According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data and statistics on ASD as of 2020, approximately 1 in 54 children are diagnosed with ASD. The article also highlights that boys are four times as likely to be diagnosed with ASD over girls. There are common misconceptions associated with ASD that warrant mention — these include:
- All individuals with ASD have the same strengths and difficulties;
- Individuals with ASD have a distinguished skill or strength;
- Individuals with ASD do not suffer other disorders or conditions;
- All individuals with ASD have an intellectual disability;
- Children with ASD are unable to speak;
- ASD in children is more aggressive than in other age groups;
- Children with ASD have a temper, or are more aggressive;
- Individuals with ASD do not experience the full spectrum of emotions;
- Individuals with ASD cannot build strong, affectionate relationships;
- Individuals with ASD prefer to be alone;
- There is an ASD epidemic;
- ASD is caused by the way that parents choose to raise their kids;
- ASD is caused by vaccinations;
- ASD can be outgrown.
Being aware of the various myths can help individuals understand that each diagnosis of ASD is different and individualistic. The way that one individual with ASD struggles can be entirely different than another individual with ASD. While communication, learning routines, and emotional regulation might be hard for the majority of individuals with ASD, technology has provided many solutions to these problems. This article will help identify the various technologies that are readily available to help children with ASD in a variety of realms.
How Does Technology Help Autism?
Using mobile technology for children with autism spectrum disorder has a variety of benefits from core issues faced by children with ASD to other functional life skills. Using a tablet, laptop, or another mobile device for learning on-the-go can help connect the dots where traditional learning may lack. You will also want to ensure that your child's mobile phone — or other mobile devices — has adequate accessibility support for their individual needs. The primary ways that technology helps children with autism are as follows:
- Communication skills: Traditional communication settings tend to require complex social cues, training, and implementation that does not often work well for children with ASD. Technology can provide intervention and instruction in an individualistic manner designed to focus on the areas where a child with ASD is struggling or needs extra structure. This extra communication structure cannot always be given;
- Social-emotional skills: An inability to comprehend social cues and expectations can enhance the gap in communication skills for children with ASD. These struggles can lead to failure in recognizing others’ emotions through body language and verbal cues. Technology can be used to spend extra time educating children with ASD on social understanding and awareness, which, in turn, can help boost communication skills;
- Functional life skills: An important goal for parents, instructors, and children with ASD is for the child with ASD to go on to live a full, autonomous life. Creating an ability to comprehend and use technology for computer-based intervention can help facilitate this goal.
The broad ways that technology helps children with autism can be broken down into smaller, focused tasks that make up the primary benefits above.
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Keeping Your Child Safe Online
Parents and educators both need to ensure that the child is being safe online. Factors and risks of internet safety include:
- The difference between chronological and developmental age;
- Limited understanding of — or inability to understand — sexual education;
- Excessive use;
- Isolation;
- Malware;
- Predators.
Since technology can truly benefit children with ASD it is important to create an understanding of best practices to ensure that their mobile technology is being used in beneficial ways. Below are various tips for keeping your child safe online:
- Talk to your child about the technology they use and warn them of the different things to be aware of surrounding website safety. This can also be a good time to establish what your rules, limitations, and mobile technology expectations are;
- Similarly, make sure you talk to your child about keeping their smartphone secure and the risk factors unique to mobile devices and apps;
- Keep technology in the common areas where everyone frequents;
- Ensure that the mobile technology that is being used has safeguards in place.
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List of Communication Apps
When you are debating whether your child is ready for a cell phone you should first consider the applications that are readily available for mobile phones, which are changing the way children with autism can learn.
- PixTalk: PixTalk enables children with autism to communicate via pictures. The app has around 400+ images to choose from and it is available for Windows devices;
- SPEAKall!: SPEAKall! is designed to help children with autism and spectrum disorders find their voice and produce audible speech. It is available on the App Store and Google Play;
- GoTalk: GoTalk is an AAC device that has customizable recorded and text-to-speech capabilities using various images. It is available on the App Store;
- Skill Champ: Skill Champ uses lessons, printable curriculum, worksheets, and real-world activities for children with ASD. It is downloadable on the App Store;
- QuestionIt: QuestionIt uses various pictures and colors to help learners match words to questions and then understand how to find those words in sentences. The activity types vary. It is available on the App Store;
- Proloquo2Go: Proloquo2Go is a symbol-based app that helps children with ASD learn how to express themselves. It can be found on the App Store;
- MyTalkTools Mobile: MyTalkTools helps anyone with a mobile phone (with smart capabilities) communicate using words, sounds, and images. It is available on both Google Play and the App Store.
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List of Apps for Routines and Schedules
Using family-tech can help children with ASD by creating a routine, managing time, and daily living. Below are nine apps designed to help create routines and schedules:
- Children With Autism: A Visual Schedule: The first wearable, picture-based scheduler specialized for children and adults with ASD. It is compatible with Apple devices and available on the App Store;
- First Then Visual Schedule: First Then Visual Schedule uses custom images and sound to create checklist routines. It is available on the App Store;
- Time Timer: Time Timer is a versatile timer that can help children with ASD stick to their scheduled routines with customizable timer reminders. This is available on the App Store and Google Play;
- Choiceworks Calendar: Choiceworks Calendar is a picture-based calendar that helps children with ASD complete daily routines and decision making. It is available on the App Store;
- Todo Visual Schedule: Todo Visual Schedule uses customizable picture-based daily schedules to help manage tasks in a fun, colorful manner. It is available on the App Store;
- Happy Kids Timer: Happy Kids Timer helps children develop daily routines using customizable digital characters. It is available on the App Store, Google Play, and Amazon App Store;
- Remember the Milk: Remember the Milk is an online smart to-do app for all ages. You can set reminders, attach documents, use Siri, and it is compatible with a variety of other useful apps as well. It is available online for free;
- 30/30: 30/30 is a gesture-based interface that has customizable task lists, iCloud sync, and notification options. It is available on the App Store.
Learning Social Skills
Learning social skills can be very difficult for children with ASD. Parents or guardians are not always available to communicate in all situations, so introducing (and improving) social skills and cues are vital for autonomy. Common social skills that children with ASD struggle with include:
- Delays or difficulty with acquiring and understanding verbal communications;
- Troubles understanding non-verbal communication cues;
- Inability to stray from a fixed routine or schedule;
- Overwhelming sensory inputs;
- Understanding context in social settings.
Technology is designed to help improve verbal and non-verbal communication, analytical and inferential skills, sensory perception, and grasping context. Most parents will look into the best wireless plans for kids that allow parental monitoring to ensure the proper use of their technology. This technology typically involves the following:
- Direct, explicit instruction in realistic settings;
- Focus or emphasis surrounding timing and attention;
- Support for enhancing communication;
- Structure to introduce sensory integration;
- Facilitation of cognitive and language skills.
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There are various apps designed for children with ASD to help with social dysfunction. Below are nine apps designed to help with learning and improving social skills for children with ASD.
- Kid in Story Book Maker: Kids in Story Book Maker helps children with special needs narrate stories using visual narratives and auditory directions. It is available on the App Store;
- Social Story Creator Educators: Social Story Creator Educators is a free interface designed to create visual schedules, and stories using photos, words, and audio. This can also help improve both social skills and time management. It is available on the App Store;
- Social adventures: Social Adventures uses 80 different activities to teach social skills using role-play, and catchphrase games. It is available on the App Store;
- Conversation builder: Conversation Builder is an iPad compatible app that simulates multi-exchange conversations. It is available exclusively for iPads on the App Store;
- The Social Express: The Social Express is a digital world that helps develop social learning through simulated education and careers. It is available on the App Store;
- Stories in Motion: Stories in Motion is an app that lets children create a character going through school with personalized narratives and common scenarios. You pay monthly and log in online;
- Everyday Social Skills: Everyday Social Skills offers activities, videos, and games for a variety of social and situational-specific goals. It is available online;
- What Would You Do at School If...: What Would You Do at School If... is a fun deck designed to structure situational decision-making. There is also a home version. It is available on Amazon App Store and the App store;
- Sosh: Sosh is an app designed to improve social skills by relating, relaxing, regulating, reasoning, and recognizing. It is available on the App Store.
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List of Apps for Emotional Regulation
There are apps designed specifically for helping improve emotional regulation. These apps generally help with perception, responses, interactions, recognition, and expression. Below are nine apps for emotional regulation:
- Breath, Think, Do: Breath, Think, Do with Sesame Street helps equip children with the skills for calming down, identifying feelings, and problem-solving. It is available on the App Store and Google Play;
- Dreamy Kids: Dreamy Kids is an app that offers a library of meditations aimed at helping children form healthy coping mechanisms. It is available for free for schools, or you can register online for $8.99/month;
- Headspace for Kids: Headspace for Kids offers a variety of mindful articles designed to develop healthy headspaces. There are videos, informational articles, as well as activities. It is available online for $12.99 per month;
- Calm Counter: Calm Counter utilizes social story, visuals, and audio tools to help angry or anxious individuals calm down. It is available exclusively on the App Store;
- Stop, Breath, & Think Kids: Stop, Breath, Think Kids offers over 100 activities surrounding mindfulness. This includes videos, articles, games, audio tracks. This app is available for free for educators and downloadable on the App Store and Google Play;
- Calm Child: Calm Child uses stories that implement meditation to help children calm down. This app is available both on the App Store and Google Play;
- Mindful Powers: Mindful powers help build social and emotional learning through play and progressive voice-guides stories. This is available on the App Store and Google Play;
- The Zones of Regulation: The Zones of Regulation app uses interactive activities to provide real-life self-regulation skills. It is available on Amazon and the App Store;
- Smiling Mind: Smiling Mind creates programs for adults and youth surrounding mindfulness in the classroom, at home, and at work. It is available on both the App Store and Google Play;
