Using his iPad, Christian Pounds, left, tells his teacher, Sarah Knightes, right, he believes the Giants will win the World Series.
“I think the Giants are going to win the World Series,” said Christian Pound to his classmates after watching CNN Student News. A bold statement, whether or not you agree, not because of what he said, but how he said it: using an iPad.
Christian is one of three Questar III BOCES students at Goff Middle School in East Greenbush who have little to no verbal communication skills and who use an iPad tablet computer to communicate, especially during learning groups.
When Christian’s teacher Sarah Knightes wants him to use his iPad instead of sign language, she asks him to use his “voice.”
Using an app called Proloquo2Go, students can choose from more than 14,000 symbols to communicate a word, phrase, ask a question, or express a feeling. They can also select friends and family members from photos they’ve taken and uploaded or simply type the person’s name. The iPad then reads aloud the sentence in a natural-sounding voice.
Using her iPad, Melinda Ferguson, left, tells Speech Language Pathologist Heather Campbell, center, and teacher Cindy Burola, right, she is eating sausage and pancakes.
Traditional augmentative and alternative communication (ACC) devices such as the Vantage Litebox or the Dynovox, perform similarly to the iPad, but cost about $6,000 more, according to Questar III Speech Language Pathologist Heather Campbell.
But not all districts will provide their students with iPads. Fortunately, Christian’s iPad was provided through a grant received by his home district Ravena-Coeymans- Selkirk CSD and another student’s iPad was purchased by Hoosick Valley. But the third student at Goff using an iPad to communicate did not receive his iPad from his district, instead his parents bought it for him, which is certainly not something everyone can do.
In most cases Medicaid or the student’s school district will pay for a traditional AAC device because they’ve been scientifically studied and because their sole purpose is for communicating, unlike the iPad.
Ryan Dorval uses his iPad to communicate to his teachers and classmates.
But the fact that the iPad can do so much more is actually a benefit because it keeps the students interested, says Questar III Teacher Cindy Burola. “The flexibility of the device means that they have language, music and entertainment,” she said. “It makes it something they love, and not a tool.”
And because the iPad is a mainstream and modern device for communication and social interaction, the students don’t mind carrying it around, unlike the Vantage Lite or the Dynovox which they feel is “not cool.” The iPad draws attention to their abilities, not their disabilities.
Burola said students will also focus on the iPad much longer than they would a chalkboard or an easel, reducing some of their negative behaviors. “Think about how long a high school student will stare at a computer screen waiting for a YouTube video to load. The iPad has the same effect.”
The pace at which students are adjusting to the iPad is also worthy of mention. In fact, Christian figured out how to make a complete sentence in just one day with little instruction (or by using the device).
Christian’s mother, Olga Cerezo, said he communicates far better with the iPad than he does with the Dynovox and prefers it too. “He doesn’t want anything to do with the Dynovox when he comes home,” she said, explaining that district-purchased iPads must stay in the classroom. “I’m going to have to buy him one for Christmas.”
In the future, Campbell said she hopes more districts will catch onto the cost savings of the iPad versus an ACC device so that other students like Christian can benefit from it as a communication and engagement tool.
