By Margaret Rock | Thu Dec 01, 2011 3:41 pm |
Tablet devices and their wide array of apps offer great benefits to autistic children's learning, while at the same time fueling the bigger debate about the tablet's educational role in the broad spectrum of the disorder.
Devices like Apple's iPad are being hailed as a savior to children with special learning needs, but parents and others are more closely scrutinizing the educational theory behind the seemingly endless number of specially designed apps for autistic children, cautioning that just any device and handful of apps may not be a silver bullet.Tablets' mobile capability, touch screen, and intuitive operation make the devices appealing to many, and are especially valuable to children with special needs. Advocates, desperate to bridge the educational gaps in children who have learning issues, are eager to learn more about the exciting promise the device holds. Some apps developed to address special needs provide a voice for those with language delays, others help kids learn to navigate often bewildering social situations that and reduce their stress, and others are designed to improve fine-motor skills to help children write and manipulate small objects. Both Apple and Android products are helping autistic children develop skills, but experts believe the wide spectrum of the disorder and the novelty of the technology need to be more tightly integrated to more completely address the challenges facing children with special needs. The swirl of anecdotal success stories and the barrage of apps geared towards these needs, however, aren't often supported by sound educational research. Because of its ease of use, children feel empowered to engage with the devices, which also have the added benefit of creating an intimacy and lack of distractions a standard classroom often doesn't. Still, some experts argue that just taking traditional learning methods and translating them to an app for a tablet may not maximize the device's cognitive potential. In addition, parents and teachers are looking for ways to curate and categorize the cascade of apps for children with learning challenges to identify the best ones for individual children. The New York Times provided some recommended sites for tablet apps for autistic children, like those from developers Injini, Toca Boca, Duck Duck Moose, and Oceanhouse Media. In addition, the Easter Seal's site, Snapps4kids.com, lists over 700 apps but includes about 60 that have been professionally reviewed by a special education teacher or certified therapist. While many of the reviewed apps are for iPads and iPhones, iAutism.info reportedly lists nearly 70 for the Android operating software, acknowledging their growing presence, too. The movement to include the devices in the educational setting for all children may also fuel greater study. Earlier this year, for example, Brainchild's Kineo, a new education-only device designed for school learning, was shipped to ten states, expanding tablet's role in classrooms. Fall's back-to-school shopping, retailers' second biggest selling season of the year, also featured many tablet choices for education-minded parents, underscoring the interest in tablets as a learning tool for all children. Researchers, parents and advocacy groups will likely consider pursuing additional study to determine the best educational use of tablet technology and their affordable and diverse apps. Many look to tablet devices in hopes of improving learning for all children, and replicating the results many individuals and groups are reportedly achieving with special needs children.
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