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Tablets Are Game-Changers For Special Needs Kids
theodp writes "The rise of mainstream tablets is proving to have unforeseen benefits for children with speech and communication problems and may disrupt a business where specialized devices can cost thousands of dollars. iPad apps like Proloquo2Go ($189) aim to help individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), cerebral palsy, down syndrome, developmental disabilities, ALS, traumatic brain injury, aphasia, apraxia, and more. Even Steve Jobs didn't see this one coming: 'We take no credit for this, and that's not our intention,' said Jobs, who's been touched by email he gets from parents of special needs kids for whom the iPad is proving to be a life-changer. 'Our intention is to say something is going on here,' Jobs added, suggesting that researchers should 'take a look at this.' Even though they might cost significantly less than dedicated devices, SUNY speech pathologist Andrea Abramovich explained Medicare doesn't cover consumer tablets because they could be used for non-medical purposes."
I have a 3 year old who knows half the alphabet, can count to 10 and knows all the basic shapes. We have 3 iPhones in the house and there are hundreds of educational apps in the app store
Medicare doesn't cover consumer tablets because they could be used for non-medical purposes
Some part of the medical community have this mentality that under no circumstance should a medical treatment be enjoyable even if it cost less or it is more effective...
Jehovah be praised, Oracle was not selected
Another strike against the so-called "specialist sector" marketing cheap specialized devices at high prices.
As the general accessibility of multipurpose devices increases, the less we have to rely on niche markets with artificially high prices.
I think it is a really good thing that people are able to utilize new consumer products in this way. Personally I don't like the tablet much, but it is nice to see it used like this.
So there is an app for everything? The long list of diseases in the summary did sound like a joke.
There are always unforeseen uses of tools, devices and technology. Humans have a natural tendency to find ways to use things that the inventors couldn't imagine. Advanced tool use as 'cavemen' is how we got to where we are today. Not every clever re-purposing of an object requires McGyverism.
The new OLPC Tablet will be market changing! It will be everything for everyone and slice bread too! Forget about the iPad or whatever MicroSloth shits out! This thing will be a Socialist panacea for under $100! And Open Source too!
iPads are good for "special" kids? This is gonna be a giant troll circle jerk. Okay trolls, let's see who can shoot the furthest.
Facebook is the new AOL
One can see how Steve Jobs don't want to admit this was the idea the whole time...
- It wasn't designed for the hordes of mentally challanged people!
Says the person who posts using a handle rather than their real name.
My wife is a speech language pathologist. We have talked about working on projects like this but haven't gotten around to it. I offered to help in an FOSS project that would have done something like this but ended up going nowhere. The only bad thing about this is that the company that produced this app will likely not be interested in making this app available for the cheaper android based tablets, and $200 is still a lot of money for todays middle class. The android tablets would inevitably make this more available to families without the money for an Ipad, but the whole package is still going to run more expensive than a lot of people will be able to afford.
But if anyone is interested in doing the programming I'm still up for doing the artwork, if there is enough love in the community to produce an app like this for free
once more into the breach
I worked at a university in Canada during the rise of the iPhone/iPod touch. Kids (young adults) who were deemed to have a 'learning disability' could apply for funds to purchase technology that would assist them. One of the qualifying technologies was "a PDA, either Palm or Pocket PC device".
I assisted a student in completing a request for a iPod touch instead of either Palm or Compaq iPaq. The students request was denied because the iPod touch "could be used to play games or listen to MP3s".
It didn't matter that the Palm or Pocket PCs at the time could do that as well. They had already been "approved" for use.
My cousin has cerebral palsy, and I am amazed at her ability as a user of her iPod Touch. She has fully integrated herself into the world of social media, and as a result has made more friends who can seem to communicate with her more easily in the social media scene, than in a subjective and judgmental school yard.
Unfortunately, she also watches completely inane news videos online, which do nothing for her development. She constantly asks others to watch these horrible news clips. Her grandmother tells her that she "plugs in" or has "plugged in", whenever she puts her headphones in and becomes dead to the physical world. She hates when her Nan tells her this, and is very impatient with her Mom, brother, and others.
...just so the teacher has an excuse to get one for themselves on someone else's dime.
The hype over tablet PCs is all nonsense. It was unimpressive when Bill Gates was pushing it, and it is still unimpressive when Steve Jobs pushes it (but now it is shiny). There is no reason these programs cannot be written for a PC. If the touchscreen is what is needed (which I really doubt anyway), you can get a touchscreen for a PC. We are expected to think that if you yank the keyboard and mouse, a computer becomes suddenly much more useful.
A tablet PC is just a different form factor. It is always the software that matters.
I wonder if people get upset about the customized devices used by the military?
Free/sponsored iPads, that is. The challenge isn't that they are good, but that there will be a scramble to "help" you get one and get it paid for by someone else. It reminds me of handicapped parking hang-tabs. There's no doubt people need them, but a few (some might say many) will abuse the system.
Here's the thing: at the price currently set for consumer items, these probably don't need to be subsidized. We're not talking about a $3000 device with $2500 worth of custom software anymore. The hardware is barely $500. when it comes to medical care, that's not a lot of money for anybody unless you're destitute. The software, OTOH, isn't a portable thing.
I can see it now: iScooterAHDH software you need for $1299 and we'll throw in the hardware for free! We'll even submit your paperwork to Medicaid. We're so confident that once you've completed your over the phone questionnaire, we'll get your full payment price reimbursed or your iPad (excuse me, Software) is Free!
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
I work at a state funded university, so for the government even if slightly indirectly. I'm a salaried employee and while overtime isn't a normal part of my job, I am expected to work extra when needed. Yesterday I had to stay late to video a guest speaker, for example. However I am required to complete a time card every week. If I take any time off during the regular work week, I have to report it. I don't get to report time worked on the weekend or after hours, there is no OT or anything as I'm exempt, however I've got to report time off during the week.
The reason is because they have to carefully track vacation usage and all that. Unlike many professional jobs where you are given a certain amount of vacation per year and then expected to be professional about it and sick days (like if you have two weeks and need to take an extra day that's ok) we are tracked down to as precise as we are willing to report (values are reported in hours, with 6 digits of precision behind the decimal point). We have generous amounts of time off, but it is all tracked.
Why? Well to make sure the state isn't getting taken advantage of. It is supposed to make sure that there aren't employees who just never work and bilk the system. Ok... Except that it really doesn't. Your boss signs off on the time card so you could just claim you were "working from home" or whatever and if your boss says ok, then ok. All it really does is add a massive amount of overhead in terms of documentation and processing for all this. There are people at the university who's sole job is dealing with all the time reporting shit and there's lots of levels of bureaucracy in it (your boss approves your time, the payroll person then approves their approval, that gets sent off to the administrators and so on).
It's supposed to be to protect tax payers but I suspect it does no more than just having managers that watch over things do.
And what "game" might that be?
Make money off of special needs people with false and misleading claims about non existent advantages?
Ho hum, marketing as usual in the USA
True story. I once had one go off on me because I said I liked the Marx Brothers.
<response voice="Groucho" prop="cigar">That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.</response>
(their going off on you)
Insurance companies won't pay for something that might also be used for non-medical purposes. We saw this story quite some time ago when it was about the Nintendo Wii. Now we are seeing it again where it is about the iPad.
It is precisely due to this behavior by insurance companies that medical equipment businesses can charge such an unreasonable amount of money for equipment that may as well been off the shelf. Here we see insurance companies feeding the problem of overly expensive medical services, devices and products.
But as I am sure others are already pointing out, that medical costs are high is most certainly to the advantage of insurers. Why? Well think about it. If people could simply afford to pay for many medical products and services out of their own pockets, then they wouldn't need to buy insurance in the first place. In fact, the government presently recognizes "medical savings accounts" which can be contributed to through pre-tax dollars. If the costs of medical care were reasonable, it is quite likely that the insurance companies would lose out big to people who are more willing to save up money in their medical savings accounts.
It's a big ugly game and the only losers are the people who need medical care... especially those who can't afford it.
Sometimes the rules seem un-fair, but you can always donate a tablet or two.
Blar.
My son is autistic. An ipad with this software would probably have been very useful for him when he was younger, and possibly even now...but only if it was built with mll-spec indestructibility. Special needs kids tend to have severe behavioral problems, and violent tantrums are not unusual. They need to be either tougher or cheaper.
And despite what many people seem to think, five hundred bucks for a gadget, and another 200 bucks for software, is not a trivial amount of money for a family with special needs kids. Having a special needs child almost automatically consigns many families to a single earner lifestyle, assuming their marriages even survive the experience. It always angered me that the 'poster families' the media chooses for its talk shows about special needs cases are almost always photogenic white collar folks whose biggest sacrifice is the extra money they have to spend to let specialists raise their children. If you visit a local meeting of whatever autism or other handicap support organization is in your community, I guarantee this is NOT what you will see. You will meet families struggling to keep their homes and their sanity in the face of impossible demands on their time, health and budget.
This idea is a step in the right direction, but the cottage industry that churns out all these developmental aids need to wake up to the true economics of their prospective customers.
So why not just get software approved by Medicare? At $190, that would be a helpful break
I saw this story on the news. It was awesome. "iPad is God's gift to autismkind." While showing tons of video of kids with 5 and 7 inch 'iPads'.
You do realize that the mentally handicapped (i.e., "retarded", as you call them), aren't the ones benefiting from this, right? "Speech and communications" problems don't mean the person is intellectually subpar. (Making asinine comments on /., however, is a fairly strong indication.)
+1x10^1000
"The rise of mainstream tablets"
Why can't we call the rise of the iPad "The rise of the iPad" ?
Write boring code, not shiny code!
My eldest niece is now 25 years old and suffers from cerebral palsy. It's easy to make fun of people with special needs, but it's an insulting slap in the face to their heroic caregivers. When I think about the endless love, countless hours of attention, and enormous amounts of money my brother and sister-in-law spent on their child and the heartache they endured, to have some smug, basement-dwelling maggot going for the cheap laughs enrages me to the point that I want to rip their eyeballs out through their assholes.
Oh, and fuck you too.
If you read David Pogue's "The perfect thing" about the history of the iPod, he discusses this "ipod bubble" phonomenon happening to ordinary people -- able-bodied people. Why should someone with cerebral palsy who moves differently not be allowed to keep up on current events/watch videos like any other person? I don't even care if they listen to MP3s.
--Sam
Speaking from experience, l it can be caused by a number of different conditions, it normally does not cause cognitive deficits so severe that they impact things of this nature. It does sometimes affect math and logical connections. Certainly, I have seen emotions that are difficult to manage due to what my doctor calls the "chaos" effect of a nervous system damaged from birth/in an accident. And of course living with a disability has its own frustrations.
I would urge you to treat your cousin as a normal person. There is no such thing as normal, typical, atypical etc. Those are just labels. I once attended a conference where most of the people had CP. You would be amazed. Most came on their own on trains or on planes. They thought about things very deeply, and were expressive. In short, they were human, and there was nothing in what they said or how they behaved that I could say, "Oh, they're disabled.".
Humans are a diverse bunch. I wish your cousin and your family well.
"If you build a computer idiots can use, only idiots will use it."
1,%s/idiot//g
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/treatment.shtml ..."
"Research indicates it will help several vitamin D deficiency-associated diseases such as: autism, autoimmune illness, cancer, chronic pain, depression, diabetes, heart disease, hyperparathyroidism, hypertension, influenza, myopathy (neuromuscular disorders), and osteoporosis.
One problem with all this technology is it keeps us indoor more and so we become vitamin D deficient...
A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.
"But a medicare approved ipad is going to be ~$4000 (just look at hearing aids for an example - components not all that different from a blutooth headset but 10x-50x the cost)."
Umm, no there's a significant difference between a Bluetooth headset and a hearing aid. Also a lot of private and public insurance pays most of the cost for one.
The deeper problem is our artificial-scarcity-based economic paradigm is increasingly obsolete: http://knol.google.com/k/paul-d-fernhout/beyond-a-jobless-recovery
A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.
LOL @ tards
You're going to need a cite on this federal law or I call BS. Googling "iPad Kindle ADA" turned up zilch.
---linuxrocks123
I might add that Obama's "U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today [Oct 12, 2010] announced the award of $10.9 million for 28 grants under two new federal programs that create opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities to attend and be successful in higher education."
You might consider that the iPad grant after a little more research. That answers other points made on /. as to how are they going to pay for this.
What makes the iPad a leader in this field for ADA compliance?
Here’s a summary of Voiceover gestures using accessibility for the IPAD that are not found in most other similar devices like Android.
You can also download IPAD iSO4 user guide for the IPAD. The download is free; however, the user guide is 303 pages. Here is a short snip on the just the subject of user gestures. It may be helpful for you to see why it complies with ADA in the eyes of the US government!
Navigate and Read
--> Tap: Speak item.
--> Flick right or left: Select the next or previous item.
--> Flick up or down: The effect varies depending on the Rotor Control setting.
See “Using VoiceOver” on page 110.
--> Two-finger tap: Stop speaking the current item.
--> Two-finger flick up: Read all, from the top of the screen.
--> Two-finger flick down: Read all, from the current position.
--> Three-finger flick up or down: Scroll one page at a time.
--> Three-finger flick right or left: Go to the next or previous page (such as the Home screen or Safari).
--> Three-finger tap: Speak the scroll status (which page or rows are visible).
--> Four-finger flick up or down: Go to the first or last element on a page.
--> Four-finger flick right or left: Go to the next or previous section (for example, on a webpage).
Select and Activate
--> Double-tap: Activate selected item.
--> Touch an item with one finger, tap the screen with another finger (“split-tapping”): Activate item.
--> Double-tap and hold (1 second) + standard gesture: Use a standard gesture.
The double-tap and hold gesture tells iPad to interpret the subsequent gesture as standard.
For example, you can double-tap and hold, and then without lifting your finger, drag your finger to slide a switch.
You can use standard gestures when VoiceOver is turned on, by double-tapping and holding your finger on the screen.
A series of tones indicates that normal gestures are in force.
They remain in effect until you lift your finger, then VoiceOver gestures resume.
-->Two-finger double tap: Play or pause in iPod, YouTube, Voice Memos, or Photos.
Start or pause recording in Voice Memos.
Start or stop the stopwatch.
--> Three-finger double tap: Mute or unmute VoiceOver.
--> Three-finger trip tap: Turn the display on or off.
---
You may email me a high quality beer later today for doing your research for you.
maybe someday you'll find an actual meaningful use for one of those worthless gadgets.
That, sir, is the most beautiful piece of abuse I have read in a long time. Not to mention well deserved. I salute you.
You will not drink with us, but you would taste our steel? - Walter Matthau, The Pirates