Texting opens up new world for teen with autism
December 15th, 2009From the [Wichita Falls, TX] Times Record News:
A mother in Texas says text messaging via cellphone has allowed her 15-year-old son with autism to communicate effectively for the first time.
Vera Word said she and her son, Jonathon, had tried all the conventional therapies and devices used to facilitate communication. She said he is now texting with a Verizon Blitz phone, which works better than anything else he has tried and helps him fit in with other teenage boys with cellphones.
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December 15th, 2009 at 11:49 pm
Cell phones started out by allowing portable long-distance communication. Soon, texting became popular, and it still does remain widely used today. This is great, because type/talk machines can be quite expensive, whereas a cell phone with a cell phone plan isn’t, especially when it can gift an autistic child with a voice.
In my Anthropology class, we had to go around and interview two different groups, those older than 35 and those younger than 35, about their texting abilities and habits. The 35 and older group texted much less and was less up to date on texting language (lol and omg for example). The younger texters knew all about the language; after all, they are the ones creating new terms/abbreviations/acronyms. I think that Vera needs to make sure that her son doesn’t communicate with texting terms too much. The talking machines not only serve as a way of giving voice to thought, but as a way to learn how to do it properly.