Lois Jean Brady: Apps for Autism: An Essential Guide to Over 200 Effective Apps for Improving Communication, Behavior, Social Skills, and More!

Excerpt

During the past decade, public autism awareness has increased and rapid changes in technology have occurred in the Western world. These developments have been facilitated by the scientific literature from Leo Kanner’s (1943) original description of early infantile autism to the more recent conceptualizations of autism spectrum disorders by cutting edge researchers such as Lorna Wing, Christopher Gilleberg and Fred R. Volkmar. The prevalence of autism is on the rise and at the same time the recent revision of the American Psychiatry Association’s diagnostic taxonomy (DSM-V) is heavily debated. Today tablet computers and smartphones represent an important part of our live, and shared experiences of the use of available technology in order to help individuals with ASDs should be most welcome. When talking about technology and ASDs we often focus on technology that could help us to diagnose individuals with ASD and to a lesser extent on their assistive implications. Since not all children with ASDs or other special needs embrace technology, it will be crucial to do some serious consideration and planning in advance. You will want the applications to strengthen the individual’s skills that are communication, social skills or just everyday life assistance. But to do just this, you have to use the application in a relevant situation matching the goal of the outcome. Giving a tablet computer to a child with ASD, and hope that it will find ways to use it by its own is wishful thinking at best. …