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Swiss Army Knives of Tech: How Mobile Technology Groups Benefit People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
As time progresses, so does technology. Whether it’s opening a door or setting an alarm as a reminder, technology has become more available and accessible, especially to individuals with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (I/DD). Technological advances have created an opportunity...
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Improving Communications with Children with Autism and Special Needs Using Augmentative and Alternative Communication Strategies
As a paediatrician, we are taught that the developmental progress of a three to four-year-old child should include well over 500 words and that a child should be able to describe things and situations in a meaningful way. This milestone is one that all parents strive for as it is an important part...
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Computer Science Inclusion Program Gives Marketable Skills for Adulthood
Businesses are anxious for computer science professionals. However, colleges currently do not graduate enough students knowledgeable in cutting-edge STEM (i.e., science, technology, engineering and mathematics) skills (United States Equal Opportunity Commission, 2014). Computer science inclusion...
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Literacy Supports for Learners with Autism
In her article How People with Autism Think, Temple Grandin (1995), a high-functioning person with autism, describes her visual method of thinking. Grandin retrieves words through visualizations and movies within her mind. This type of thinking takes time to process, often making abstract thoughts...
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Should All Nonverbal Young Children with Autism Immediately Have AAC Taught to Them?
Lack of speech is often the most obvious symptom of an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and greatest cause of concern for parents of young children. For many families of children with ASD, having their child learn to talk is their primary goal. Children with ASD who learn to use spoken language as a...
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The Use of Self-Monitoring Interventions to Support Inclusion for Adolescents Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder
There are numerous benefits to inclusion in school settings for students diagnosed with autism (Harrower and Dunlap, 2001). However, there are also many challenges related to inclusion for many of those students and for the educators and the support staff in those settings. Problematic behavior...
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The Use of Technology as an Evidence-Based Practice
Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are characterized by difficulties in social communication and the presence of repetitive behaviors and restricted interests (American Psychological Association, 2013). In addition, individuals with ASD often exhibit challenging behaviors, such as...
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Technology Makes Things Possible
For people without disabilities, technology can make things easier, but for people with cognitive disabilities, technology makes things possible. “At some point, Max’s communication by text seemed so different from the past that I called my wife and asked her, ‘Are you coaching Max when he...
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Facilitating Plugged In: Helping Teens with ASD Navigate Life with Technology
Technology use is ubiquitous among today’s youth (Rideout, Foehr, & Roberts, 2010). This probably does not come as a surprise because it seems that kids and their gadgets are everywhere. The current generation of youth has even been referred to as the iGeneration or the app generation. From...
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The Intermingling of Tech and Therapy
The iPhone and iPad is commonly touted as today’s go-to tech therapy tool, specifically when dealing with children. With monitored screen time, it enables the development of learning, literacy, and physical and fine motor skills. Apple even has research speaking to this fact, proving that the...
