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| TODAY'S TECHNOLOGY OFFERS OPTIMISIM FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM TO LIVE AN INDEPENDANT LIFE |
Reprinted from the ADVOCATE Newsletter of the Autism Society of America, Inc.
July-Aug 1996. |
Imagine a kitchen equipped with a computer that allows you to order your groceries just by touching the various different foods illustrated on the screen. Visualize a keypad in your bathroom that fills your bathtub to the desired level, and adjusts the temperature of the water to your liking just by pressing a few buttons. Does this sound like the house of the distant future? The reality is that these technological advances are available today. I have actually visited a home in which a computer not only controls the temperature and level of the bath water, but almost every function in the house. Computer on-line services, such as America On-line, presently offer the ability to order groceries as well as many other products and have them delivered right to your home. Within just a few short years, all our homes will be fully computerized.
During a visit to Disney World, I viewed an exhibit that demonstrated many computerized applications. It struck me that this technology offers the opportunity for our children with autism to have an optimistic view of an independent future. It was at that time that I began to include computerized-based learning in my son's program as well as in the programs of the other autistic children that I work instruct. It is my opinion both as a professional in the field and as a parent of a child with autism that the implementation of computer learning in our children's' lives is an extremely effective method for teaching language and academic skills as well as for developing the abilities needed to live in this computer-oriented society.
As a speech pathologist, I have predominantly utilized software that is designed to teach communication and early reading skills. I recently received two software programs each developed by the parent of an autistic child.
James Schumacher from Torrance, California, is the father of a six-year-old son with autism. Two years ago, dissatisfied with the existing products on the market, James decided to create some affordable software that would meet the needs of autistic children. Thus Millennium Software was born. His first product is called Labeling_Tutor. This extremely flexible program teaches children to associate written words and sounds with pictures. The basis of the program uses a behavioral procedure known as discrete trials to teach the material. The program motivates learning by utilizing exciting visual displays, sounds, and games when the child has been successful. There are over 180 color photo pictures that are included with the program; however, James includes instructions on how one can add additional pictures. Presently, Labeling_Tutor requires a color Apple Macintosh or PowerPC computer running System 7 or later, though an IBM Compatible Windows version is due out this summer. The program is able to use either a mouse, keyboard, switch, or touchscreen (a device that allows the user to just touch the screen in order to activate the computer). The cost of this program is $119.95.
Sally Miller has been using Labeling_Tutor with several beginning readers from her autism class at Coconut Creek Elementary School located in Coconut Creek, Florida. Her students, who range in age from 5 to 9 years old, successfully utilize the reading component of this program. Ms. Miller reports that these children really enjoy the manner in which the material is represented as well as the games and visuals that appear to reinforce a correct selection. "The presentation really catches the eye," Ms. Miller states.
The receptive language portion of Labeling_Tutor is too simplistic for Ms. Miller's children; however, it appeared that it would be quite appropriate for my son, Blake. Therefore, I spent some time working with Blake on this section. Initially, the child is asked to identify the target picture by itself. Once, this is mastered, two pictures are presented. Finally, the child must pick the correct picture from a choice of three. This sequential system appeared to be very successful for Blake. Within a short period of time, he had learned to identify several new pictures.
Keyboard Talk was written by Jacqueline Landman Gay when her autistic son was six years old in order to see if Facilitated Communication would work for him. Originally, this product was intended to provide a low-cost alternative for use as an FC device; however, over the years, teachers have been using Keyboard Talk to teach reading and spelling as well. This program operates by "speaking" the words that the user types. In addition, the user can imput an unlimited number of phrases and sentences by incorporating short cut buttons. Keyboard Talk is available in two versions: Standard and Pro. The Pro version which contains everything that is included in the Standard package also includes additional high-quality voices. This program runs on any Macintosh computer using system software 6.0.7 or higher. The price for the Standard program is $49.00 and the Pro runs $69.00.
The children seem to enjoy using Keyboard Talk for practicing their spelling. Since the system will "speak" anything that is typed, it is a great way to provide a spelling monitoring session. The students get a kick out of it when one of them from their group misspells a word since the computer will say the word the way the child had typed it. The variety of different voices that are available provided a stimulating experience for these kids.
Dorothy Sutter from Rosemount, Minnesota purchased Keyboard Talk for her 12-year-old son, Daniel, who uses Facilitated Communication. Daniel enjoys using this program in his class at school when he wants to communicate to his classmates with a "voice."
I can highly recommend the purchase of both Labeling_Tutor and Keyboard Talk for use with autistic children. In comparison to other comparable programs on the market, the cost of these programs is substantially lower.
Labeling_Tutor would be a good choice for a child who needs to learn to understand basic vocabulary as well as for the individual who is just starting to read. I would caution anyone purchasing this program to set aside a good portion of time for the initial set-up. Mr. Schumacher is available by phone or electronic mail to help if needed. The motivating design of Keyboard Talk makes it a very good program for children who can benefit from Facilitated Communication, though I found it's academic use to be a more global application. Both of these programs can be used with non-autistic children as well.
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Valerie Herskowitz, M.A. CCC-SLP has been a speech pathologist, who has treated children and adults with developmental disabilities for the past 22 years. She is also the mother of Blake, an 8-year old boy with autism. She has been in private practice since 1981.
Ms. Herskowitz is also a speech and language computer software consultant and is available to answer any questions that you may have regarding these programs or any other speech, language, or communication matter as it relates to autism. You can reach her at:
Dimensions: Speech, Language, and Learning Services 481 E. Mount Vernon Drive Plantation, Florida 33325 1-800-99SPEECH (997-7332) www.dimensionsspeech.com
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