How technology can help children with autism

How technology can help children with autism

In a statistic that could wake Americans awake, one in 69 children in the U.S. has an autism spectrum disorder, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While most children today are considered “digital natives,” this also applies to autistic children. Many children on the spectrum feel most comfortable with a digital device in their hands.

Studies have shown that most autistic children are visual learners. This means that technology could be a valuable tool in their learning process. It makes visual images much more accessible to a person with autism. Computer graphics can capture and hold their attention.

More importantly, technology helps these children gain confidence in a social situation. It has emerged as a helpful and effective tool for children struggling with socialization issues.

A big part of going to school is learning about social situations. Children with autism spectrum disorder, often without a roadmap, get lost. Technology has helped bridge the gap between autistic children and neurotypicals.

From learning apps to robots, here's how technology is helping children with autism spectrum disorder.

#1 Improve your verbal skills with apps

Research by several non-governmental, academic and advocacy organizations that fund awareness programs has claimed that more than 25 percent of autistic children are largely nonverbal. The rest are generally poor-functioning communicators. For such children, there are apps known as “Visual Scene Display” that help children who struggle with their verbal skills. Apps like What’s the Expression and All Sorts have been a huge help to both teachers and children with autism. These apps can be customized to suit the needs of a specific child.

There are other apps for autistic children that can fake stories and interactive displays that can greatly help children who struggle with the traditional educational style.

#2 Digital tools can promote trust

Honestly, self-confidence is very closely related to improved social skills. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder are often indicated by the social aspects in a classroom. This can largely be addressed through the use of technology.

The search box for apps for special children can be streamlined according to individual needs. These include disability and academic needs, reading problems, mathematics, social and emotional problems and other problems the child may have.

Mobile education can be defined as a learning process that is distributed across multiple platforms. This includes tabs and smartphones as well as websites instead of the traditional classroom environment. It also includes interactive context that can extend help and enable live feedback.

#3 No one size fits all

As previously stated, there is no single app that is suitable for all children with autism. What works for one person may or may not work for another child with special needs. This is where both therapists and parents need to be careful.

Research and development is being conducted almost all over the world to develop new apps that can help children with autism better cope with life's challenges.

Inspired by Kevin Carter