Here’s just a small sample of extremely cool devices doing good for the autistic community.
By Katie Dupere
Credit: LEKA/APPLE/SMARTSTONES
> Tech
For autistic children, everyday interactions can be hard to decode. Socializing is often stressful, and expressing needs and emotions can be a struggle.
But innovative tech solutions have come a long way to help empower the autistic community, enhancing communication through ingenuity. And we’re taking time to recognize some of these impactful and creative gadgets for autistic children.
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From smart instruments and emotion trackers to a child-sized robot that teaches social skills, here’s just a small sample of extremely cool devices doing good for the autistic community.
1. The toy helping autistic kids communicate through music
Synchrony is a drum-like device helping autistic children engage with others through music. It can be used as formal or informal music therapy, which has been proven to help autistic children broaden their social and emotional skills.
The smooth, silicon instrument helps autistic kids bridge social gaps by letting them harmonize — literally — with playmates. Synchrony responds to touch, always playing calming sounds without dissonance or “bad notes,” which can sometimes be overwhelming for autistic children.
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2. Digital stones allowing autistic children to “speak”
Credit: Courtesy Of Smartstoneshttps://63a634d8fb449f48e619aad9ed1b9045.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html
Smartstones Touch is a handheld, stone-like device that remotely controls an app called allowing children to “speak” pre-programed phrases aloud with taps and swipes. Light, sound, and vibration patterns correspond with each gesture made on a Smartstone, giving autistic users tactile feedback when communicating.
The stones offer a simplified way of communication, which is perfect for nonverbal autistic children. The device is currently available for preorder.
3. A text-based app helping nonverbal autistic children communicate
Proloquo4Text is a text-based app that instantly turns typed words into speech. The app, which was designed for nonverbal people, can be customized to display the words and phrases an individual uses often. The app also features word and sentence prediction that learns a user’s communication patterns for faster responses.
Users can also choose their own voice on Proloquo4Text, giving them autonomy over not only what they say, but how they say it.
More at: https://mashable.com/article/autism-innovations
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