Initial Draft/Working Outline

I have tweaked my topic a bit from tablets and education to how tablets can help children with disabilities-- specifically those with Autism. I’ve focused my outline mostly around sources and quotes that I want to use to help me organize them. If all goes well, am planning on having a complete draft up by tomorrow night.

This is my working outline:

1. Thesis: New technologies such as tablets can help students with learning disabilities--specifically those with Autism.

2. The OED Defines Autism as "A condition which has its onset in childhood and is marked by severely limited responsiveness to other persons, restricted behaviour patterns, difficulty with abstract concepts, and usually abnormal speech development." 

3. Autism has since been recognized as a broader condition. The term "Autistic Spectrum Disorder" was first used in the late 1980s. This term acknowledges that there is a spectrum of Autism. The term is defined "Any disorder in which the subject displays autistic characteristics (esp. impaired communication and social interaction and restricted activities and interests) (OED).

4. Tablets can be used to help autistic students learn in ways that build on their strengths rather than their weaknesses.

5. Author Temple Grandin, who has experienced Autism herself, lists some benefits of tablets for people with Autism. She writes, "These devices are an improvement over previous computers because the keyboard is right on the screen; autistic viewers don't have to move their eyes to see the result of their typing." She then adds, "First, they're cool. A tablet is not something that labels you as handicapped to the rest of the world. Tablets are things that normal people carry around. Second, they're relatively inexpensive...And the number of apps seems limitless."

      a. One website lists 78 free iPad apps for students with disabilities (http://www.slideshare.net/elearningindustry/78-free-ipad-apps-for-students-with-special-needs). Of the 78 apps, 12 are created specifically for users who have Autism.

6. One useful feature of tablets is that they can play videos. Plavnick explains why this is so useful for children with autism, "Explicit instruction in attending to video can be an important skill to teach children with autism as it can lead to the acquisition of new skills via video modeling." 

       a. Plavnick cites a study of video modeling that was done in 2000 which had hopeful results. Out of 5 participants, four children learned desired behaviors more quickly when the behaviors were modeled via video. The fifth child learned at the same pace regardless of whether behavior was modeled in person or via video (Charlop-Christy, Le, and Freeman, cited by Plavnik).

      b. A similar study by a school librarian found, "In our small sampling, every child with autism improved when using the iPad and interactive e-book over text books, except one. However, that student answered 100% of the comprehension questions correctly on all four assessments. There were no students whose comprehension decreased when using the iPad and interactive e-book. The rate of increase in comprehension when using the iPad and interactive e-books was 21% in students in middle school grades, 25% in students in the high school grades, and 21% in students ages 18-22. All three groups showed statistically significant improvements in information acquisition when using the iPad, interactive e-books" (Price).

7. Howard Shane warns, “Caution must continue to be exercised to ensure that the dazzle of this impressive technology does not replace a methodical, clinical process that matches a person with communication assistance needs with the optimal communication technology available” (1229). However, he later adds, “The widespread uses of innovative technology across every segment of society bodes well for persons with ASD” (1234).

Works Cited:

"Autism, n.". OED Online. September 2013. Oxford University Press. 6 December 2013 <http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/13363?redirectedFrom=Autism>.

Grandin, Temple and Richard Panek. "Excerpt: Author Temple Grandin Reports on The Autistic Brain." Time. Time Magazine, 19 May 2013. Web. 6 December 2013.

Plavnick, Joshua B. 1., plavnick@msu.edu. "A Practical Strategy for Teaching a Child with Autism to Attend to and Imitate a Portable Video Model." Research & Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities 37.4 (2012): 263-70. Web.

Price, Amy. "Making a Difference with Smart Tablets." Teacher Librarian 39.1 (2011): 31-4. Web.

Shane, Howard1, howard.shane@childrens.harvard.edu, et al. "Applying Technology to Visually Support Language and Communication in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders." Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders 42.6 (2012): 1228-35. Web.