The special education podcast that I was previously blogging about had only one episode left and it was a slideshow of the school, so I decided to find myself a new podcast to blog about.
This podcast is called the Autismpodcast, and it is a series that focuses on different aspects of autism including various programs, teaching methods, apps, etc. that are developed to aid people who have Autism.
In this episode, talk with the co-creators of iConverse an iPhone/iPod touch application that functions much like a picture exchange communication system. While the application is new and currently contains only six icons,
the potential for this efficient, useful, and compact assitive
communication device is strong. The creators talk of users being able
to generate their own icons at some point in the future as the software
matures.
This app would be amazing for people with autism because one characteristic of autism is that they rarely speak. My five year old cousin has autism and he may say a few words now and again, but other than that he uses hand motions and a limited amount of sign language that he has learned over the years. The way he best communicates is with his iPhone my aunt got him for Christmas when she started noticing how engulfed he was with technology. He also used flashcards that had various pictures of foods and drinks. This app would combine the same system to help those with autism who don't speak better communicate their needs.
