A working idea for an app that could make inclusivity in schools for autistic children more worthwhile

[girl_clear_intentions]

Hey guys, what do you think of an application like this:
In order to foster a continuous learning experience and hopefully help autistic students with certain difficulties, An app that will teachers will upload tasks, mark tasks as complete after submission from the students, and then grant rewards to the students. They can also upload and view the child’s Individual Educational plan or program document, so as to ensure they also stay in line with the child's IEP objectives. The student will view the task created for them, mark them as done, which will be displayed on the teacher’s end, upload a proof of task done if prompted by the teacher, create avatars, and claim rewards to upgrade their avatars.
Apologies for any form of insensitivity or ignorance, i'm still yet to know much about ASD

 

[Crossbreed]

I don't see it (with my ASD2 & 3 kids, when they were in school). But it might work for other kids with different expressions of ASD2/3. There are some kids (like Temple Grandin) who do improve with intervention, but they are few and far between.

Behaviorally, my currently 28yo daughter [ASD3] never matured past a 1.5yo development. If your app will work for a 1.5yo NT, it might work for her. (Sometimes, she does not even turn to her name being called.) But successful 1.5 year-olds become 1.6 year-olds and so on...

My currently 35yo son [ASD2] has a mental age of a 6-10yo NT, but with even less executive function. The latter affects his ability to plan and his grasp of cause & effect. Adding a poor Theory of Mind, it gives him a bit of tunnel vision.

Have you been in a classroom with such students?
What does success look like for a person who has prematurely stopped developing??

Apologies for any form of insensitivity or ignorance, i'm still yet to know much about ASD

I trust your intentions, but most 2s & 3s (mine and those I have met) are as diversified & unpredictable as TBIs. I am skeptical that their therapy can be encapsulated into an app (on a device for which they have no interest) or any other a priori formula.

It is like untying knots where every mass of knots is unique. Knowing about "knots" is a worthwhile skill set, but the sequence of untying them will vary from person to person.

 

[Knower of nothing]

What killed school for me was that it was an endurance gauntlet where I was routinely mocked for being myself and made to be in counter-productive exhausting environments. Doing homework and studying for tests was itself fine. I just had to juggle that with attempting to recover from the school hours.
From that biased view point, I feel that the best way to help autistic children is soften the environment so it doesn't feel like having bright lights pointed at your face for 8 hours.

 

[Rodafina]

@girl_clear_intentions

One of the problems for autistic children in the classroom is that they have unique needs that some of the other students may not have. A really huge challenge for teachers (in the United States at least) is an inability to meet the unique needs of each student in a large classroom of children. I am not blaming the teachers here, just noting that it is impossible for one person to meet the diverse needs of an entire group of students including those wildly varied challenges of autistic children in the classroom.

This app sounds like it would be one more computer based clerical task that takes away the teachers’ time from actually being with the children in a more organic and personal way.

With an app like this, one must always consider the time and resources it takes to train teachers how to use it effectively. The students and their parents would also have to learn how to effectively use the app. Already bombarded with so many things just to get through the school day, I’m struggling to see how this could really benefit autistic children in the classroom as a whole.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

I don't see it (with my ASD2 & 3 kids, when they were in school). But it might work for other kids with different expressions of ASD2/3. There are some kids (like Temple Grandin) who do improve with intervention, but they are few and far between.

Behaviorally, my currently 28yo daughter [ASD3] never matured past a 1.5yo development. If your app will work for a 1.5yo NT, it might work for her. (Sometimes, she does not even turn to her name being called.) But successful 1.5 year-olds become 1.6 year-olds and so on...

My currently 35yo son [ASD2] has a mental age of a 6-10yo NT, but with even less executive function. The latter affects his ability to plan and his grasp of cause & effect. Adding a poor Theory of Mind, it gives him a bit of tunnel vision.

Have you been in a classroom with such students?
What does success look like for a person who has prematurely stopped developing??

I trust your intentions, but most 2s & 3s (mine and those I have met) are as diversified & unpredictable as TBIs. I am skeptical that their therapy can be encapsulated into an app (on a device for which they have no interest) or any other a priori formula.

It is like untying knots where every mass of knots is unique. Knowing about "knots" is a worthwhile skill set, but the sequence of untying them will vary from person to person.

Crossbreed, you have explained so clearly the problems facing ASD2/3. So often, in our forums where nearly all are ASD1, we forget the 2/3s.

And the supports put in place, at least in my state, are all contingent on showing ongoing progress. You have pointed out so clearly that for some, there is no progressing.

And then, we forget, that for us too, at least in some areas, there is no progressing. And we need to be gentle with each other, respecting our limitations.

Thank you.

 

[Crossbreed]

I am skeptical that their therapy can be encapsulated into an app (on a device for which they have no interest) or any other a priori formula.

(FYI, I am a retired programmer/systems analyst. I appreciate that IT can be helpful in more straightforward pursuits.)

 

[tazz]

soften the environment so it doesn't feel like having bright lights pointed at your face for 8 hours

That'd be nice...