Tablets Are Game-Changers For Special Needs Kids 174
theodp writes "The rise of mainstream tablets is proving to have unforeseen benefits for children with speech and communication problems and may disrupt a business where specialized devices can cost thousands of dollars. iPad apps like Proloquo2Go ($189) aim to help individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), cerebral palsy, down syndrome, developmental disabilities, ALS, traumatic brain injury, aphasia, apraxia, and more. Even Steve Jobs didn't see this one coming: 'We take no credit for this, and that's not our intention,' said Jobs, who's been touched by email he gets from parents of special needs kids for whom the iPad is proving to be a life-changer. 'Our intention is to say something is going on here,' Jobs added, suggesting that researchers should 'take a look at this.' Even though they might cost significantly less than dedicated devices, SUNY speech pathologist Andrea Abramovich explained Medicare doesn't cover consumer tablets because they could be used for non-medical purposes."
Icrap is kid friendly (Score:1, Interesting)
I have a 3 year old who knows half the alphabet, can count to 10 and knows all the basic shapes. We have 3 iPhones in the house and there are hundreds of educational apps in the app store
Unforeseen Uses (Score:3, Interesting)
Been waiting for this (Score:5, Interesting)
My wife is a speech language pathologist. We have talked about working on projects like this but haven't gotten around to it. I offered to help in an FOSS project that would have done something like this but ended up going nowhere. The only bad thing about this is that the company that produced this app will likely not be interested in making this app available for the cheaper android based tablets, and $200 is still a lot of money for todays middle class. The android tablets would inevitably make this more available to families without the money for an Ipad, but the whole package is still going to run more expensive than a lot of people will be able to afford.
But if anyone is interested in doing the programming I'm still up for doing the artwork, if there is enough love in the community to produce an app like this for free
The Good and the BAD (Score:5, Interesting)
My cousin has cerebral palsy, and I am amazed at her ability as a user of her iPod Touch. She has fully integrated herself into the world of social media, and as a result has made more friends who can seem to communicate with her more easily in the social media scene, than in a subjective and judgmental school yard.
Unfortunately, she also watches completely inane news videos online, which do nothing for her development. She constantly asks others to watch these horrible news clips. Her grandmother tells her that she "plugs in" or has "plugged in", whenever she puts her headphones in and becomes dead to the physical world. She hates when her Nan tells her this, and is very impatient with her Mom, brother, and others.
The challenge is that it's ripe for abuse (Score:3, Interesting)
Free/sponsored iPads, that is. The challenge isn't that they are good, but that there will be a scramble to "help" you get one and get it paid for by someone else. It reminds me of handicapped parking hang-tabs. There's no doubt people need them, but a few (some might say many) will abuse the system.
Here's the thing: at the price currently set for consumer items, these probably don't need to be subsidized. We're not talking about a $3000 device with $2500 worth of custom software anymore. The hardware is barely $500. when it comes to medical care, that's not a lot of money for anybody unless you're destitute. The software, OTOH, isn't a portable thing.
I can see it now: iScooterAHDH software you need for $1299 and we'll throw in the hardware for free! We'll even submit your paperwork to Medicaid. We're so confident that once you've completed your over the phone questionnaire, we'll get your full payment price reimbursed or your iPad (excuse me, Software) is Free!
Re:Been waiting for this (Score:4, Interesting)
Darn! I lost the moderation I've done to reply
Anyway, I've been playing around with Android looking for a project, I don't want to waste my time doing the upteenth "fart" app; so I something comes up about your idea, I'm game to do the programming for free.
Cheers
The government has tons of stuff like that (Score:5, Interesting)
I work at a state funded university, so for the government even if slightly indirectly. I'm a salaried employee and while overtime isn't a normal part of my job, I am expected to work extra when needed. Yesterday I had to stay late to video a guest speaker, for example. However I am required to complete a time card every week. If I take any time off during the regular work week, I have to report it. I don't get to report time worked on the weekend or after hours, there is no OT or anything as I'm exempt, however I've got to report time off during the week.
The reason is because they have to carefully track vacation usage and all that. Unlike many professional jobs where you are given a certain amount of vacation per year and then expected to be professional about it and sick days (like if you have two weeks and need to take an extra day that's ok) we are tracked down to as precise as we are willing to report (values are reported in hours, with 6 digits of precision behind the decimal point). We have generous amounts of time off, but it is all tracked.
Why? Well to make sure the state isn't getting taken advantage of. It is supposed to make sure that there aren't employees who just never work and bilk the system. Ok... Except that it really doesn't. Your boss signs off on the time card so you could just claim you were "working from home" or whatever and if your boss says ok, then ok. All it really does is add a massive amount of overhead in terms of documentation and processing for all this. There are people at the university who's sole job is dealing with all the time reporting shit and there's lots of levels of bureaucracy in it (your boss approves your time, the payroll person then approves their approval, that gets sent off to the administrators and so on).
It's supposed to be to protect tax payers but I suspect it does no more than just having managers that watch over things do.
Re:Nothing new here (Score:4, Interesting)
Wow, that was USDA Prime troll right up until those last seven words:
"It is always the software that matters."
Bingo. I'm not an Apple fan. I haven't owned one of their computers since 1980. I hate working on a Mac - short of checking stuff on a browser, I won't touch one. But, damn it, the iOS interface is very simple and easy to use. I'm going to say it's not as good as what TiVo has come up with, but it's simpler.
It shouldn't be a surprise that kids with learning challenges find it useful - it can be effectively operated with practically zero experience or maintenance. Why do you think that all those iPhone users can do all that cool shit? Most are still using the DVD drive for a retractable cup holder.
As much as I hate to admit it, the interface - and to some extent the massive price drop (compared to a full-system T/S tablet computer) has vaulted these touch screen devices beyond the specialty market. The switch to capacitive screens was the last barrier. Freeing users from a stylus wasn't enough without making the entire paradigm finger friendly. What you give up in accuracy you gain ten times over in ease of use and convenience to the untrained.
Re:Ha your great medicare (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Icrap is kid friendly (Score:3, Interesting)
Take a look at Google's App Inventor [googlelabs.com] for Android (for now). It was heavily influenced by projects like Scratch. It's not an app as such, the kid/toddler will still need a PC to "program" with, and it doesn't have an emulator (you must have an Android phone connected to your computer, or connected to the internet, if you want to be able to test your programs, although you can still write one without one), but any changes the kid does to the visual lego-like structure on the screen of his PC will immediately reflect itself into the program logic and display on the phone, which makes it an absolutely fantastic programming environment to work in!
As a developer, I would love to able to use that tool to do fast prototypes, and then have access to the code, so I can further customize it. Unfortunately, it was written in Scheme (LISP), they don't want to give us access to the actual written code (only the visual one, that's what's considered the source), and its developers don't seem to be at all interested in changing the scope of their project -- they are really only interested in targeting kids/teenagers with it.
Re:Been waiting for this (Score:2, Interesting)
The deeper problem... (Score:3, Interesting)
The deeper problem is our artificial-scarcity-based economic paradigm is increasingly obsolete: http://knol.google.com/k/paul-d-fernhout/beyond-a-jobless-recovery [google.com]
Re:Yes, but is it dishwasher safe? (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm in the same boat and just got the lowest model iPad and Proloque2go for my son. Our iPad in an an Otter Case. It is a thick plastic shell that is installed semipermanently on the iPad and even has a transparent cover for the touch screen that still allows normal use of the screen. It has already survived being thrown down on the floor once. I don't know if it is mil-spec or not but it will definitely take more abuse encased in this thing than not. So you might want to look into that.
I can also second the bureaucratic maze around all this. We've been turned down twice by the state for the approved $7000 dollar dedicated speech device. Apparently his verified diagnosis of autism and apraxia "does not merit" his getting that device. Bottom line is he is a nine year old who doesn't talk. We had to get the iPad and our county MRDD payed for the app. Since the iPad is general purpose they wouldn't pay for that but they DID get the app. The iPad, Otter Case, and app are around $700 all told. That is still a lot but beats the dedicated devices by a factor of 10. I hope it puts them out of business and that is because I've discovered that vendors of all manner of adaptive and educational materials have us over a barrel. What I half-suspect will happen instead is some bullshit patent or other IP lawsuit now that their nasty little jig is up.
And I hear you on the single income. I'm in THAT boat too for basically the same reasons. Hopefully we see something like this for low end Android devices soon. That could cut the price by at least half. I'd like to see these dedicated device vendors choke on that too.
And I too am frustrated by all the media coverage those well heeled enough to drop 50K/yr on therapies get. I have little doubt the outcome for my kid would have been a lot better if I could have afforded it. Let's see some coverage on those us who don't have a starter castle, two honking SUVs, and 50,000 more a year to spare just for specialized therapies.