iHelp for Autism

[n2doc]

By Ashley Harrell Wednesday, Aug 11 2010


Three weeks had passed since Shannon Rosa had glanced over the numbers on her tiny blue raffle ticket. Like many other parents, she had agreed to cough up $5 not because she thought she had any real chance of winning, but to support the school.


Now, as she sat in her Honda Odyssey in a Redwood City parking lot, about to pick up some tacos for the family, her cellphone rang. It was the school secretary. Rosa had won the raffle.

Alone in her van, she screamed. Then she drove straight to Clifford School to claim her prize: a glistening new iPad.

Although Rosa already owned an iPod Touch, she had purposely held off on the iPad. She isn't an early adopter; she likes to wait until the kinks are worked out. But for $5, she didn't mind taking the iPad home one bit. Maybe Leo would like it.

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http://www.sfweekly.com/2010-08-11/news/ihelp-for-autism/

[Tikki]

1. Feelings about this...

My grandson is high functioning autistic. His father worries about the computer and especially computer games becoming
too time consuming in his daily life.

My grandson is 7 years old and can navigate the computer...seems as much as any of his mainstream counterparts.
Dad wants to limit his time on computer and so far I agree. What if a appliance like iPAD could help him (socially and emotionally)
..I wouldn't even know how much to start and stop him on an iPAD if it had apps that would help him in other ways than just
playing word and number lessons and games.



Tikki

[HuckleB]

2. It's always going to be a matter of use versus obession.

I've seen several socially anxious middle school and high school age kids use computers to develop their social skills, to meet kids with similar interests, etc... But it only helped when they also began to spend time with their contacts in person. Others seem to get stuck, and they can't get away from the safety of the computer.

Tools are wonderful. Parents should use them, if they have access. However, all tools can be overused and lead to harm. Finding that balance is never easy.