WeAreAutism.org - The Social Support Network for People Living with Autism

iPhone applications can help the autistic

He's "a little bit of a mini-genius," Clark says, but like many autistic children, JW doesn't speak at all.

Desperate to communicate with him, she
considered buying a specialized device like the ones at his elementary
school in Lincoln, Neb. But the text-to-speech machines are huge, heavy
and expensive; a few go for $8,000 to $10,000.

Then a teacher told her about a new application
that a researcher had developed for, of all things, the iPhone and iPod
Touch. Clark drove to the local Best Buy and picked up a Touch, then downloaded the "app" from iTunes.

Total cost: about $500.

A month later, JW goes everywhere with the slick
touch-screen mp3 player strapped to his arm. It lets him touch icons
that voice basic comments or questions, such as, "I want Grandma's
cookies" or "I'm angry — here's why." He uses his "talker" to
communicate with everyone — including his service dog, Roscoe, who
listens to voice commands through the tiny speakers.

It's a largely untold story of Apple's popular audio devices.

It is not known how many specialized apps are
out there, but Apple touts a handful on iTunes, among them ones that
help users do American Sign Language and others like Proloquo2Go, which
helps JW speak.

The app also aids children and adults with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and Lou Gehrig's
Disease, or ALS — even stroke patients who have lost the ability to
speak, says its co-developer, Penn State doctoral student Samuel
Sennott.

Using the iPhone and Touch allows developers to
democratize a system that has relied on devices that were too expensive
or difficult to customize, Sennott says. "I love people being able to
get it at Best Buy," he says. "That's just a dream."

He also says that for an autistic child, the
ability to whip out an iPhone and talk to friends brings "this very
hard-to-quantify cool factor."

Sennott won't give out sales figures for the $149.99 app but says they're "extremely brisk."

Ronald Leaf, director of Autism Partnership, a
private California-based agency, says he prefers to help autistic
children such as JW learn how to navigate their world without gadgets.
"If we could get children to talk without using technology, that would
be our preference," he says.

Clark says the app has changed her son's life.

"He's actually communicating," she says. "It's nice to see what's going on in his head."

Among the revelations of the past month: She now
knows JW's favorite restaurant. "I get to spend at least every other
day at the Chinese buffet."

LINK: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-05-27-iphone-autism_N.htm