4 Ways iPads Are Changing the Lives of People With Disabilities
Noah Rahman has moderate Cerebral Palsy affecting his communication, cognition and upper and lower body movement. When he turned two, his language, cognitive abilitity and fine motor skills were diagnosed by a developmental specialist as being at least 12 months behind. Then Noah got an iPad.
Four months later, his language and cognition were on par with his age level. His fine motor skills had made significant leaps.
Today, the three-year-old (pictured at right with his father) spends an hour or two on his iPad each day. He switches his apps between reading and writing in English, Arabic and Spanish. In the fall, he’ll enter a classroom of five-year-olds. “The iPad unlocked his motivation and his desire because it’s fun,” says his dad Sami Rahman, co-founder of SNApps4Kids, a community of parents, therapists and educators sharing their experiences using the iPad, iPod touch, iPhone and Android to help children with special needs.
、Androidを使用し、子供の特別なニーズを援助する経験を共有している、SNApps4Kidsの共同創立者で、コミュニティーの親、セラピスト、教育者である彼の父、Sami Rahmanはそう述べている。
SNApps4Kids taps into a burgeoning trend for people with disabilities. Touch devices — most notably the iPad — are revolutionizing the lives of children, adults and seniors with special needs. Rahman estimates some 40,000 apps have been developed for this demographic.
“Touch has made it exceptionally accessible — everyone has an iPad, everyone has an iPod,” says Michelle Diament, cofounder of Disability Scoop, a source for news relating to developmental disabilities. “If you’re someone with a disability, having something that other people are using makes you feel like part of the in-crowd.”
「タッチすることで例外的にアクセス可能になった－誰しもがiPadを持ち、誰もがiPodを持つんです」とMichelle Diament：Disability Scoopの共同創設者はいう。Disability Scoopは発達障害についてのニュースソースだ。「もしあなたに障害があるなら、他の人が使っているものを持つことであたかも”排他的集団”の一員であるかのように思えるわけです。」
で最も明白なタッチデバイスは、特別なニーズを持つ子供、大人、高齢者の生活に革命を起こしている。Rahmanはこの人口統計のために40,000ほどのアプリが開発されていると見積もっている。
「タッチは、非常に利用できる-みんながiPadを所有し、みんながiPodを所有する」障害発達関連のニュースソースのDisability Scoopの共同創立者、Michelle Diamentは述べている。「もしあなたが障害を持つなら、他の人が使用していて、あなたもその大勢の一部だと感じられる何かを所有するであろう」
For people lacking motor skills, touch screens are more intuitive devices. There is no mouse, keyboard or pen intercepting their communication with the screen. Larger platforms, like iPads, are preferred over smaller iOS and Android devices for ease-of-use and, of course, the cool factor.
Here are four ways that touch devices are changing the lives of people with disabilities:
1. As a Communicator
Before the iPad and other similar devices, using touch-to-speak technology was incredibly expensive, costing around $8,000. Now, it only costs $499 for an iPad and $189.99 for a thorough touch-to-speak app like Proloquo2Go.
ここではタッチデバイスが障害者の生活をかえた４つの方法について述べよう：
１．コミュニケーションツールとしての利用
iPadやその他類似のデバイスの前は、タッチ・トゥ・スピークテクノロジーを使うのは信じられないくらい費用がかかり、約8000ドルかかった。現在はiPadで499ドルとProloquo2Goのようなタッチ・トゥ・スピークアプリで189.99ドルかかるだけだ。
ここに、タッチデバイスが障害を持つ人々の生活を変えている４つの方法がある
1.コミュニケーションとして
iPadやその他類似したデバイスが現れる前、タッチ会話技術はおよそ＄8,000と、非常に高額であった。今、iPadはたった＄499、そしてProloquo2Goのようなタッチ会話アプリは＄189.99である。
That relative affordability has made the technology more available for children and adults that can’t use their voice. With the simple touch of an iPad, a hungry non-verbal person can communicate exactly what he or she would like to eat. Those apps can then be customized with photos or features to suit an individual’s life and needs.
Another option is Assistive Chat, which predicts several sentence completion options. For the most severely disabled people, Yes|No is a simple app that allows individuals to voice their preference in yes-or-no responses.
もうひとつ別のオプションとしては、Assistive Chatがある。Assistive Chatはいくつかの文章完成オプションを予測するものだ。最も重度の障害のある人々にとっては、Yes|Noというアプリがある。Yes|Noはシンプルなアプリで、はい・いいえの返事について障害者の好みを声にすることができるものだ。
次のオプションは、いくつかの文章完了オプションを予測する、補助チャットである。ほとんどの重度の障害の人々のために、Yes/Noは、はい、もしくはいいえの応答を声に出すシンプルなアプリである。
“It gives dignity back to people who are more disabled,” says Vicki Windham, a special education teacher in the Clarkstown Central School District who trains people of all ages to make the most of their iPads. Windham reviews apps for people with a variety of special needs.
For hard-of-hearing iPad users, soundAmp R amplifies sound in a variety of situations. Users can also record lectures or presentations they want to listen to again later.
2. As a Therapeutic Device
SNApps4Kids co-founder Cristen Reat’s son Vincent was born with Down syndrome, which can also lead to low-muscle mass. While he can walk, Reat describes his son as a Buddha that prefers to sit still most of the time.
聴覚障害のiPadユーザーにとっては、soundAmp R を使うと様々な状況の音を増幅することができる。ユーザーは講義やプレゼンテーションのうち、あとでもう一度聞きたいものを録音することもできる。
2．治療デバイスとしての利用
SNApps4Kids共同創設者であるCristen Reatの息子、Vincentはダウン症をもって生まれてきた。ダウン症によってもまた筋力低下を引き起こしうる。彼は歩くことはできるが、Reatは彼の息子のことをブッダだという。というのも彼はほとんどの時間、じっと座ってすごしているからだ。
聴覚に障害のあるiPadユーザーのために、soundAmp Rは、様々なシチュエーションの音を拡大する。ユーザーはもう一度聞きたいレクチャーやプレゼンテーションを録音することもできる。
2.治療デバイスとして
SNApps4Kidsの共同創立者、Cristen Reatの息子Vincentは、ダウン症で生まれ、前サルコぺ二アの進行も見られる。彼が歩くことができる間、Reatは彼の息子は多くの時間をじっと座って過ごす事を好んだブッダとして記述している。
Throughout his life, Vincent’s therapists and parents have tried to help him be more active. It was not until his physical therapist placed an iPad on a treadmill that Vincent was motivated to walk. He now stays on for nine and a half minutes, interacting with his iPad while he’s in motion.
In addition to increasing his gross motor ability to walk, Vincent’s iPad has helped his fine motor skills. For Vincent, computers and older technology required visual shifting — between a mouse or keyboard and the screen. On an iPad, Vincent can watch as one of his fingers writes directly on the screen to make selections.
彼の歩くといった粗大運動を高めることに加えて、VincentはiPadによって微細な運動能力も高まった。Vincentにとっては、コンピュータや古いテクノロジーでは視覚的な移動が必要となる－すなわちマウス・キーボードと画面の間の移動だ。iPadでは、Vincentは指１本で書いて直接スクリーンから選びながら、見ることができるわけだ。
加えて、彼の歩行能力の類型行動は上昇し、VincentのiPadは彼の微動運動スキルの向上に役立っている。Vincentのために、コンピューターとより古い技術は視覚的なシフトを求められた-マウスやキーボードからスクリーンへ。iPadにおいて、Vincentは彼の指の一本で直接スクリーンに描くことで、選択することができる。
Similarly, Noah Rahman has shown motor improvement. After playing the Elmo Loves ABCs app on his iPad, he can write the entire alphabet, requiring sophisticated finger isolation. As a three-year-old, this puts him well above his grade level. “First it was ‘do it for me,’ then it was ‘do it with me,’ now he does it by himself,” says Noah’s father.
3. As an Educational Tool
Years ago, one of Jeremy Brown’s autistic elementary school students picked up his iPhone off his desk and began navigating the iOS with ease. “It’s like a fish to water,” says Brown, a teacher for autistic elementary school students, of his students’ interactions with touch technology.
3．教育ツールとしての利用
何年も前になるが、jeremy Brown自閉症小学校の生徒がiPhoneを机から出して、簡単にiOSをナビゲートしはじめたという。「水を得た魚のようだった」とBrownはいう。Brownは自閉症児向けの小学校の教師であり、彼の生徒にタッチテクノロジーを用いている。
Brown is immersed in online discussions of technology and special education, moderating the Facebook group iTeach Special Education, collaborating on the podcast EdCeptional and coauthoring the blog Teaching All Students. While use of the iPad in classrooms is not yet approved in his school district, he believes the iPad is a great supplemental method of instruction, estimating 80% to 90% of his students with autism see great results when using iOS devices. Brown hopes his school district and others across the country will approve iPads in the classroom.
While no one advocates replacing traditional instruction, a number of apps do address academic subjects from math to language to reading and writing. In October 2010, Apple even featured an “Apps for Special Education” section in the App Store.
Brown encourages parents to separate their children’s recreational uses of the iPad from those in the classroom. Some students may watch YouTube videos on the school bus but while they’re at school they know Mr. Brown’s iPads are only for education.
Brownは親に教室でのiPadの利用と娯楽目的でiPadを使うことを分けるよう勧めている。スクールバスでYouTubeを見る生徒もいるかもしれないが、学校にいるときはBrown先生のiPadが教育目的専用であることがわかっている。
