/asst10.htm
http://socialtimes.com/iphoneipad-app-helps-autistic-children-communicate_b10778
I didn't look at it, but I think it is pretty neat that you created a Prezi to go along with your blog posting. Way to incorporate DUAL tech tools!
ReplyDeleteI have worked with autistic children in the past, and having resources like this would have made things much easier. Great job locating assistive tools for autism, there really isn't much out there.
ReplyDeleteI think it's neat that you were able to explain this having worked with these children, and really know that things things have worked! That's very cool. I'm also just amazed at how much an iphone or ipad can do for these communication disabilities! Pretty neat!
ReplyDeleteYour prezi was pretty neat! I like the firsthand knowledge you have of working with autistic kids, and the hope you see for them. It's good to know that the iPad can be more than just a toy if placed in the hands of the right individual.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading JJ's and your posts about assistive technology for autistic children I am fascinated with these ideas. I've heard of an app like the Grace App but never thought about using it for children with autism. Thanks for the info!
ReplyDeleteI like the Grace App. I remember experience it during freshman year, taking ASL class.
ReplyDeleteThe grace app sounds really interesting. I think I am going to download it just to see how it works. Isn't it amazing how technology can help people?
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