April is Autism Awareness Month and while more children than ever are being diagnosed with Autism, many are finding a bit of relief by using some form of modern technology, like Apple’s iPad.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), approximately 1 in 88 children are diagnosed with Autism. That’s a 78 percent increase from just a decade ago. However, the tools to help people with Autism have also grown in the last decade.

A new study, conducted by David Niemeijer, Ph.D., CEO of AssistiveWare, and done in conjunction with Prof. Anne M. Donnellan, Ph.D. (University of San Diego) and Prof. Jodi A. Robledo, Ph.D. (California State University at San Marcos), explored Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), and the role of iPads, iPod touches and iPhones.

The survey polled 232 people: 17 AAC Users, 98 family members, caregivers and friends of AAC users, and 117 professionals working with AAC users.

The study’s findings include:

• 60% to 80% of the AAC users and families reported improvements in communication with others, in independence, in behavior, in the atmosphere at home, and in general wellbeing since starting with Proloquo2Go or another full-featured AAC App.
• About 50% of the adult AAC users and over 55% of the family members and caregivers report an improvement of verbalization and speech for the AAC user.
• 40-70% of respondents report use of an iOS AAC app to communicate in a variety of other settings beyond the home.

“One of the most exciting results from the survey is that an overwhelming majority – as many as 60% to 80% of the AAC users and families – are seeing real-life benefits of this technology,” said Niemeijer. “Improvements not just in communication, but also in independence, behavior, atmosphere at home and general wellbeing are observed since using Proloquo2Go. This is a great source of inspiration.”

As you would expect, the ubiquity and affordability of the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch have brought AAC apps to a larger segment of users than ever before.

According to the survey, some users still combine their iOS device with a dedicated device, like those from Prentke Romich and Dynavox. However, more than two-thirds of caregivers say they rely solely on iOS devices.

What’s even more encouraging is that the adoption of iOS devices for Augmentative and Alternative Communication is increasing — over one-third of respondents started using an iOS device less than six months ago.

It is uses like this that should make us all appreciate what Apple and its developers have done with the iPhone and iPad.