Sunday, February 16, 2014

Assistive technology for students with autism


Discover MyVoice in action

The disability I have chosen is autism. Autistic children are diagnosed by the age of three.  Autism is a Neurodevelopmental condition; children with autism are delayed in speech development and are less social than non-autistic children. Children often have difficulty learning and struggle with the limited language and are not able to communicate with their teachers. With the lack of communication they are prone to be more aggressive towards their peers and are considered a behavioral problem in most classroom settings.

One of the assistive technologies that are used for children with autistic is called “My Voice” my voice is a communication aid to help nonverbal and low cognitive children communicate their needs and desire with their caregivers. My voice is an app designed for iPad, iPhone and android. This device has pictures of real life people and items that describe what the child needs and it is combined with words and phrases that are tailored for the individual child.

Another one of the assistive technology devices that are available to children with autism is from the center of argumentative and alternative communication (AAC) this device allows the child to communicate. ACC has gestures, sign language, pictures symbols and speech generating device. Language acquisition through motor planning (LAMP) is a therapeutic approach for children with limited verbal ability; it gives them a way to express themselves in a classroom setting. This gives children with behavioral problems a way to get their words across. Visual representation is always a great way to help children with autism this allows the child to understand what’s happening next and where they’re going making the transition more smoothly. These visuals can be an object, photograph, realistic drawing, line drawing and hand written words.
These assistive technology have come a long way and are great way for a child and teacher to be less frustrated with each other. We are more and more ever then before working on improving all the different kinds of AT in our country. According to Light & Drager (2002) Assistive Technology has more potential to improve a child’s communication skills. In the near future the ACC technology is working on being redesigned to increase the appeal expand their function and reduce their language demands.
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