iPads for autism

For SFARI.org, I recently reported on how scientists are testing iPad applications in kids with autism. There aren't any published studies on the iPad yet, but people with the disorder have already started using its apps to communicate more easily and to keep track of schedules. Read the full piece here.

The article focuses on the potential benefits for kids, but I couldn't help noticing that iPads and other touch-screen devices are also a boon for parents and teachers. For example, Leslie Phillips, an instructor at the Mariposa School for Children with Autism in Cary, N.C., says that using the iPod touch's Behavior Tracker Pro app to monitor behaviors helps teachers get more accurate measures of the types and duration of behaviors, compared to paper-based tools. And, of course, any time-saving tools are helpful because the teachers have to not only track the behavior, but respond to it.