For example, many people with ASD are nonverbal, even if they can understand what’s being said to them and formulate responses in their brains. In the past, parents might have spent $8,000 or more on a dedicated single-purpose computer to help their kids communicate via symbols. With the tap of a picture, the machine would recite the word associated with it; tap several in a row, and it would string the words together to form rudimentary sentences. Now kids with ASD can get many of the same capabilities by installing AssistiveWare’s $220 Proloquo2Go app.
Rob says carrying an iPad removed the stigma of carrying around a clunky device that screamed, “I am different from everyone else.”
“The iPad made it kind of cool,” he says. “He’s not the weird kid with the electronic box on his desk; he’s just another kid with an iPad.”
Communication is just one challenge for kids with ASD that can be addressed via apps. Another is learning how to engage socially, says Shira Lee Katz, senior director of education content for Common Sense Media. An app like The Social Express Home can help kids understand social norms and how to respond appropriately to others, Katz says, while Calm Counter can teach them how to cool down when they get frustrated and angry.
How Technology Has Changed the Face of Autism
Rob says carrying an iPad removed the stigma of carrying around a clunky device that screamed, “I am different from everyone else.”
“The iPad made it kind of cool,” he says. “He’s not the weird kid with the electronic box on his desk; he’s just another kid with an iPad.”
Communication is just one challenge for kids with ASD that can be addressed via apps. Another is learning how to engage socially, says Shira Lee Katz, senior director of education content for Common Sense Media. An app like The Social Express Home can help kids understand social norms and how to respond appropriately to others, Katz says, while Calm Counter can teach them how to cool down when they get frustrated and angry.
How Technology Has Changed the Face of Autism
