Feeling hip and cool with autism
by Beth
Last year I wrote about an iPhone application people with autism and other disabilities were using to communicate. Proloquo2Go was an application you could download from Apple’s iTunes onto an iPhone or iPod Touch. The total cost for that app was $149.99.
How much things can change in a year! A recent TV news story touted how easily the iPhone can be used as a communication device for people with autism and other disabilities. While the story didn’t release names of any specific apps, it did mention that the most basic version of this sort of software costs only $8.
The app is designed to let them tell others what they’re thinking … they touch the picture of what they want on the screen and the app says it out loud … things like “I want to watch TV,” “Hello. My name is Kristen,” or “I’m hungry.”
The jury is still out on how well developers will support these apps in the future. For now, though, I have to think that a kid with autism who finds it difficult to fit in with peers might appreciate how hip and cool it looks to use an iPhone to talk to friends!