iPad app assists non-verbal autistic students

LYNN – Forget the Internet, Facebook and Twitter, an app called Touch Talk downloaded to an iPad that gives non-verbal autistic students a voice is technology at its best, said Cheryl Meninno, administrator of special education.”There is nothing worse than not being able to communicate with your kid,” said Meninno. “Now they have a tool to help. This is technology at its best.”Six students in the Shoemaker Elementary School’s COACh (Creating Opportunities for Autistic Children) program were chosen to receive iPads, provided by George Harrington, chairman of iPads for Autism, through Northeast Arc, a support organization for people with disabilities.The students get to keep the iPads, which are solely designed for them to use as communication devices, explained Gloria Ricardi Castillo, co-director of the Autism Support Center at Northeast Arc. The Touch to Talk app is downloaded onto the iPads, which allows the children to express themselves through a variety of on-screen images, she said. Parents had to sign onto the program and undergo training along with teachers, Castillo added.Before the iPads came along, the children largely relied on PECS, Picture Exchange Communication System, a book filled with pictures of actions and items, explained Susan Ring Brown, director of development for Northeast Arc.The school has iPads but not many, and they are only for students to use in school, said Shoemaker Program Specialist Miki DiVirgilio.”This is the first time we get to experiment with how they travel,” she said. “They stay with the student.”Meninno said depending on how the program plays out – and she expects it to be successful – she is hoping to extend it to the medically fragile students, many of whom are also non-verbal.Teacher Laura Titus said the iPads offer a wide range of benefits, both academic and social.”It gives them something as basic as a voice,” added her colleague Chuck Garmin.Parent Iwanda Chet called it an awesome program. She said her child is completely non-speaking, “and this will make it a lot easier to communicate.”