Autism and Ipads
Autism, Ability, and Adaption: Asking the Right Questions
Psychologytoday.com
Dec. 4, 2011
Summary: The author of the article starts of by telling the reader about an episode of “60 minutes” that discusses autistics. In the episode, autistics who were thought to be unintelligent were proved to be as smart as normal kids their age through apps on the iPad. The problem wasn’t that the autistic weren’t intelligent; it was that they had no way to communicate their thoughts. The iPads kept them focused and they could easily communicate by tapping the buttons that corresponded with what they wanted to say. The author then tells us that she has Asperger’s Syndrome herself, and when she was young she had a difficult time understanding social norms. One day, her mother took her to a book store and she bought a book on psychology. The book helped her understand concepts such as personal space and body language. She then goes on to say that there are solutions out there; people just need to take action to find ways to help their individual.
Author’s Viewpoint: The author speaks from direct knowledge, as she herself has Asperger’s Syndrome and understands how difficult it is to communicate and understand what we consider normal.
Affects: If people could find ways to help autistics communicate and function around other people, it would greatly improve the life of the autistic and ease the burden on the autistic’s guardian. It is stressful for them to try and care for their child if that child has no way to tell their parent what they need. Solutions, such as the iPad apps, could easily bridge that gap and better the autistic’s understanding of society.
Citation: Soraya, Lynne. "Asperger's Diary." Web log post. Autism, Ability, and Adaptation: Asking the Right Questions. Psychology Today, 4 Dec. 2011. Web. 20 Aug. 2012.
Psychologytoday.com
Dec. 4, 2011
Summary: The author of the article starts of by telling the reader about an episode of “60 minutes” that discusses autistics. In the episode, autistics who were thought to be unintelligent were proved to be as smart as normal kids their age through apps on the iPad. The problem wasn’t that the autistic weren’t intelligent; it was that they had no way to communicate their thoughts. The iPads kept them focused and they could easily communicate by tapping the buttons that corresponded with what they wanted to say. The author then tells us that she has Asperger’s Syndrome herself, and when she was young she had a difficult time understanding social norms. One day, her mother took her to a book store and she bought a book on psychology. The book helped her understand concepts such as personal space and body language. She then goes on to say that there are solutions out there; people just need to take action to find ways to help their individual.
Author’s Viewpoint: The author speaks from direct knowledge, as she herself has Asperger’s Syndrome and understands how difficult it is to communicate and understand what we consider normal.
Affects: If people could find ways to help autistics communicate and function around other people, it would greatly improve the life of the autistic and ease the burden on the autistic’s guardian. It is stressful for them to try and care for their child if that child has no way to tell their parent what they need. Solutions, such as the iPad apps, could easily bridge that gap and better the autistic’s understanding of society.
Citation: Soraya, Lynne. "Asperger's Diary." Web log post. Autism, Ability, and Adaptation: Asking the Right Questions. Psychology Today, 4 Dec. 2011. Web. 20 Aug. 2012.