When I first read Temple Grandin’s “Thinking in Pictures,” it transformed my views of autism and made me think hard about how the brain isn’t just a carbon copy from person to person. This talk by Temple Grandin will help clue you into what I mean:

“Temple Grandin is a Doctor of Animal Science and professor at Colorado State University, bestselling author, and consultant to the livestock industry in animal behavior.
Facilities she has designed are located in the United States, Canada, Europe, Mexico, Australia, and other countries. Her writings on the flight zone and other principles of grazing animal behavior have helped many people to reduce stress on their animals during handling.

As a person with high-functioning autism, Grandin is also widely noted for her work in autism advocacy and is the inventor of the hug machine designed to calm hypersensitive persons.”

Hello,
I am Nathalie from Belgium. I introduced the project to my pupils. In what way are we going to make them discuss? Should they all have an access to the website? I would also like to have more instructions. We have one more week before Spring break and then have two weeks off. We will focus on the project in the coming days. Hope to read you soon and looking forward to cooperating!

This makes a lot of sense to me. My students are too young for it, though (:. I wonder if there’s a way I could adapt it for 3-5 year olds.

Clarke Central students using iPhones as a new kind of textbook
By JOE VANHOOSE - Athens Banner-Herald
Published Tuesday, March 29, 2011

They go from store to store, scanning a list of items with a special iPhone application that reads bar codes. On Wednesday, a quick scan of products like laundry detergent, basil, apple cider and vegetable soup showed their prices at competing stores and websites.

The students make a list, factor in the taxes and shipping costs and then email it to their teacher, Philip Walter. This community-based instruction is a new kind of teaching, and the iPhones are a new kind of textbook.

Walter is using technology to acclimate students with everyday tasks like shopping, planning and even having a conversation.

Here is a news story about how therapist and parents are using Apples Ipads and Ipod touchs to help kids with autism.

Interesting article on the hype re autism and ipads. I’m definitely on the fence about this… I’d have to try using the ipads with my students to decide, I guess.

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iPads Are Not a Miracle for Children With Autism
By Daniel Donahoo

The iPad has received evangelical coverage in the media and blogosphere, especially when it comes to autism. Parents have flocked to the device and governments and other organizations that support children with a disability have been hit hard with requests for funding and to support the purchase of the device. Some philanthropic organizations, like golfer Adam Scott’s Foundation, have been providing iPads to families loaded with a suite of apps recommended for children with autism.

Of course, this has had the unintended impact of being quite a difficult experience for families of children with autism who can’t afford the device. The feeling that there may be something out there that can support their child’s development, but that they can’t access, is a terrible situation for a parent to be in. The reportage of the experience of children with autism who use the device doesn’t reflect on how parents and professionals support and engage with children to use the device. They promote it as though every child with autism is a savant who has been waiting for this perfect tool. While a few of the stories may be accurate, they generally do not show the whole picture of how an iPad supports child development.