You can’t deny that technology has helped people with disabilities come incredibly far. Just ask anybody that makes prosthetics for a living. (I’m not exactly sure where I was going with that reference but go with it.)
I was in 2nd grade when we became the proud owners of a computer. Not everyone had one at the time so it was pretty cool. In addition to that I had permission to type my homework, unlike all of my other classmates who had to hand write their homework whether or not they had a computer in their house.
I felt so cool.
(I would’ve been even cooler if I knew how cop/past worked when it came to the nights when I had to write my 10 spelling words 10 times each)
I’m not sure who initiated this change in my homework routine but I’m pretty sure it worked to everyone’s benefit.
OT: Motor skills practice.
Parents: Less homework time stress & actual time
Teacher: Homework they could actually read
Now we have the iPad. Need I really say more?
A few months ago I met my friend’s little sister. I knew a little bit about the sister though my friend but it was still very little. I knew she used a communication device so when I was visiting my friend and I noticed she was with someone who had a communication device I knew it was her sister (I’m good at connecting dots like that).
At the time I knew little about communication devices. I think I may have know more about the sister than communication devices if that gives you any clue. So when I learned more about communication devices I automatically thought of my friend and her sister.
In fact I told my friend that her sister could probably use a new device and then I went into the various options, without being too pushy of course.
After I talked to my friend (without being pushy) she asked me to send her some information so she can pass it along to her mom. I printed nearly every iPad article I found and listed the pros and cons of a Tobii vs an iPad.
You get the idea.
Not everyone can afford an iPad (or a Tobii). That’s why iHelp For Special Needs is so cool.
“We had beautiful twin daughters, Courtney and Lauren on April 30th of 2001. We found out that day that Lauren had Down Syndrome. This started our journey of parenting a typically developing and a special needs child at the same time. We started therapy ASAP for Lauren and it ran our lives for a long time. It became so stressful and time consuming that we stopped doing any therapy outside of school for Lauren when she was in kindergarten.
We got her an iPad for back to school this year (Fall 2010) and cannot believe the difference it has made in her life and ours. We we so excited about it that we believe all children with special needs should have access to this technology for their development and interaction with the world. We believe in it so strongly that we decided to start this website.
Now that we are seeing the benefit of the iPad, we are getting Lauren back into speech therapy. We do not believe technology should replace any current therapy your child is receiving but that it should be used as an added tool to enhance their development.
We have a small gift store and we decided to find a way to use our experience to help families and schools acquire the technology they need for their children. With that in mind, we decided to start a program called the iHelp Marketplace to help families and schools earn money toward the purchase of an iPad and Apps they need for their child and classrooms.” –Why We Started iHelp For Special Needs
