Tablets to Communicate with Autistic Children

After a communication breakdown between two boys, – one with autism – speech therapist Jordan Sadler recreated the incident in an iPad app called Puppet Pals in order to address the issue. Using the tablet, both children identified what happened and made better decision. Similarly, many others are utilizing the tablet to communicate with autistic children.

Four years after the debut of the iPad, app creators, educators, and parents are looking to find new ways of using the tablet in order to work with the 1/68 kids in America with autism. The iPad allows autistic kids to think visually and to “interact with content directly without the cognitive hurdle of a mouse,” (CNN). Siri is also able to help with articulation. According to an interviewee, “the tablet has also given (kids) more independence.

Tablets also allow much more control than a TV, as they can rewatch videos and have a more ‘intimate’ experience with their game. All in all, the future to communicating with autistic children may have tablets such as Android tablets or iPads in view.

To find out more, visit the CNN article here.