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>>Technology is all around us and can be helpful
for our children with autism.
It can assist them with communication, transitions
and organizing their day.
With so many options available it can be overwhelming
determining what will work best for your child.
Thankfully, you are not alone in this process.
There are several specialists that are available to assist you
in choosing and utilizing the appropriate device.
Many devices can be used on a trial basis to help you decide
if they may be useful.
The technology does not have to be expensive.
Beware of products that guarantee success
or that sound too good to be true.
>>When my son was diagnosed and became non verbal I had no idea
where to go for help and I didn't even know
that there were devices that dealt with assisting him
in communication with his peers and his parents.
And we were introduced
to a center called U-Cat [phonetic] is actually a lending
resource library where you can go and check
out different devices for 30 days at a time
so you can see what kind
of device will assist your child in the best manner.
So we actually checked out four or five different devices,
some you push, some are touch screen, some are pet oriented.
And so we tried several of those and now we've moved
on to a couple of touch screen devices as well
as like an iTouch that's very mobile,
we can go into the community with a little iTouch.
And it's been very helpful not only for our son
but it also opens up ways for the community to know
that they can interact with him and now they're not
so intimidated to try to start up a conversation
or make eye contact with him and, you know,
welcome him into the group.
>>We live in a wonderful time
with so many advances in technology.
Assistive technology can be helpful
for our children with autism.
The majority of children with autism are visual learners
who often think in pictures and more readily comprehend a lesson
if provided with visual cues.
Verbal instructions alone are usual not sufficient as the form
of communication for these children.
It is easier for a child with autism
to understand the teachers intended communications
by visual facial cues, hand gestures and body language.
However, one of the challenges faced by children
with autism is the common problem with making eye contact
and socializing which directly interferes with the ability
to optimize a visual learning style face to face with people.
One way to improve these children's lives is
to introduce tools called augmentative communication.
This assistive technology provides visual information
in a creative format to improve a child's ability
to complete activities of daily living both
in home and at school.
Depending on the situation,
various visual systems can be introduced to turn
up the volume on learning.
Since children with autism process visual information
easier then auditory information anytime we use assistive
technology devices with these children,
we're giving them the information
through their strongest processing area or their visual.
Therefore, various types of technology from low tech
to high tech should be incorporated into every aspect
of daily living in order
to improve the functional capabilities
of children with autism.
>>So some ways that's it's actually helped our son be able
to be more active in the community
like when we have plays at our church or when he goes
out into the community,
when someone says hello he can actually,
there's a button he can push that's a recorded voice
that says hello.
And it really allows him to be part of the community,
allows him to do plays, allows him to say prayers,
it allows him do all sorts of things that other children
that have a voice would be able to.