Case+Study

Child Case Study: Christopher



Time Observed: 15 hours + Institution: Jackson Heights Middle School Cooperating Teacher: Kaye Honadle (Autistic Unit) Age of Child: 14 Type of Technology: Communication Device Why: Christopher is almost completely non-verbal. He will listen and repeat almost any word but is not able to ask for things or people that he needs or express feelings verbally. How: With the use of his communication device, Christopher is now able to participate in many class activities, answer questions about how he is feeling, verbally express interest in his surrounding environment, request specific foods and drinks, and respond to questions asked by his assistants during subject specific activities. For example, an assistant works with Chris daily on identifying his numbers. The assistant will show Chris the number and he is now able to press the corsponding number on his device. We also discovered very quickly how much Christopher likes skittles candies. :)

Ms. Kaye: "This device has absolutely allowed Chris to become a much bigger part of the class He is able to participate in so much more on a regular basis and it's easy to see how much he likes his newfound independence."