Chapter 1 Introduction
About a year and a half ago, I was researching an alternative augmentative
communication device for one of my students. My student was a non-verbal student,
male, 10 years old, on the classic autism spectrum disorder. He started attending Oak
Hill School in the beginning of September of 2010. In his IEP it is listed that he uses an
AAC to communicate. At the time, his district provided him with an AAC device that he
was using called the Springboard Lite. This device was a fairly portable device that
helped him communicate. The cost of the Springboard Lite was $2,595 and had the same
use as a picture exchange and communication program. Through different informal
assessments and observation of the use of his device, my student was not using his device
as a functional use of communication. Instead of purchasing more programs to use for
his device, which cost a fortune, my instructional aide and I decided that we should look
into the use of the iPad as a communication device.
The iPad was introduced to consumers in January 2010. The iPad is a touch
screen device for consuming media in all its forms: video, music, the Web, electronic
books and magazines, and video games.
For years, different modes of technology have been used to improve the quality of
life of people who have various developmental disabilities. However, the varied use of