ipads a great help for chidlren with autism

[sesley]

http://hothardware.com/News/Could-The-iPad-Be-A-Cure-For-Autism/

 

they are saying it helps them to cope because of its technology. its proberbly a sales ploy,but for some tehy ae saying it can be of a great benefit. mine destresses with the tv or DS lite or the pc sometimes.

[KezT]

http://hothardware.com/News/Could-The-iPad-Be-A-Cure-For-Autism/

 

they are saying it helps them to cope because of its technology. its proberbly a sales ploy,but for some tehy ae saying it can be of a great benefit. mine destresses with the tv or DS lite or the pc sometimes.

 

There are much better and cheaper tablets out there But yes, a tablet/pad/laptop can help a great deal with many of our kids. I'm intending to have access to a personal laptop written into DSs Statement (he already has one at his primary schol)

[sesley]

I came across this in twitter because its heading is asking if this is a cure and i get annoyed when they are constantly putting up autism with that heading. However the thought is using technology to help support your child in partiuclar through his/her autism.Mine does get into a state and after time out in his room he uses the media technology to calm himself. His is the ds lite which is touchpad anyway. I suppose they are suggesting the keyboard and mouse in compters can be a challenge for some.

[baddad]

What a load of tosh! Who exactly are these 'experts' saying an I pad can cure autism? If they bring their I pads round my house (the 'experts', I mean) I'll show them how an i-pad down the throat can cure stupid comments (I can think of a few other places i might be tempted to shove 'em too)

So the i-pad can mean a reduction in meltdowns, can it? I suspect in the same way that an X-Box or Wii or PS3 or PSP or DS or Laptop or simple PC can - i.e. by given them something to focus on. I suspect also that the words 'it's time to come off the I-pad now' are equally powerful in instigating meltdowns; but if you plug 'em in at breakfast and only pull the plug at bedtime then it may, initially, seem like you've got a good trade-off. And when they can't get to sleep because they're too high on all that I-pad fun you can just slip 'em a couple of gobfuls of melatonin without ever making the obvious connection between Antecedent and Behaviour, or having to follow through on the Consequence of that traditional ABC scenario

It can help them 'cope' with sensory overload? By overloading them with alternative sensory input? To all intents and purposes it's the same as standing a child who gets irritated by bird noise next to a man with a road drill - you've not solved the bird issue, you've just put it into a different context. That the child might like the noise the road drill makes is something of a moot point; the long term problem is going to be a dependance on road drills that is even more limiting/damaging than the reaction to chirping. [The same applies, by the way, to noise cancelling headphones etc - they don't break down any barriers, only create new ones.]

Can an i pad be useful to a child with autism? Absolutely! and so can all those other gadgets I've mentioned above. And so can a walk in the park or a trip to the seaside, or a trip to the supermarket (heaven forbid!) or learning how to queue at Disneyland or to sit quietly on a bus or how to ride a bike or how to... The biggest difference is the latter things in those lists provide skills for life where the former, unless very carefully managed, are likely to provide skills for avoiding life. That might be what 'mother Laurie Holmquist' wants for her little boy, but it ain't what I would want for mine. I think parents who try to cure 'meltdowns' by giving their kids sweets are probably mistaking temporary peace and quiet for solutions, and will pay a much greater price further down the line. I think parents who achieve the same end, but spend £500 quid on an i-pad rather than 25p on a milky way fall into the category of idiots, and if they've got nothing better to spend their child's DLA on they should give the money back!

 

L&P

 

BD

[Kathryn]

Agree with the above BD. Gadgets are useful but there are cheaper options - would a child capable of using an Ipad really be fazed by a keyboard and mouse? What's wrong with just using the family computer to do the same activities? At least the child will learn the valuable skill of having to get off it occasionally - if only so that others can have a go!

 

To be fair to the Holmquist family - there's nothing in the article to suggest that they are using the Ipad as a substitute for good solid parenting skills. I don't think it's fair to criticise them based on the scant information given. And as for the cost - maybe they won the lottery or went without their annual skiing hliday or something. Or maybe they're just better off than the rest of us and £500 is mere small change to them.

 

Neither are they - or any expert saying it's a cure for autism, presumably it was an editor who thought up the attention grabbing title.

 

Apple will be rubbing their hands with glee!

[Lynden]

Actually, my son can use my husbands ipad, but can't use a keyboard and mouse. He doesn't have the fine motor skills to use a mouse, nor the strength in his fingers to use a touch screen monitor/white board at school for example, but can use the touch screen on the ipad no problems because it's so sensitive. One of his current OT targets is to improve the strength in his hands. (L has hypotonia and hypermobile joints as well as autism).

 

I have read good things about some of the voice software you can get for the ipad though to aid non verbal children and although it's expensive, it is an awful lot cheaper than things like a dynavox.

 

As a cure though? I hardly think so

 

Lynne

Edited March 13, 2011 by Lynden

[baddad]

To be fair to the Holmquist family - there's nothing in the article to suggest that they are using the Ipad as a substitute for good solid parenting skills. I don't think it's fair to criticise them based on the scant information given. And as for the cost - maybe they won the lottery or went without their annual skiing hliday or something. Or maybe they're just better off than the rest of us and £500 is mere small change to them.

 

Neither are they - or any expert saying it's a cure for autism, presumably it was an editor who thought up the attention grabbing title.

 

Apple will be rubbing their hands with glee!

 

No, fair point... I just always assume that when people allow their names to be used in these kinds of articles they know the angle that's being presented, which is not necessarily the case. I just really get annoyed by terminology like 'violent meltdowns' being applied to three year old kids having tantrums (and lets face it, at three tantrums is what they is, unless someone's choosing different labels because they suit them)... And, no, the I-Pad wasn't necessarily paid for with DLA, though that observation was more of a 'general' one than specific to this family, iyswim.

I don't think apple need a few sales to autistic people, though, before 'rubbing their hands with glee'. Most of their marketing is based on snobbery, elitism and 'emperor's new clothedness', and peeps in their millions have already fallen for it and remain deliriously happy to fall for it again (and again and again). People with more money than sense will always be willing to spend it on old rope if they think the old rope implies something 'special' about them, and that's the market that Apple has always targeted.

Lynden, you sort of make my point: you've just said the I-pod has been a disincentive for your child to develop the fine motor skills associated with mouse control. Chances are at some point he'll be given a list of tasks by an OT or physio that exactly replicate the kinds of movements he could be practising/developing via learning to use a mouse. Assuming there's no other medical condition (cerebral palsy or something like that) impacting on his muscle development, and considering his OT targets, the same would apply to the touch screen of the I-pad: he's not going to develop a stronger touch pressure if you've removed the incentive/need for him to do so. Of course, I'm sure now if you took the I-Pad away and tried to go back to the laptop/PC/whatever he'd be very reluctant to do so - possibly even reacting with 'violent meltdowns'...

 

L&P

 

BD

Edited March 13, 2011 by baddad

[Lynden]

Lynden, you sort of make my point: you've just said the I-pod has been a disincentive for your child to develop the fine motor skills associated with mouse control. Chances are at some point he'll be given a list of tasks by an OT or physio that exactly replicate the kinds of movements he could be practising/developing via learning to use a mouse. Assuming there's no other medical condition (cerebral palsy or something like that) impacting on his muscle development, and considering his OT targets, the same would apply to the touch screen of the I-pad: he's not going to develop a stronger touch pressure if you've removed the incentive/need for him to do so. Of course, I'm sure now if you took the I-Pad away and tried to go back to the laptop/PC/whatever he'd be very reluctant to do so - possibly even reacting with 'violent meltdowns'...

 

L&P

 

BD

 

Not so BD - at no point did I say that we had stopped encouraging him to use a mouse/computer- that's an assumption on your part. L has weekly OT sessions and daily exercises which we do at home to encourage his fine motor skills and strength, more so that we can enable him to use cutlery properly for example, but due to the extent of his hypermobility/hypotonia there are some actions which he may never manage to do no matter how many exercises we give him.

 

Kathryn said that would a child capable of using an ipad be phased by using a keyboard and mouse and I just used L to illustrate that yes, sometimes there are issues.

 

He doesn't have his own ipad btw, he does have an ipod touch which he loves, but he also knows the situations where he is not allowed to use it and if he does have a violent meltdown, which at age 7.5 he definitely has and I have the scars to prove it, then so be it - he doesn't get what he wants by stropping. We don't use it to avoid parenting L - it's a 'toy', just like any other.

 

Lynne

Edited March 13, 2011 by Lynden

[Kathryn]

Most of their marketing is based on snobbery, elitism and 'emperor's new clothedness', and peeps in their millions have already fallen for it and remain deliriously happy to fall for it again (and again and again). People with more money than sense will always be willing to spend it on old rope if they think the old rope implies something 'special' about them, and that's the market that Apple has always targeted.

 

Yup, so true. I was given an Ipod touch for Christmas and I'm deliriously happy. It has been with me constantly for the last 3 months and makes the train journey to work so much more enjoyable. ( ITunes is a rip - off though. )

 

Lynne - I take your point, I was thinking more about ASD and not about particular problems with motor skills where I suppose a touch screen would be an asset for some children as there's an instant and gratifying response to small movements.

 

K x

[dm2010]

IPad is easier to use than a keyboard and mouse. Good AS tools.

It is also the best of the tablet computers, as IPhone is the best of the smartphones.

 

And yes, they are a snobbish bunch who charge too much.

But they do make the best stuff so they can.

[baddad]

Not so BD - at no point did I say that we had stopped encouraging him to use a mouse/computer- that's an assumption on your part. L has weekly OT sessions and daily exercises which we do at home to encourage his fine motor skills and strength, more so that we can enable him to use cutlery properly for example, but due to the extent of his hypermobility/hypotonia there are some actions which he may never manage to do no matter how many exercises we give him.

 

Kathryn said that would a child capable of using an ipad be phased by using a keyboard and mouse and I just used L to illustrate that yes, sometimes there are issues.

 

He doesn't have his own ipad btw, he does have an ipod touch which he loves, but he also knows the situations where he is not allowed to use it and if he does have a violent meltdown, which at age 7.5 he definitely has and I have the scars to prove it, then so be it - he doesn't get what he wants by stropping. We don't use it to avoid parenting L - it's a 'toy', just like any other.

 

Lynne

 

No, I didn't assume you had stopped encouraging, I said that the I-pod was a disincentive, which you seem to be confirming. I don't know enough about hypermobility/hypotonia to know whether using a mouse would fall into the category of 'actions which he may never manage to do no matter how many exercises we give him', but if you remove the incentive/need to do so it is far more likely that it will be something he doesn't achieve regardless. My son hasn't got those conditions, just dyspraxia, but I can state categorically that he was proficient with a mouse long before he was proficient with a knife and fork. He was playing reader Rabbits 'baby basket bingo' at around two, and IMO it was a stepping stone to knives and forks/pens and pencils etc. I also wasn't saying that you use it to avoid parenting or anything even close to that. I was just reiterating what I said earlier, that a 'toy' of this nature could be the cause of a meltdown just as much as being the solution, and that if used as an inappropriate reward solution it would actually make the situation worse.

 

Kathryn - glad you like your I-pod touch. It is a nice piece of kit (though I'm told it's more than a pain in the bum to update an album collection, which should be pretty basic stuff really) from what I've seen. As for whether it's the 'best' DM2010, I think that's rather subjective... I do know that, just like the mac and everything else Apple, it's marketing has always been about what people think they acquire by handing their money over more than what they actually acquire. It's like the difference between a pair of designer jeans and a pair of high street jeans - take the label away, and the reality is child labour in a sweat shop for a bowl of rice and a 500% mark-up and child labour in a sweat shop for a bowl of rice and a 5000% mark up...

All of which, however, is a bit from the OP, which is more about whether the I pad is a cure for autism. Which it isn't. It's just a (quite nice) overpriced toy.

 

L&P

 

BD

[Lynden]

No, I didn't assume you had stopped encouraging, I said that the I-pod was a disincentive, which you seem to be confirming. I don't know enough about hypermobility/hypotonia to know whether using a mouse would fall into the category of 'actions which he may never manage to do no matter how many exercises we give him', but if you remove the incentive/need to do so it is far more likely that it will be something he doesn't achieve regardless. My son hasn't got those conditions, just dyspraxia, but I can state categorically that he was proficient with a mouse long before he was proficient with a knife and fork. He was playing reader Rabbits 'baby basket bingo' at around two, and IMO it was a stepping stone to knives and forks/pens and pencils etc. I also wasn't saying that you use it to avoid parenting or anything even close to that. I was just reiterating what I said earlier, that a 'toy' of this nature could be the cause of a meltdown just as much as being the solution, and that if used as an inappropriate reward solution it would actually make the situation worse.

 

 

We'll have agree to disagree - I don't see it as a disincentive - at least in our case. It could be if it was used to the exclusion of all else but it's not. If we know we need to wait somewhere for extended periods for example, my daughter might read a book, or bring some colouring pencils/notepad, or we might play I spy. L can't do any of these things yet, so he'll listen to music or talking books on his ipod. Actually, the fact that he could use it was a huge achievement for him.

 

In terms of removing the need/want - L still wants to do these things. He would love to be able to use the mouse to play games with his sister. Similarly wii or xbox controllers. He can't. Doesn't mean he doesn't try, he often does, although severe learning difficulties mean we probably have more meltdowns when he tries as he doesn't always understand that the controllers affect what happens on the screen. Physically, he literally doesn't have the strength in his hands - he can mostly coordinate a fork and spoon but he doesn't have the strength to stab the food. He can make marks on paper with a pencil but is nowhere near writing. He offers his 'thumbs up' as a fist, because he can't hold his thumb up. It would make his life, and consequently our lives, an awful lot easier if he had the ability to do these things so we work on it constantly - unfortunately, we're not quite there yet.

 

I agree that if it was used inappropriately as a reward it could lead to meltdowns, as with anything used as an inappropriate reward.

 

Lynne

Edited March 14, 2011 by Lynden

[baddad]

Lynden - absolutely! That's the point I was making, about it being a disincentive if used to the exclusion of all else; as an 'instead of' rather than as an 'along side'. Looking again at my post, I can see how the 'if you's' and 'he's' might have made it seem like I was talking about your son specifically rather than generalising (for whatever deep-rooted psychological reason I shudder at the word 'one', as in 'one does' or 'if one', even when grammatically appropriate! )...

 

Again, my son didn't struggle physically with the technology, but did use (i.e.) a walkman and then his DS in exactly the ways you describe when waiting for things or in supermarkets etc. That's the point I was making in my first post, that in general terms the claims being made for the I-pad could apply to any piece of technology, and that it (or the other technologies) have the potential to create as many 'meltdown' type situations as calm them.

 

It makes absolute sense, too, if a child can't physically use one particular piece of technology (for whatever reason) to get a piece of 'kit' they can use. Coming back to the Reader Rabbit software my son had, before he could use the buttons on the mouse properly it had a 'magnetic mouse' setting that picked up an (i.e.) puzzle piece you hovered over, and 'grabbed' it when you hovered over the place it was meant to fit. Using the right click to pick up/put down was a skill for him to work toward after he'd mastered the other stuff, like matching and sorting, numbers etc. If he'd had the potential to learn/manage to right click and I'd never switched the 'magnets' off I would have been disabling him, and if he hadn't had the potential to learn/manage to right click it would have been disabling to insist in turning it off!

 

So, perfectly happy to agree to differ, but think in general terms we're actually in agreement: Appropriately used, all sorts of new technology can help (but not cure) autistic people, but used inappropriately it all has the potential to do more harm than good.

 

Hope that clarifies.

 

L&P

 

BD

[Mumble]

Appropriately used, all sorts of new technology can help (but not cure) autistic people

I'm happy to be a test subject and explore whether the ipad can cure autism if someone's willing to give me one for free. Come to that, I hear that the DS 3D and a never-ending supply of chocolate are also good for autistics.

[Lynden]

Hope that clarifies.

 

L&P

 

BD

 

It does BD - thanks. I probably did take it more personally than it was intended and I think you are right - we do agree on the basic principles of it

 

Lynne

[baddad]

I'm happy to be a test subject and explore whether the ipad can cure autism if someone's willing to give me one for free. Come to that, I hear that the DS 3D and a never-ending supply of chocolate are also good for autistics.

 

According to some, so's a good slap!

[Mumble]

According to some, so's a good slap!

That's why I choose my research studies with care.

[Kathryn]

I'm happy to be a test subject and explore whether the ipad can cure autism if someone's willing to give me one for free.

 

And I'll volunteer to be the non- ASD control.

 

K x