iPAD HELPS KIDS WITH AUTISM

Even though autism (a disorder of neural development, causing impaired social interaction and communication) is not curable, and lots of love, care and attention is still needed, experts believe that the iPad can help reduce the symptoms by allowing kids to deal better with sensory overload.

One of the main reasons why the iPad has been so popular with autistic kids is that there are multiple child-friendly educational apps already available for the platform. This and the fact that the iPad does not have a keyboard and mouse seems to prove less of a distraction and allows children to focus their attention more on what is happening on the screen.

One family in particular has seen the positive impact the iPad has made to their 3-year old son Hudson. Hudson was diagnosed back in 2010 with autism, and before the iPad came out he was having several violent attacks each day. It was only when the Holmquist family visited their son’s local school did things change, as the school therapist suggested they bought an iPad to help. After much thought they decided it was worth pursuing and now they believe it has transformed the behavior patterns of Hudson immensely.

After using the iPad, he now has fewer violent meltdowns, and according to his mother Laura Holmquist, it’s like the iPad has given them her family back. More specifically, it has unlocked a part of their son that they have never seen before and they now have an insight into the way that he interacts with the world around him.

Of course, back in 2010 the iPad had little in the way of competition, but with the flood gates now opening, and companies like Motorola and RIM releasing their tablets, more and more children could start to benefit from a whole range of devices, which is surely a good thing.