As described in my previous post, individuals with autism can be severely impacted by their inability to communicate. Carly's life-changing experience in which an IPad finally allowed her to communicate to her family, demonstrates how essential communication is to all people. Accordingly, the TASH Resolution, outlined in Assistive Technology in the Classroom (Dell, Newton, & Petroff, 2012), states that communication is a basic human right. Communication is, in fact, the way that all other human rights are achieved.
Prior to using the IPad, Carly's lack of communication combined with the overload to her senses from daily experiences caused her to have temper tantrums and other extreme behaviors. Because this link between inability to communicate and difficult behaviors has received focused attention for the last 25 years, students with autism are now taught communication skills. This training often includes augmentative communication systems like the IPad which proved to be so highly effective for Carly (Dell et al., 2012).
Research studies support the use for assistive communication devices for children with autism. A study in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry titled, Communication Interventions for Minimally Verbal Children With Autism, found that
minimally verbal school-aged children can significantly increase spoken language with intervention that incorporates a speech generating device.
Please see complete article: http://www.jaacap.com/article/S0890-8567(14)00163-4/fulltext
Similarly, Vanderbilt University researcher, Ann Kaiser, discusses how IPad's can be the key pathway for expression for students with autism in the article, IPads Help Late-Speaking Children with Autism Develop Language. In addition to using the IPad to communicate, younger autistic students who are exposed the IPad have been found to increase their verbal communication skills.
Please see complete article: https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2013/11/12/ipads-autism-language/
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