Autism Apps: New Tablet-Sized Teachers
Thirteen-year-old Alec Marvin sits with an iPad in a classroom, his teacher Sandra Doherty sitting next to him. She holds up a laminated photo of a $ 50 bill and asks Alec to identify it. Alec looks at his iPad, touches a plaque titled “money identification” and then presses “$ 50”. “Fifty”, the device blurs.
Alec is among a growing number of children in the US with autism spectrum disorder. These children are increasingly using what are known as autism education apps on electronic devices such as the iPad and smartphone. And among all the autism apps that are used, “What’s the Expression” and “Make Sentences” are the two most used.
Just a few years ago, Alec would have used a bulky assistive communication device, which cost between $ 7,000 and $ 9,500. That is, if these devices used some form of communication. Autistic children and children with special needs have long used so-called assistive technology devices. These include audio books for the visually impaired and special transmitters for the hearing impaired. Autism education apps are more geared towards blended learning. The “What’s the Expression” and “Make Sentences” apps combine the benefits of technology with more traditional instructional methods. It is less irritating to autistic children than to their conventional education peers.
There are many different autism apps that can help a child. These applications, what is more interesting, are all customizable. This means that these apps can be customized to suit each individual child. All over the world, autism education apps are helping children because it tends to be much easier to read.
Some experts have warned against the indiscriminate use of apps for autism. This is because research on the effectiveness of educational technology for autistic children is still scant.
But educators, therapists, counselors, and teachers who use autism apps attest that children with special needs respond particularly well to educational apps because the programs respond predictably and consistently. Unlike previous technologies, smartphones and tablets are much more portable and indistinguishable from the devices used by neurotypical students.
Developer teams are continually trying to create new apps that can better help children with autism. Apps like “What’s the Expression” and “Make Sentences” have really shown the way. Researchers are now trying to introduce intelligent robots that will further help autistic children in their education. Hopes are already high, confident in the success of the “What’s the Expression” and “Make Sentences” apps.
