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There’s a new iPad app in the Apple AppStore, made to help children with autism communicate and interact with the world around them by allowing parents and therapists to create interactive representations, or scenes, of child’s environment.
Jonathan Izak, creator of the AutisMate app, made the application for his 10-year-old brother Oriel, who is on the autism spectrum and has struggled with other communication apps.
Using the new application, parents and/or therapists can create interactive scenes of their own environment using pictures, video and voice recordings. In addition, AutisMate also leverages GPS to further reduce the navigation abilities required to use the app.
According to Joan Green, M.A. CCC-SLP and author of The Ultimate Guide to Assistive Technology in Special Education, this application is “different from all of the rest” and can be a “game changer for many individuals with complex communication needs.”
Amy Lackey, a speech pathologist and educational coordinator of the Manhattan Children’s Center, also likes Izak’s work, saying that the scene-based approach of AutisMate provides “object-picture association that many students form around common objects within their homes, schools, and other familiar settings.”
Luckily we don’t need it and can only hope you won’t be needing it as well. At $49.99, it’s an expensive app, but is much more affordable than traditional alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) dedicated devices which can cost as much as $15,000.
AutisMate ($49.99) [iTunes link]
About The Author
Dusan Belic
Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.
