This week, one of our team members found this amazing story about a new iPhone app that’s helping sufferers of severe autism interact with those around them. The “Grace App,” named and designed for the 10 year old daughter of its developer, is a digital version of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS).
This system was formally hundreds of digital photos printed, laminated and shown to autistic children as a means of communication- they can point out what they want to their parents, carers, or teachers. The app, created for iPhone, allows people to use the camera in the phone to photograph any object and instantly convert it to a picture tool.
The best thing about this app is that it’s not only changing the way that parents relate to their children, but the way that teachers relate to their students. Sapsburg School in Ireland is trialing four students with the Grace App now and can only cry success. Woodbury school in Baulkam Hills, Sydney is looking to implement it in their curriculum for students who are unable to be taught in mainstream school systems. As the app spreads, more and more schools are thinking about how best to use it to create opportunities for these students to learn more effectively.
We at Beyond Chalk always love to hear stories of how technology is helping people live their lives more easily. This is the perfect example. By breaking down the barrier of communication with autistic children, this app has opened them to a new world of education and understanding. It’s a great story; a suburban mother designing an app to help her daughter.
This is the epitome of what is possible when you approach teaching with creativity and an air on what is possible.
Written by Beyond Chalk Blog .Beyond Chalk Blog
