How does the type of autism a child has affect how well he or she works with technology?

Asperger’s Syndrome:

Children with Asperger’s Syndrome don’t have problems with language, but have trouble communicating. They tend to have a limited scope of interests. Often, they have one or two topics that are of high interest to them. Considering the fact that children with Asperger’s don’t have trouble with language, they would use different assistive technologies than children with different types of autism. Computers are helpful because many autistic children don’t have trouble typing on a computer to communicate. Also, voice recordings or videos are good to use because children with Aspergers may be uncomfortable with talking to a teacher one-on-one. They like the predictability of a recording or video.

Rett Syndrome:

Children with Rett Syndrome begin developing normally, but between 1 and 4 years old they begin to lose their communication skills and make repetitive movements with their hands. The best Assistive Technologies for children with Rett Syndrome are anything that allows them to actually communicate. Rett Syndrome can be very severe, sometimes resulting in a complete loss of controlled movement. An interesting technology that has been developed is eye-gaze technology. It uses cameras to track eye movement. By focusing their eyes on cute characters, they can play a game without communicating or moving at all. When their eyes are focused, the characters jump or react in some way on the screen. Although this is not used in schools, it can be useful for special education teachers to know about Rett Syndrome during preschool years.

Autistic Disorder:

Children with autism have trouble communicating, social interactions, and making eye contact with others. They love routine, and dislike physical contact. Many assistive technologies are useful when teaching children with autism. They can be preoccupied by colors and lights, so picture charts of the schedule for the day will help them cooperate at school when making transitions to other activities. Also, technologies such as the Voice in the Box are great because it encourages the use of fine motor skills and also becomes fairly predictable, so they become comfortable using it.

Voice in the Box

Sources:

http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/understanding-autism-basics

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/205709.php