Six-year-old Nate Kothera follows along with his kindergarten class during a lesson, naming what he’s thankful for this holiday season.
But he doesn’t do so in the usual way. Nate, who has speech delays, communicates with the help of an iPad – an invention special education administrators are saying has changed the landscape of augmentative communication devices.
Nate, whose speech is affected by Down syndrome as well as a prior airway infection and treatment for leukemia, can understand what his classmates, teachers and others at Dirksen Elementary School in Schaumburg say to him, but much of his speech isn’t legible. With the iPad, Nate can navigate to common phrases, press the touch screen and easily communicate.
More than 20 other students in District 54 also use an iPad as their communication device. Before the tablet came on the market, those students relied on larger devices that weighed about 5 pounds and had no other functions, unlike an iPad.
The district first rolled out the new technology toward the end of last school year, said Cassandra Williams, executive director of special education. While there are still students using the older technology, the district will continue to integrate the use of iPads, she said.
They’re lighter, cheaper, more portable, have more functions and just look better — an important feature for older students, said Carol Leffler, assistive technology facilitator.
Many of the students who require such devices have autism, Besides Down syndrome or other disabilities that affect their ability to communicate, Williams said. The district could also expand the use of the devices to those who are visually impaired, using e-reader applications to magnify words and allow students to read along with an audio book, among other functions.
“The possibilities are endless,” she said.
Chloe Stein, Nate’s special education teacher, said he’s quickly picked up on how to use the iPad since the beginning of the school year. He easily scrolls through and chooses words and phrases.
“It’s the things that are in his head that can’t come out of his mouth,” Stein said.
Stein, Nate’s regular classroom teacher, his aide, speech therapist and others meet each week to decide what should be added into the iPad. If there will be a lesson on shapes, aide Mary Kay Williams will make sure words like, “circle, square and rectangle,” are programmed into the device, along with accompanying graphics.
Speech therapist Laurey Benshish also uses the device to improve upon Nate’s speech by having him repeat the correct pronunciation of words.
Leffler said it’s a common misconception that such devices might halt a disabled student’s speech improvement. Instead, she said, research shows iPads and other communication tools help them hear the correct way to speak.
And, the invention of the iPad could expand the number of students who receive communication tools from their school, Williams said.
While every student in District 54 who needs such a device is provided one, some districts aren’t as lucky, she said, as the prior machines cost as much as $10,000. Now, for an iPad for a speech impaired child, it costs $800 at most.
Nate also has a second iPad that his parents purchased to expand upon his speech therapy and development.
Tania Kothera said she and her husband decided to buy their own iPad for Nate so he could also use some of the educational games, puzzles and other applications.
She said it’s changed the level of communication they can have with their son.
“It’s scary because he can’t tell you if he’s hurting,” Kothera said. “The iPad has really accelerated his speech and also his cognitive abilities. He just seems to be more in tune to what is going on around him.”
