TECHNOLOGY
Video-modeling
The use of video-modeling techniques allows for increased interaction between children who have autism with adults. According to Rogers, a study conducted by Charlp and Milstein (1989) found out that the use of video modeling plays a huge role in the teaching of conversational skills among children who have autism. This was after the three children had a chance to watch simple conversational videos which they reproduced later with adults 1 . Effective communication will help one in building good relationships thus creating a secure social support network.
vSked
The children who have autism have minimal and poor communication, emotional manifestation, emotional acknowledgment and social interaction skills. However, the use of visual supports can help in ease these challenges by boosting their communication prompts. The visual schedules (vSked) can he help the children who have autism to improve their communication skills 2 . The vSked is a combination of the optical program, choice board, and reward systems. The choice board allows the child in the development of their verbal language skills through the participation in personal voice preferences and carrying out functional communication 3 .
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Apps
The use apps can play a huge role in helping children suffering from ASD to learn useful educational and social development skills. The application will make it easier for these children to learn from many environments which aid in the generality of the achievement of competencies. The apps provide the kids with visual aids to offer a configuration, a timetable and language or image that will simplify the communication. Examples of apps that can help children develop social and communication skills include ABC Talk with Me, Able AAC Free and the Aiko& Egor: Animation 4 Autism 4 .
Games
The expressions made by a human being often played an essential role in communication. However, for children suffering from ASD, they find it hard to understand the different facial expression produced by another 5 . This mainly results from their poor social interaction resulting from their disabilities. However, following an increased technological advancement, it is easy for children with ASD to understand different facial expression expressed by other people. The LIFEisGAME, Let’s Face It, Mind Reading among others have been found to play a huge role in helping children with ASD attain these skills. These games promote facial recognitions thus allowing them to understand different facial emotions 6 .
TIME MANAGEMENT
For most children who have autism, it requires a lot of planning by the teachers, parents and other people in helping them with assignments, completing their homework among other activities. In the long-run, this can end up affecting their cognitive, academic and social abilities. This is evident from the case of vSked; students can view any changes the teacher makes on the screen as a group. They then can touch corresponding icons on their hand-held devices together. In case the teacher would like the students to move to other activities, they can quickly check their schedules which are automatically updated at once. Before the introduction of the vSked, each child had to have their schedule. The teachers used visual cards, and at times, it would take the educators a whole morning to ensure the programs were distributed. At times it was hard to follow up on the plans thus leading to mix-ups and occurrence of errors 7 . However, with the introduction of technology such as the vSked and others, educators can efficiently manage the time taken in arraigning their day-to-day schedules. It is also easy for an educator to recognize and reinforce another student behavior across multiple groups instead of single students at a time. This will help the teacher in ensuring all the students are on the same page at the end of each day.
For most children who have autism, they find it hard to communicate effectively with other people. They tend to oversee the other individuals listening needs thus might provide a lot of redundant information. This has led to most educators using turn-taking conversation strategies in helping children with autism in their day-to-day communication. However, these turn-talk procedures are cumbersome and teaching all the students at times will require an educator to become redundant in the teaching strategies making it hard to move to the next stage. However, with the discovery of technologies such as the inoculators, they have helped the children who have autism to take the next turn in talking in a much timelier manner 8 . This is through the removal of the prolonged gaps in everyday interaction. In the end, the educators have the chance to increase the rates of the children in acquiring conversational skills.
ENGAGE
For children who have autism, they prefer repetitive play which offers them a broad sensory stimulation. Advancement in technology has brought about platforms which allow the children to become engaged in various activities such as play. When children engage in play, it psychologically places them at the center of the action 9 . In case any objects in the game move as per their push, it brings about a cause-and-effect play leaving them wanting more of the action. This is seen in a game such as the LIFEisGAME which is not only enjoyable but attractive. The children exposed to them did not show any form of aggressive behavior and opted to stay in the rooms to continue playing 10 .
Technology such as the vSked comes with a rewards system. This ensures that any child who showcases the appropriate behavior will receive a token. After a child accumulates the necessary tokens, they will be earned, and a tangible reward is given to the students 11 . Children who receive the tangible compensation will want to continue engaging in activities that earn them more tokens. In the long-run they will learn the necessary skills for engaging in appropriate behavior learned using the various technologies.
INDEPENDENCE
People who have autism have reduced social interaction, communication, and cognitive abilities 12 . This is an indication that they will require the assistance of other people such as educators, parents, and friends in carrying out their day-today-activities. However, with the development of technologies, the children who have autism have a platform upon which they can use to become independent. For an individual to become independent, one must have the ability to converse which will lead to augmented social interactions efficiently. This will mean that one can ask for assistance while in need or engage in regular conversations with other.
Technologies such as video-modeling will allow the children develop their communication skills. There is increased development of apps used in Android, Mac and other smartphones enabling for children with autism improve their social, communication and other skills essential for survival. The development of games such s LIFEisGAME, Sketch Mee, Memory game among other allows the children with autism in understanding how to read facial expressions. These are important in day-to-day communication with their peers.
Bibliography
Alves, Samanta, António Marques, Cristina Queirós and Verónica Orvalho. "LIFEisGAME prototype: a serious game about emotions for children with autism spectrum disorders." Psychnology Journal, 11, no. 3 (2013).
Charlop, Marjorie H., and Janice P. Milstein. "Teaching autistic children conversational speech using video modeling." Journal of applied behavior analysis 22, no. 3 (1989): 275-285.
Cramer, Meg, Sen H. Hirano, Monica Tentori, Michael T. Yeganyan, and Gillian R. Hayes. "Classroom-based assistive technology: collective use of interactive visual schedules by students with autism." In CHI , pp. 1-10. 2011.
Ochs, Elinor, Tamar Kremer-Sadlik, Karen Gainer Sirota, and Olga Solomon. "Autism and the social world: An anthropological perspective." Discourse studies 6, no. 2 (2004): 147-183.
Picard, Rosalind W. "Future affective technology for autism and emotion communication." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Biological Sciences 364, no. 1535 (2009): 3575-3584.
Rogers, Sally J. "Interventions that facilitate socialization in children with autism." Journal of autism and developmental disorders 30, no. 5 (2000): 399-409.
"What is Socialization?" ReviseSociology. September 7, 2017. Accessed October 13, 2017.
https://revisesociology.com/2017/09/07/what-is-socialization/.
1 Sally J. Rogers, "Interventions that facilitate socialization in children with autism," Journal of autism and developmental disorders 30, no. 5 (2000): 403
2 Meg, Cramer, Sen H. Hirano, Monica Tentori, Michael T. Yeganyan, and Gillian R. Hayes, "Classroom-based assistive technology: collective use of interactive visual schedules by students with autism," In CHI , pp. 1
3 Ibid, 2
4 "What is Socialization?" ReviseSociology, September 07, 2017, Accessed October 13, 2017,
https://revisesociology.com/2017/09/07/what-is-socialization/.
5 Samanta Alves, António Marques, Cristina Queirós, and Verónica Orvalho, "LIFEisGAME prototype: a serious game about emotions for children with autism spectrum disorders," Psychnology Journal, vol. 11, no. 3 (2013): 191
6 Ibid, 192
7 Marjorie H. Charlop and Janice P. Milstein, "Teaching autistic children conversational speech using video modeling," Journal of applied behavior analysis 22, no. 3 (1989): 6.
8 Elinor Ochs, Tamar Kremer-Sadlik, Karen Gainer Sirota, and Olga Solomon, "Autism and the social world: An anthropological perspective," Discourse studies 6, no. 2 (2004): 160.
9 Samanta Alves, et al., "LIFEisGAME prototype,” 193.
10 Ibid, 204
11 Meg, Cramer, et al., "Classroom-based assistive technology,” 1.
12 Rosalind W. Picard, "Future affective technology for autism and emotion communication." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Biological Sciences 364, no. 1535 (2009): 3575
