Using AT for People with Autism Part 4

This is Part 4 of the "Using Assistive Technology for People with Autism" webinar archive.
This presentation explores various low-, mid-, and high-tech tools that can facilitate organization, information presentation, and communication for preople with Autism.
Presenter: Jennifer McDonald-Peltier

It's much more readily available for their brain to see an array of choices and choose one.

So I use white board and markers and I use pencil and paper anytime I am meeting with someone with Autism.

I have one of these tools with me so that I can always use them. They go such a long ways

In the mid range, we have a couple different things.

You have these single and sequence messages. Like these kinds of things.

I don't know how many of you are familiar with these. This is a button that plays a single recording.

So, an example of a way to use this is for a student to be the greeter in a classroom, remember I work K-12.

For a student to be the greeter in a classroom and when every student comes in they need to hit that,

and say good morning, and hold out their hand to shake this student's hand who is coming in.

So that's one message that just repeats every time you hit it.

This one has a sequence of messages. This is great for things like, I hit the switch and it says "knock, knock".

Then my communication partner, the person I am telling the joke to can say, "who's there?"

And I can hit it again and say "orange", and they can say, "orange who?"

And I can hit it again to say, "orange you glad to see me!"

So that is how you could use those different tools.

Pecs is, stands for Picture Exchange Communication System,

and most people who work with people with Autism know these two very well.

These are very low tech ways. The idea behind PECS is that you exchange pictures for items.

Either tangible items such as food or drink. Or intangible items such as a break or an activity.

Communication books are just that. They are lists of pages.

There is a brand new type of communication book that is just starting to hit the market that is very exciting.

Called a PODD, which is Pragmatic Organization, Dynamic Display. I believe is what PODD stands for.

So that has these communication books organized in a very unique way. It's very interesting.

I encourage you to look it up. Linda Burkhart is a lady spearheading it in this county.

It was designed in Australia or New Zealand, I'm not sure which.

These are communication books. You flip through, you point. Sometimes you read if you have the vocal capacity.

And finally, VOCAs stand for Voice Output Communication Aids.

They are similar to these guys, these single or sequence messages,

except instead of just one or a series of messages there are an array of message that you can hit in any order.

So, they kind of run the gamut. There are ones that you can carry around. Smaller. Larger.

They can have 9 buttons, they can have 4 buttons, they can have 20 buttons.

They need someone to record the messages. So they record the messages.

This array of 9 and this one for example can be pulled out and a new array of pictures can be put in.

Or different settings. These three up here stay consistent. This one there are different tracks.

So if I pulled this array out and put a another array in I can switch it to a different track with that array.

Some of them have different tracks, some of them don't.

And then finally. High tech.

We've got the speech generating devices. Which many people know about.

And as you can see they kind of run the gamut in prices. You know, this one is a low end at $1200.

But here's a Tango at $6900, $7200, $8000. And they can go as $10,000 if you have an eye gaze system.

Depending on what kind of system you can get really high. Or you can do something on an iPad. Which can run you under $1000.

So these have different logical displays, logical orders. For example, Tango Is very concerned with social interaction.

So being able to quickly fire off responses. The idea that much of conversation is prescripted.

So people can get to their conversation script lines very easily. Or personalize communication is a little more difficult.

This one is designed to be setting based.

So you have a setting and there are hot spots all around the screen that communicate things like, if you're hitting the

plate, I would like some food. Hitting the chair, can I sit down?

This one is by Prentke Romich and uses a system called Symantic Compaction

Which is a unique and fascinating to me system that builds words through pictures.

So pictures are the building blocks of words unlike letters. So for example, if I hit the rainbow button right here.

Then I'm looking for the frog button. I don't see the frog button here, but if there were a frog button,

I could hit the frog button and it would make the word green. If on the other hand I hit this walking man button.

I think it's this guy. If I hit the walking man button and then I hit the frog button I make the word hop.

So, it takes a lot for the trainer because you have to think of a completely different system.

But for a user, especially one who is not adept at manipulating letters and words.

This can be a great system.

And finally, let's go ahead and talk about the iPad and the iPhone.

There are several pieces of software that can used and they kind of run the gamut.

Proloquo is $150. I'm sorry I did not give the URL for that but that end. SoundingBoard is $50. There's the URL for that.

VerbalVictor is $7, to kind of give you the gamut. And TapSpeak, there are a couple different products.

Sequencer Switch or Choice Making. So, they kind of all run the gamut.

Alright, we have about 7 minutes left. Would anyone like to share anything or ask any questions in our last 7 minutes?

[Karen] You've got a question. Oops, it just went away. I think I deleted it. My apologies.

To whoever just wrote the question, if you would write it again. I'm sorry.

Somehow I hit the delete rather than viewing the question.

I'll wait a minute, no problem.

[Karen] I think Ginger had a question. Ginger asked, tactile aids please.

[Jen} Got it. I do not have many but I can show you what I have. Tactile aids can come in... This is all I have.

Tactile aids can come in two different forms. Things you touch and then things you feel.

I know that sounds like they are the same, but vibrating alarms, vibrating notices for somebody

can be really helpful for somebody with Autism to give them.

Oftentimes, somebody with Autism their auditory processing and auditory sense is very sensitive.

An so an alarm mep mep mep mep, can be really disturbing.

Whereas a vibrating alarm can be really much easier to deal with.

And there are several compaines like AbleNet, like Attainment, like Enabling Devices

that have a multitude of vibrating tools. Both for alarms and for self stimulation.

The other thing would be something tactile. The one that I thought of that would be difficult I couldn't figure out how to put it on there.

Trying to teach someone to type or to use any kind of button pressing to put tactile reinforcers on the keys.

And those tactile reinforcers could be something smooth like a dollop of glue that's dry.

Or it could be something a little rougher like a dot of the soft side of Velcro.

Again the tactile information that.... the tactile sensation that's going to work for somebody is going to be a little individual.

But those are definite pieces that, those are definite ways that I have used tactile reinforcers and tactile aids.

Any others?

[Karen] You've got a comment from Katie. She says a great website for reviews on AAC Apple application is

autismepicenter.com. Autismepicenter.

The gentleman who does the site reviews apps himself and with his son who has autism.

He is out of Redding with me and has a large list or application review and it is very helpful.

He is a parent trying to assist other parents. Great reviews.

[Jen} Great, so it's autismepicenter.com. Great.

And that's got some great reviews she said for different software.

So I'm going to go ahead and copy this and put it right in here under iPad and iPhone

because that would be one place for that. And another place for that, I can also put it in, would be under Visual Aids.

Let me see if I can find it. Presentation and Practice Supports.

I have a whole list here of apps for special needs. And I can also put that same URL right in here.

Alright, great. Great. Any other comments. We have about two and a half minutes left.

Anything else that anyone else would like to contribute? Thank you for that contribution.

[Karen] We've got a comment from, hang on. My computer is acting funny.

A comment that says, there is a vibrating pager available that is great for use in the classroom.

The student has the receiver pager and the teacher has the...

I'm not sure what the rest. But I think it's called the Silent Reminder.

[Jen] Vibrating pager receiver. So Maxi Aids has one. Let's see if there is Silent Reminder.

Invisible clocks. There are bunch of them. So you can see that there are whole bunch of them out there.

That's awesome. So I'm going to go ahead and put that in.

And that they were saying that that can be used in a classroom and the teacher.

Sure. [typing] Sure, so I could say. For example. Alright.

The classroom teacher holds the sending button, gives student reminder of upcoming transitions.

Fantastic. Thank you. Any others?

Thank you all so much for joining us.