iPad Apps for Autistic and Nonverbal Children

 

 iPad Apps for Autistic and Nonverbal Preschool Children

IPads have revolutionized education.  They have so many uses. They can motivate, educate, reinforce,

Duck, Duck, Moose

review, teach, reward, test and even serve as a communication or writing tool.  I am sure I am missing many other uses, but the point is, they truly are amazing; they are small, portable, not embarrassingly bulky (maybe even cool to have) and customizable.  The above YouTube video is full of IPad applications that are useful for Preschool aged children who are regularly developing or need assistance.  I use them with my own children to reinforce their basic skills - they think they are just playing games.  To me, they are learning cause and effect (Duck, Duck Moose), generalization (Sound Touch), and writing (Little Sky Writers).

SonoFlex

The most important comment that the presenter makes is not to just give the tool to the student. We shouldn't use IPads to replace communication and social interaction, we should use it as a tool for additional support. As long as the child can learn to point and sweep, they can use the IPad as a tool.  The most amazing applications that were mentioned were Proloquo2Go, SonoFlex and Speak It since they allow nonverbal people the freedom to go out in the community and order food or interact - especially if they program their devices ahead of time. I haven't really thought about how a nonverbal child may respond if asked an everyday question from a well intentioned adult - Sono Flex allows the user to customize the page so that they can introduce themselves and answer basic questions - brilliant!

As the presenter mentioned, using these tools can be tricky in the classroom, since they are expensive and fragile, however, the benefits outweigh the risks.  There are covers that can protect the devices so that students can use them easily.