Technology at Your Fingertips – Autism Parenting Magazine

Practical tips to maximize your child’s use of their iPad by utilizing the accessibility features.

Many children utilize technology daily at school and at home as well as for remote learning and therapy. They have an abundance of apps at their disposal for such purposes but, while technology can be fun, it can also be intimidating. Hopefully learning a few tips and tricks can enhance your child’s ability to use their device.

According to the Individuals with Disability Act (2017), an assistive technology device is “any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities”. iPads are frequently given as an assistive technology device. There are many built-in accessibility options that are available on every iPad.

Matching technology to your child

A good match between technology and the user’s skill level is essential. Changing the settings to enhance accessibility promotes engagement when using programs and greater overall independence utilizing the device. As pediatric occupational therapists, we often use and discuss these features with parents and teachers.

Sometimes impressive results are obtained with just a couple of clicks, enabling available options. There are many helpful options that can be found under the accessibility menu or options on the iPad.

There are four accessibility setting categories: Vision, Hearing, Physical & Motor, and Learning (Wylie, 2020). All the accessibility settings are found on an iPad in the “accessibility tab” under Settings.

There are also many other accessibility features you can enable. Please see the chart below for a list of accessibility options that are built into your child’s iPad. Also note that the accessibility features can change with new product updates.

Additional information about each built in accessibility option can be found at https://www.apple.com/accessibility/. Many iPad users have also shared how they have customized their iPad experience using YouTube videos.

Examples of key accessibility options for children with autism

• Gabriel’s experience: Gabriel is in seventh grade and has autism. He uses an iPad for schoolwork. Even though he is able to type as a school accommodation, he has difficulty keeping up with his class. He also often types the incorrect keys, which slows him down and creates frustration
• Gabriel’s options: Gabriel could try the accessibility feature of speech to text instead of typing. He could go into a quiet area, verbalize his ideas to the device, and the iPad will transcribe what he is saying. Another built-in feature that could be used is predictive text. Similar to texting on your phone, predictive text displays words that could be used to make a sentence to improve typing speed and spelling
• Jasmin’s experience: Jasmin is five years old and loves using an iPad at home to color and play games. She has difficulty seeing the details and gets frustrated when trying to select small items. Though the iPad’s original purpose was for communication, she quickly exits her communication app to play games instead
• Jasmin’s options: An accessibility feature for Jasmin’s caretaker or teacher is guided access. This feature gives a caregiver control over which apps (and the buttons within an app) can be used. Three rapid clicks of the Home Button enables this feature, where the caregiver can select the items to be blocked on a particular screen (i.e., ads, exit button, next button, etc.). Enlarging or using the magnifier customizes the visual presentation to make items easier to see. Color contrast is another way to improve screen visibility by using dark mode or color filters

What if I need more support?

While there are many technology accessibility options to try on your own, an assistive technology specialist can help troubleshoot more complex situations. Assistive technology specialists are often occupational therapists who consider the child’s strengths, needs, environment, and the technology that would be the best fit for them. These therapists work with children with autism in school districts or at an outpatient therapy site and they often have additional resources to offer.