“For a non-verbal autistic person, the tablet is great!”
Published: 06 October 2023
Monique is the mother of Mathieu, a young boy withsevere autism and behavioral problems.
Mathieu doesn’t talk, he runs very fast and has phenomenal strength.
Mathieu has been using the tablet on a daily basis for the past two years. His mother gave us her testimony.
Monique, when did you integrate the tablet into your family? Why did you choose this tool?
When my son was 15, we started the PECS method (Pictures Exchange Communication).
Two or three years ago, we tried out an iPad tablet for myself and my son, the two of us together, but very quickly, given the good results and the endless possibilities of this tool, I bought my son his own iPad: the iPad mini with a memory card.
We integrated this tool following another very successful “ruggedized mini-computer” trial 5 years earlier: it was a communication tool with voice synthesis. Compared to what we do now, this already powerful mini-computer was heavy and cumbersome, but above all, the communication program had to be integrated into it, and I worked for hours to create the pages and images, even though I’d never been able to do it myself. now with the tablet, it’s very quick and intuitive..
Originally, then, the tool was for communicating and hearing a voice (since my son didn’t speak). But in reality, on the iPad, my son manages the radio on his own, as well as various other applications. When we’re together, we open applications that he can’t do on his own, but he’s very interested and learns something new every time…
I can make little “albums” with a precise theme, and he can leaf through them, or I can make him timetables quite easily, or a series of social scenarios, … the uses are many!
What do you see as the advantages of using a tablet?
Children tend to pay more attention to this kind of motivating tool, which has more than one trick up its sleeve: image, sound, movement, …. music.
It’s easy to switch applications to keep you awake and focused.
The child can occupy himself or herself, or at other times, it can create interactions with parents or siblings, or peer groups.
It’s a tool for pleasure or for work. It develops autonomy even at very young ages and levels.
Children with disabilities are more like people in their own age group, because everyone their age has a tablet (often).
What’s more, with flash memory, you can easily access the Internet, instantly and anywhere (kitchen, living room, train, waiting room, etc.).
Any message for other parents who might like to use the tablet?
“If your child clicks, go for it.
If not, try again… And teach him… It will be hours of shared fun!!!! Tablets have so many functions… ”
Thanks to Monique Corroy for this testimonial!