“What would we do without technology?”
The big question, right? Today it is really hard to imagine us without all the wonderful tools we have currently to communicate each other. Technology has become everything in our lives. It has changed people’s communications, where distances don’t exist anymore. Only bridges between people on different sides of the globe. Actually, we cannot do anything without technology, we need it in our daily life. It makes our lives comfortable. Also, technology is considered a great ally, especially for who are not able to express themselves easily like people diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
Autism is a “range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication”. The incapacity to communicate effectively has a significant impact on the quality life, educational access and even the development of social skills. It is a challenge to get over it and move forward on the frustration that causes pain in parents. Maybe, the future worries parents who think constantly about their kids’ lives when they become adults.
Technology makes better the ability to learn. Children or individuals with autism can improve the quality of everyday life. Devices as a tablet are useful because they are flexible and portable. It seems like has made the difference between behavior and development of social skills. The touchscreen has been the most successful thing because it is so accessible. It helped people to get able to drawn and improve the communication skills.
Most people with ASD are more comfortable interacting with objects such as a computer, iPad or another device. Some individuals have very strong technological skills.
It can be heartbreaking for parents dealing with their own kid and not be able to establish a regular conversation. Because they don’t keep a conversation eyes-to-eyes. So, many parents have found out the benefits of the technology and the improvement on their kids.
Through apps, kids manage symbols, tools, and stories; all in one device for a communication system. Compared with all the paper guides that parents have to carry to be able to talk with the kids, this is a great advantage. Also, there are picture communications apps where the kid can be creative, imaginative and able to communicate and be social. This is a chance to build a relationship.
There are some apps according of what you need. Some apps can help to develop kid’s interaction so the individual will be able to communicate and challenge verbal skills.
First of all, a tablet was only a device for games and entertainment, but later became a special tool for education and communication to develop personal skills. Also some features like keyboard, touchscreen or speech-to-text app can reduce the difficulty and frustration, instead of increasing the happiness of learning.
So many apps are working for individuals living with autism and children with special needs. Technology allows for adaptability and motivation. The purpose is to provide a digital voice for who don’t have voice. It means on selecting symbols that represent words, together are sentences.
It is recommendable use those tools to get improvement on people with ASD. So, teaching academics areas, social skills, video modeling, speech therapy, motor skills and others to increase independence.
Since much of the technology today is driven by visual and actions, from swiping to tapping, this still is a great idea for individuals with ASD. Most people with ASD, especially kids are very visual. Therefore technology has worked well for them and helped take learning to another level of development.
Individuals with autism are very intelligent. If you help them, they will develop abilities and skills to next level. In conclusion, let’s take technology as a great advantage to improve the quality of life of people with autism.
