iPad, Accessibility and Autism
In April of 2010, on her second birthday, our daughter Kyra was diagnosed with Autism. She was, and still is non-verbal. In the first year of her diagnosis Kyra began a rigorous routine of therapy that ranged from 15 to 25 hours per week.
In 2011, both of Kyra's grandmothers each purchased an iPad for their own personal use. However, my wife and I, in an attempt to seek out any and all possible treatments, discovered several stories and articles citing how the iPad help individuals with autism communicate.
While on vacation my in-laws downloaded some educational apps for Kyra to try. It took about five minutes and she was hooked! The intuitiveness of the iPad made it easy for my then, three year old daughter, to navigate through the iPad's visual display menu and interact with her favorite games.
The grandparents decided they would partner up and buy Kyra her own iPad and the app Proloquo2Go, a fully featured augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) program, giving Kyra her first opportunity to communicate. She has been using this program for over a year and we have seen amazing strides in both her communication and social interaction. She gets so excited when we understand what she's telling us. Since the fall of 2014, Kyra has been using the LAMP Words for Life app, which was recommended by her speech therapist. She now has this app on both her iPad and her designated communication device. We have witnessed an increase in her communication both visually and verbally in the 7-8 months since she began to use this app. It is very exciting for all of us!
We are seeing other areas of improvement as a result of Kyra's iPad. The app Letter Quiz has shown her how to draw letters and match upper to lower case letters. Monkey Preschool Lunchbox, helps Kyra to match objects, count, solve puzzles and identify colors. Even the popular game Angry Birds has helped with Kyra's eye tracking and fine motor skills.
The iPad is serving as a central hub of information about Kyra. We can use the video camera to record therapy sessions for later review, take notes from doctors appointments, and organize her ever changing schedule.
While we have a long way to go, the iPad has provided Kyra with the means to develop skills that just a few years ago may have seemed impossible. We continue to educate ourselves on how the iPad can be effectively used in Kyra's growth and development.
It truly is a wonderful piece of educational technology!
In 2011, both of Kyra's grandmothers each purchased an iPad for their own personal use. However, my wife and I, in an attempt to seek out any and all possible treatments, discovered several stories and articles citing how the iPad help individuals with autism communicate.
While on vacation my in-laws downloaded some educational apps for Kyra to try. It took about five minutes and she was hooked! The intuitiveness of the iPad made it easy for my then, three year old daughter, to navigate through the iPad's visual display menu and interact with her favorite games.
The grandparents decided they would partner up and buy Kyra her own iPad and the app Proloquo2Go, a fully featured augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) program, giving Kyra her first opportunity to communicate. She has been using this program for over a year and we have seen amazing strides in both her communication and social interaction. She gets so excited when we understand what she's telling us. Since the fall of 2014, Kyra has been using the LAMP Words for Life app, which was recommended by her speech therapist. She now has this app on both her iPad and her designated communication device. We have witnessed an increase in her communication both visually and verbally in the 7-8 months since she began to use this app. It is very exciting for all of us!
We are seeing other areas of improvement as a result of Kyra's iPad. The app Letter Quiz has shown her how to draw letters and match upper to lower case letters. Monkey Preschool Lunchbox, helps Kyra to match objects, count, solve puzzles and identify colors. Even the popular game Angry Birds has helped with Kyra's eye tracking and fine motor skills.
The iPad is serving as a central hub of information about Kyra. We can use the video camera to record therapy sessions for later review, take notes from doctors appointments, and organize her ever changing schedule.
While we have a long way to go, the iPad has provided Kyra with the means to develop skills that just a few years ago may have seemed impossible. We continue to educate ourselves on how the iPad can be effectively used in Kyra's growth and development.
It truly is a wonderful piece of educational technology!