Thinking about using Ipad and proloquo but the school and NHS S&L therapist are reluctant

lety

This discussion was created from comments split from: Hi, I'm Chris, I am an Adaptive Technology Specialist.

lety

Hello Chris, my name is Lety and I have an autistic non verbal son who is 7 yrs old. he is using PECS and sometimes he points or takes you to what he wants. I read an article on bbc website. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18694168 . I have been thinking about using Ipad and proloquo but the school and NHS S&L therapist are reluctant as they think he is too young. and he needs to learn how to navigate...My husband also thinks that if we introduce him now, it might prevent him to try to talk. I feel that we need to start the process. Any advice or tip would be welcome.
Many thanks.L

Chris2

Hi Lety.

Thanks for your question.

I would suggest that until your son has a full communication assessment that you look at other activities on the computer that require picture based navigation and choice making. Your son could work towards gaining the skills necessary for possible AAC at a later stage. I would recommend something like MY Zone and other similar activities with a touch monitor or Windows based tablet device - see description from Inclusive Technology:

"MyZone helps children and adults with learning difficulties to find things on the computer. It features large buttons and simple navigation. Use MyZone to create personal workspaces. Provide individual ‘zones' for each learner to give them easy access to their programs, activities and games".

Please let me know if you require more assistance