LAAB COR 405's List: Autism and Technology

• Autism is a general term used to describe a group of complex developmental brain disorders known as Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD). The other pervasive developmental disorders are PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not
  Otherwise Specified), Asperger's Syndrome, Rett Syndrome and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder. Many parents and professionals refer to this group as Autism Spectrum Disorders.
  

  • Autism Definition
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• Today, it is estimated that one in every 150 children is diagnosed with autism

  • The Prevalence of Autism
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• An estimated 1.5 million individuals in the U.S. and tens of millions worldwide are affected by autism. Government statistics suggest the prevalence rate of autism is increasing 10-17 percent annually.
• Current estimates are that in the United States alone, one out of 94 boys is diagnosed with autism.
• The simple answer is we don't know

  • What Causes Autism
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• The best scientific evidence available to us today points toward a potential for various combinations of factors causing autism – multiple genetic components that may cause autism on their own or possibly when combined with exposure to as yet undetermined environmental factors. Timing of exposure during the child's development (before, during or after birth) may also play a role in the development or final presentation of the disorder.
• A small number of cases can be linked to genetic disorders such as Fragile X, Tuberous Sclerosis, and Angelman's Syndrome, as well as exposure to environmental agents such as infectious ones (maternal rubella or cytomegalovirus) or chemical ones (thalidomide or valproate) during pregnancy.
• Piecemeal evidence over the past 30 years suggests that autism may involve inflammation in the central nervous system. There is also emerging evidence from animal studies that illustrates how the immune system can influence behaviors related to autism.

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• Presently, there is not a medical test for autism; a diagnosis is based on observed behavior and educational and psychological testing.

  • Autism Diagnosis
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• autism-specific screening tool, such as the Modified Checklist of Autism in Toddlers (MCHAT) should be used.
  
• The MCHAT, is a list of simple questions about your child. The answers determine whether he or she should be referred to a specialist, usually a Developmental Pediatrician, a Neurologist, a Psychiatrist or a Psychologist, for further evaluation.

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• Treatment for autism is a very intensive, comprehensive undertaking that involves the child's entire family and a team of professionals. Some programs may take place in the child's home with professionals and trained therapists and may include Parent Training for the child under supervision of a professional. Some programs are delivered in a specialized center, classroom or preschool.
  

  • Treatment of Autism
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• parents can video their children's behaviors at home, and share them with  therapists and doctors
• these technologies can be used to help train people in behavioral therapy

• blood samples of autistic children have revealed altered proteins// and  components of the immunity system
• the first test to be developed that can detect autism from the blood tests of  children
• Till date the earliest diagnosis of autism is possible at the age of 3  years.
  
• initial findings of the tests suggest that autistic children have 20% increase  in antibody producing B cells, 40% increase in natural killer cells, and at  least 100 proteins are expressed differently in their blood

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• eye tracker technology that measures eye direction while the babies look at  faces, eyes, and bouncing balls on a computer screen
• the only measure is eye direction
• More information on the Early Autism Study can found at http://www.earlyautismstudy.com

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• Raymond Romancyzk, director of Binghamton University's Institute for Child Development, is heading up an intensive research project to learn how children - with and without autism - interact with the world around them
• . Using a combination of a state-of-the-art eye tracking system, miniaturized psychophysiological monitoring and multiple computers for high-speed processing, Romancyzk and his team are able to ask questions that could help answer how individuals with autism process information and stimuli from the world around them.
• First, reference points are established by having the child watch a short animation, and with the help of a computer, the system overlays the position of a child's eyes onto a second video image of the child's field of vision. While the tracking systems observes the child's face, the eyes are located in the video image and computers record further eye movement.
• This allows the team to see where and for exactly how long and where the child is looking, such as at faces, objects, and actions, either live or on video, and permits measurement of an index of physiological anxiety, and the more standard measurement of affect, performance, and behavior.
• Gathering data from "typical' children will help researchers better distinguish where the differences between non-autistic children and children with autism.

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• The Transporters has been created specially for children with autism spectrum conditions (autism for short) who find it hard to recognize the causes of emotion and the facial expressions that go with them.  

   

   There are eight characters, all toy vehicles with their own personalities and function. They are part of a toy set in a child's bedroom, an environment that is designed to be predictable (since children with autism love predictability) but not distracting. Each character has a real human (rather than a cartoon) face to make it easier for children to transfer their learning into real life. 

   

   The characters come to life when their owner, Jamie, goes off to school in the morning. A narrator helps children to focus on the facial expressions. 

   

   Episodes and quizzes are designed to be enjoyed repeatedly. Children love to watch them again and again - and this helps them learn.  

  • In this website, you are able to buy the product, watch an example of the video, and view a video about how it works!

  • Explanation of what the Transporters are all about
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• Model Me Kids® is dedicated to producing high quality   teaching tools for children with Autism, Asperger Syndrome,   PDD-NOS, and Nonverbal Learning Disorder. We strive to make   our products affordable so that they are accessible to both   families and educators.

   

  Our projects are entirely self-funded. Proceeds from sales   are used to produce future Model Me Kids projects. We appreciate   your support in this effort.

• Time for School™    

   

  The Time for School video   presents social skills in the context of school. It features   elementary school-aged children demonstrating appropriate   social skills in the classroom, library, on the playground,   and in the hallway. Each scene lasts between 30 seconds and   3 minutes, depending on the chapter. At the end of each chapter   is a storyboard summarizing the rules taught.

   

  The video is hosted by a young boy, who narrates each scene.  

   

  With narration: In the first half of the video, the visual   is combined with narration and graphics that help explain   the particular rule.

   

  Without narration: In the second half of the video, the same   video is repeated without narration and graphics. This allows   a parent, Autism teacher, or therapist to customize the lesson   the individual child and/or to test what was learned in the   first viewing of the video.

   

  Each social skill is demonstrated in more than one situation   and across environments. This is useful to children with Autism   and Asperger's Syndrome because it helps with generalization   of the skill taught.

   

  Graphics and music are used to make the video appealing to   children with Autism, Asperger's Syndrome, and Nonverbal Learning   Disorders. A high production value helps keep the child's   interest so that he or she will want to watch many times.

   

  Run Time: Approx. 61 minutes
    Available on DVD
    $29.95
    Recommended for ages K through elementary school

   

  In   Stock - Order

   

  A free CD-Rom of photographs is included with each video   purchased. The photos are a great way to demonstrate, review,   and test the social skills shown in the video. They may be   printed as flashcards for handy reference or viewed as a computer   slideshow.

  • This part of Model Me Kids website explains one of the videos, shows samples from the video, and allows parents to buy them.

• Overall understanding of their environment

  • Assistive technology that is helping students with Autism in the classroom
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• Expressive communication skills;
• • Social interaction skills;
   
  • Attention skills;
   
  • Motivation skills;
   
  • Organization skills;
   
  • Academic skills;
   
  • Self help skills;
   
  • Overall independent daily functioning skills.
• assistive technology means any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially, off-the-shelf, modified or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities. Assistive technology service is any service that directly assists an individual with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology device.
• Therefore various types of technology from "low" tech to "high" tech, should be incorporated into every aspect of daily living in order to improve the functional capabilities of children with autism.
• Typically, children with autism process visual information easier than auditory information

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  "Low" Technology: Visual support strategies which do not involve any type of electronic or battery operated device - typically low cost, and easy to use equipment. Example: dry erase boards, clipboards, 3-ring binders, manila file folders, photo albums, laminated PCS/photographs, highlight tape, etc.

   

  "Mid" Technology: Battery operated devices or "simple" electronic devices requiring limited advancements in technology. Example: tape recorder, Language Master, overhead projector, timers, calculators, and simple voice output devices.

   

  "High" Technology: Complex technological support strategies - typically "high" cost equipment. Example: video cameras, computers and adaptive hardware, complex voice output devices.

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• The LinkPLUS keyboard is part of a series of augmentative and alternative communication devices that were developed for people who've lost the ability to speak but can still type or use a stylus. Appropriate users are people who have had a brain injury or degenerative disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or autism
• At the Pacific Autism Center for Education in Sunnyvale, CA - a school for young people with autism and other developmental disorders - sixty percent of the 53 students don't speak. Devices such as touch screens and specialized keyboards would go a long way in helping children with these disabilities
• Touch-screen technology is also helping to promote interactions between students and others. Students can get very comfortable using the technology. After being asked a question, a student can touch the screen with the stylus and the computer translates the message into spoken words

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• researchers from the Spaulding Youth Center have found that SMART Board™ interactive whiteboards can help students with autism improve spontaneous peer learning and classroom skills and decrease maladaptive behavior
• The researchers found that SMART Board interactive whiteboards were part of a suite of technology products that improved communication, attention, computer literacy and participation among students. Each classroom in the study was outfitted with a SMART Board interactive whiteboard, SMART Notebook software and additional online resources. At the end of the first year, teachers who instructed in a group setting reported that students were more attentive during activities, modeled positive, spontaneous, social behavior and gained early literacy skills. At the end of the second year, teachers said students began using tools to express ideas and stories and modeling positive classroom behaviors for their peers, including sitting quietly through lessons without help from adults. Students with autism learned to take turns using the SMART Board interactive whiteboard, improved their ability to work independently and developed better communication skills
• These tools gave the autistic learners a voice
• The results of the ACT research project demonstrate once again the positive impact SMART products can have on students with special needs

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• British and U.S. scientists are developing an "emotionally aware" computer that  can gauge an individual's thoughts by analyzing facial expressions
• People express their mental states all the time through facial expressions,  vocal nuances and gestures
• We have built this ability into computers to make them emotionally aware."
• The ability to determine an individual's mental state based on behavior and then  use that information to guide one's actions or predict those of others, is known  as the "theory of the mind
• are, however, applications with clear benefits, including an emotional hearing  aid to assist people with autism, usability testing for software, feedback for  online teaching, and informing the animation of cartoon figures
• Bellis has worked with autistic children and adults in her practice and is  encouraged by progressive technologies designed to help autistics live a more  normal life.
• Whatever helps autistics develop an awareness and sensitivity -- and appropriate  responses -- to emotional cues, should be done," Waller told TechNewsWorld. "And  from all the research showing how plastic the brain is, the more anybody --  including autistic people -- practices appropriate responses, the better they  get at it, the more natural it becomes to 'act normal.

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• But the mother of one autistic student, noting the handheld's audio features,  wanted the Palm T|X to literally speak to her son, a freshman who'd found  shuttling between classes and teachers in a new building overwhelming. Parsons,  who knew that the boy's younger brother enjoyed making videos, suggested an  alternative: Have the younger boy film and narrate a walk-through of his older  sibling's typical day. It worked. The freshman watched the video repeatedly,  thus becoming comfortable with the new routine, and returned to school. "His  mother told me, 'You're a genius,'" Parsons recalls. "I said, 'I'm not a genius.  This is just a video camera.'"
• In special education parlance, assistive technology, or AT, is any piece of  equipment used to improve a student's functional capabilities; it could be as  simple as a pencil with a rubber grip or as sophisticated as a computer enhanced  for use by a quadriplegic. (See the Edutopia article, "Assistive Technology: Enhanced Learning for  All.") According to Parsons, whatever the tool, it has to be usefully  integrated in a way that suits a student's needs. In fact, many AT practitioners  believe that the diagnostic label a special-needs student has is far less  significant than the specific challenges he or she faces, which along the autism  spectrum range in type and degree.
• Voice-recognition software and assistive-writing devices, for example, help  those with language or fine-motor deficits. Audio-text software and graphic  organizers not only highlight sections of text, thus accommodating focused  reading, they also help students write down notes and question prompts, which  aids in organization and comprehension.

  • Voice Recognition software and assistive-writing devices
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• This idea has already taken hold at Birdville High School, part of a  tech-friendly district in which all teachers get training in computer basics.  Those who take extra classes receive Palm devices, so it shouldn't be a surprise  that when Parsons took over the social-skills program six years ago, handhelds  were already in circulation among high-functioning autistic students.

   

  Early on, the students used the "primitive" Palm m515 mostly for  organization. Parsons notes that most autistic students have a structured  mind-set: "You do schoolwork at school, not at home." The Palm enabled them to  keep track of assignments in both locations, with alarm settings serving as  reminders. A couple of years later, an upgrade in equipment to the Palm T|X brought with it a color palette (good for  the visually oriented, as autistic students often are) as well as picture taking  and audio and video features.

• Soon, it became a socialization tool. Students, for example, who'd never  bothered to learn teachers' or classmates' names could now take photos and  attach names to faces for memorization purposes. Students also program social  cues into the Palms -- everything from what to say to classmates during lunch  ("How's your day going?") to proper etiquette at funerals, a place where  "everything's different socially from anything they've done before," Parsons  states.

   

  Part of what is appealing about all handhelds -- Palms, BlackBerrys, mp3  players -- is the social cachet they bring with them. "As they take the handheld  out and use it in class, other students ask them about it," Parsons says, "so  they're considered cool for the first time in their lives."
• The Palm also offers a means of expression. Because it's something of a personal  repository -- for lists, photos, favorite songs -- the logical next step, when  it's connected to a keyboard, is to pour one's thoughts into the device. "Kids I  could barely get to write a couple of sentences will write a couple of pages,"  Parsons reports. One student even wrote a novel.

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• The iReward application  works by choosing the behavior you are trying to reinforce, then choosing your  reward and selecting the number of times the behavior needs to be completed  before the reward is earned. Again, pictures can be taken of the reward and  shown from the application as a reminder of the goal.The application tracks  progress toward the goal by showing how many stars have been attained toward it.  Stars are then added for good behaviors or can be deleted if behavior has not  been attained. This may be perfect for potty training, basic life skills training and has many  applications to keep track of other "typical" family members as well, regardless  of their abilities.
• By use of the iPhone  and iPod Touch  devices, adding software to them and then personalizing that to new levels, the  ability to communicate for persons with autism or other developmental  disabilities can be greatly increased and improve their overall quality of life.
• Grembe iPhone Apps and created iCommunicate, an application that lets parents  create and store storyboards on their iPhone or their iPod Touch. "iCommunicate  is a versatile app that will help typically developing children as well as  children with developmental delays and autism. Early Intervention specialists,  teachers and parents will love this app! We provide a way to make customized storyboards and  visual schedules for your child

  • Applications for iPhone and iPod that can be downloaded for under $5 dollars
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• With the increased popularity and small size of the hand held device, along with  it's lower cost compared to other augmentative  devices, the iPod and iPhone (and many other comparable hardware from other  manufacturers), seem to be the direction things are going in this area. Parents  or caregivers can assist in setting up the software, adding (downloading)  personalized pictures and creating a way for those with special needs to "talk"  about anything that they want to let others know. Lisa Johnson adds," The  pictures are the building blocks for our application. You can also take pictures  with your digital camera or add existing pictures from those stored on your  cameras removable drive. Use the pictures for flash cards, games, making  choices, reinforcing concepts (who, what, where?) or visual cues.  We  include over 100 pictures to get you started!" It is now possible that  communication barriers can be improved and everyone can "be on the same page

  • Popular and small, relatively lower priced compared to other augmentative devices.
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