Focus your attention to the world around you. Your interpretations rely on your ability to relate to the outside world, express yourself as an individual with communication and gestures, and create lasting relationships through social interactions. However, these are foreign concepts to over two million individuals in the United States alone diagnosed with the third most common developmental disability. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurological developmental disorder with symptoms showing within the first three years of life. The disorder is five times more likely in boys than in girls, but it knows no social, ethnic, or racial boundaries. First described in 1943 by psychiatrist Leo Kanner, individuals living with Autism suffer
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Early diagnosis and intervention is key to prevent isolation, the result of the inability to display and understand communication and social interactions. However, in this modern era of advances beyond comprehension, an individual with Autism is no longer sentenced to a life of frustration and isolation succumbed by their symptoms. With the benefit of early diagnosis, technological advances have further improved the lives of individuals living with Autism by aiding their communication, social interactions, and motor skills. According to the United States Assistive Technology Act of 1998, assistive technology (AT) is any "product, device, or equipment whether acquired commercially, modified or customized, that is used to maintain, increase, or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities." Assistive technologies for individuals with Autism include PECS, computer based software, and iPad or Android applications. With combined efforts, these technologies have the capability of greatly improving the lives of individuals living with …show more content…
With the highly effective Picture Exchange Communication System incorporated into apps such as PECS IV+ and PECS Phase III, individuals who are comfortable using PECS are able to use them on electronic devices that are much more accessible and portable. Other apps and computer programs have also benefitted the communication of individuals with Autism. Websites and computer programs that have benefited those with Autism, especially with their communication skills, include SNapps4kids.com, a4cwsn.com, and iAutism.info. Technology such as apps has eminently benefited communication skills of people with Autism; app developers such as Injini, Toca Boca, Duck Duck Moose and Oceanhouse Media have been acknowledged to develop apps that greatly benefit many individuals diagnosed with the disorder. Many professionals working with students who have Autism have agreed with the benefits of the technology for communication and social interaction skills. When asked about the incorporation of technology such as iPad apps to help students with Autism learn and communicate, Mrs. Steinbeck, the special education teacher at Voorhees Middle School, answered, “The iPad are great for a more portable and compact mode of communication. Some of the programs utilized in the classroom are Touch Chat, Proloquo2Go, Sonoflex
Early diagnosis and intervention is key to prevent isolation, the result of the inability to display and understand communication and social interactions. However, in this modern era of advances beyond comprehension, an individual with Autism is no longer sentenced to a life of frustration and isolation succumbed by their symptoms. With the benefit of early diagnosis, technological advances have further improved the lives of individuals living with Autism by aiding their communication, social interactions, and motor skills. According to the United States Assistive Technology Act of 1998, assistive technology (AT) is any "product, device, or equipment whether acquired commercially, modified or customized, that is used to maintain, increase, or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities." Assistive technologies for individuals with Autism include PECS, computer based software, and iPad or Android applications. With combined efforts, these technologies have the capability of greatly improving the lives of individuals living with …show more content…
With the highly effective Picture Exchange Communication System incorporated into apps such as PECS IV+ and PECS Phase III, individuals who are comfortable using PECS are able to use them on electronic devices that are much more accessible and portable. Other apps and computer programs have also benefitted the communication of individuals with Autism. Websites and computer programs that have benefited those with Autism, especially with their communication skills, include SNapps4kids.com, a4cwsn.com, and iAutism.info. Technology such as apps has eminently benefited communication skills of people with Autism; app developers such as Injini, Toca Boca, Duck Duck Moose and Oceanhouse Media have been acknowledged to develop apps that greatly benefit many individuals diagnosed with the disorder. Many professionals working with students who have Autism have agreed with the benefits of the technology for communication and social interaction skills. When asked about the incorporation of technology such as iPad apps to help students with Autism learn and communicate, Mrs. Steinbeck, the special education teacher at Voorhees Middle School, answered, “The iPad are great for a more portable and compact mode of communication. Some of the programs utilized in the classroom are Touch Chat, Proloquo2Go, Sonoflex