The AMIKEO tablet pack: a tablet and apps that revolutionize daily life for people with autism
Published: 06 October 2023
In recent years, new technologies, led by tablets, have opened up new, concrete prospects for helping people with autism and ASD to learn and live independently.
Aware of the importance of this subject,
Fédération Française Sésame Autisme
signed a partnership in 2015 with Auticiel, a startup that puts new technologies at the service of disability, to work together on these issues. Auticiel has adapted a tablet called ” Tablette AMIKEO “, and developed a suite of specialized applications in partnership with associations and professionals in the medical-educational field.
Why did you create a tablet and specific applications for people with mental and cognitive disabilities (autism, intellectual disability...)?
What was missing was material and content that could be customized, secured and adapted to individual needs. In partnership with a scientific committee and test establishments, we have designed innovative learning and autonomy applications. With the pre-installed applications on the AMIKEO Tablet, you can learn to classify or recognize emotions, for example. The learning process is gradual and unhindered. The exercises can be customized according to your sensitivity, level and the themes you wish to tackle.
The fun aspect is also important: when motivation is present, it greatly facilitates learning.
The tablet is also a real compensatory tool: it can be used to express oneself with images and synthetic voice, for example, to express pain or a need. It also provides time reference points with diaries and timers. Finally, the user can play and relax independently, with games, music and videos.
Tablets and digital applications: media full of promise
Auticiel was set up in 2011 to coincide with the launch of the touchscreen tablet in France. Sarah Cherruault-Anouge, president and founder of Auticiel, explains: “At the time, I met families who realized that while their children had a lot of difficulty communicating with others, they were very good at using digital tools, particularly touch-screen tablets. It was quite incredible to see how easily they interacted with the tool, even those who were in great difficulty.”
The CLASSIT application on the AMIKEO tablet
Intuitive, interactive and fun, the digital tablet is a new medium that facilitates understanding and captures attention. The tablet offers immediate interactivity and intuitiveness, making it easy to understand. So you’re already protected from a number of support-related roadblocks. With light, color and sound, the screen captures attention and encourages concentration, a key factor for people with autism and ASD.
Well-protected, the tablet can be taken anywhere, which makes all the difference. We’re moving away from the “one place = one lesson” model! It’s a tool that can be used at the speech therapist’s as well as at home, with support or independently. By making it easier to increase the amount of time spent in use, we can consolidate the learning process. In terms of autonomy, the person can have their communication tool with them at all times, which is not always easy with pictogram binders.
Expert opinion
“We thought that tablets being an integral and daily part of educational, playful and pedagogical media for children in general, and autistic children in particular (…) Moreover, a tablet is easier for the child to carry around with the family or to school, and less discriminatory than the PC made available to disabled children at school.” Dr. Gepner, a psychiatrist and researcher specializing in autism, and Carole Tardif, a researcher and professor of psychology, have worked with Auticiel to design the ” Logiral™ “.
“We thought that tablets being an integral and everyday part of educational, playful and pedagogical media for children in general, and autistic children in particular (…) Moreover, a tablet is easier for the child to carry around with the family or to school, and less discriminatory than the PC made available to disabled children at school”.
Designed for people with autism, the application makes it easy to record videos and slow them down for viewing at different speeds. Since it went live in early 2014, users have noted that the app helps increase the attention, comprehension and imitation skills of people with autism, as well as reducing behavioral problems.