By Aileen | Aiden's mom
Because of your generous support, 34 children have now recieved an iPad to give them a voice! This past summer 2 families whose children did not have access to an iPad were presented with their 'voice'. In addition, apps that help with communication were granted to several families who had iPads but could not afford the expensive program to use the iPad for communication. The note below gives you a great summary of the power of your gift through GlobalGiving to iPads for Autism!
From the heart of a grateful mom:
We were selected to receive an IPad Mini this summer from Autism Pensacola's 'Give Kids a Voice' program. Our son Aiden is 10 years old and non-verbal. He was using an AAC device(to produce speech) that, for him, was bulky and heavy for him to realistically carry around, even with a strap. The Ipad Mini along with the Proloquo2Go app have allowed him to carry the IPad with ease to use as an ACC Device (talker) for him all day. What a difference it makes!
The IPad Mini has a guided access option which helps deter him from using the IPad for recreational use when needed, especially when he takes it to school. The professionals (teachers, aides, and\/or therapists) who work with him at his school have learned to program his IPad to gear it towards words or items that he uses in school. It is easy to take pictures with the camera and upload them to the App. Aiden visually discriminates real pictures better than the cartoon type pictures. He is able to ask for what he wants with the IPad Mini and app. He has a communication page for home or after school setting which is often different than his school setting. For school, he requests his preferred item(s), drink (water bottle), lunch choices, teacher or aide, bathroom and/or places he utilizes at school. His teachers are thrilled to see him using his 'voice' so much more. At home, we have pictures of our bathroom, his preferred toys, foods, and daily utilized items at home, and recently we programmed his app on the IPad to say Trick or Treat for the Halloween events he attended. What a joy it was to see him participate this way!
The ability of the app with the IPad mini provided to us allows us to model his choices if he is not fluent in them yet and in different settings if he doesn't initialize independently. It is good practice for him and gives him a voice! Thank you for being a part of this HUGE difference in my son's life!
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