Re: article on boy with autism speaking using Ipad

[Guest guest]

Fiona,

I have been saying this until I am blue in the face. Just because a child

can't talk has nothing to do with the level of intellect they may have.

Yet, it would appear that mute children are ignored academically, and this

is a tragedy.

Let me know what you find out about the I Pad apps. I also suggest you read

about RPM: the rapid Prompting Method. I have read the book twice and it

makes sense, though my son has auditory issues and has difficulty

understanding dialects and accents. He has an RPM tutor who is wonderful,

but his is modified to his needs. My son regained speech (even so it is

amazing how people want to still think he is " retarded " simply because he

once lost speech.

Even so, the number and letter boards in RPM help him to think out his

answers visually and also help to keep him focused. He only rarely needs

paper to be ripped.

You might look into this method. I like it for my son as his tutor does not

baby him. It has high expectations.

[Guest guest]

Hi Fiona,

My son uses this program http://www.proloquo2go.com/ for his iPad. When I

looked into this area, I thought that proloquo was the most flexible, offered

the most, and was the most affordable. I don't see how a child would outgrow

it, like many of the communication devices that cost far, far more. You can use

the icons provided and upload photos, which is really helpful for being specific

about things your child wants to communicate about.

I would suggest to anyone getting an iPad, be sure to buy a good carrying case

for it and consider getting the treatment that protects it from water, etc. It

can be difficult finding people who know what they're doing in trying to help

you with this. The SLPs that we've met are honestly useless, so far behind in

technology that they think lamination is cutting edge. So, you may be on your

own, but it is a pretty easy program to use, and if you just adapt it to what

and how you'd be teaching in regard to communication, you may find it

extraordinarily helpful.

Anita

>

>

http://www.heritage.com/articles/2011/02/15/saline_reporter/news/doc4d5aad4b13ca\

f897564464.txt?viewmode=fullstory

>

> This was exactly what I've been saying to my nearest and dearest--that lack of

oral motor skills for speech does not necessarily mean " retardation " or lack of

cognitive skills for reading/understanding language. I'd been looking at a few

devices--there's one called talktalk, or gotalk or something like that.

>

> Anyone know the " special software " that they're using for the ipad?

>

> best wishes,

> Fiona

>