After years of speaking one-word utterances, one of the children with autism in Cristal Dawn Wilson’s class Friday asked her a question for the first time ever with a complete sentence.
Astounded, Wilson excitedly broadcast to visitors the significance of what had just happened in her special needs classroom at Los Ranchos Elementary in the North Valley.
“That’s how motivated the child was to complete a lesson on his Apple iPad,” Wilson said. “Instead of a one-word label, he wanted to use an entire sentence.”
“Miracles? We’ve had a kid who hasn’t spoken for years who just communicated an entire sentence for the first time,” Wilson said. “Yes, I would call that a miracle.”
Ten iPads were recently given to the school for use by students in the Autism Specific Program, donated by Tony Trujillo, president and general manager of Holman’s Inc., an Albuquerque computer systems company, and his wife, Ann Trujillo.
The devices capture a child’s attention like no other communication device can, Wilson said. “These iPads have increased my instruction time, which means students are learning more and they are learning it much faster,” Wilson said, explaining that students are more engaged working with an iPad than with other more traditional communication and learning devices.
“I think the kids appreciate the consistency and the predictability of the iPad,” Wilson said, observing that often children with autism find changes intimidating.
Schools across the country are discovering the iPad’s seemingly magical ability to unlock communication skills in students with autism, Wilson said.
“Kids with autism are often hesitant to work with things that they’re not familiar with, but an iPad seems more inviting, more accessible. It gives them a chance to more easily change things just by touching a screen,” she said.
Encouraged by Wilson, the children happily showed off short stories they wrote on their iPads, complete with setting, characters, rising story arc, conflict and resolution.
One story starred a bold and adventurous pirate, another featured a shark-infested river and still another depicted space-visiting travelers.
Tony and fellow Holman president Anthony D. Trujillo were at the school Friday to observe the class and to receive thanks from the children.
Hugging and thanking the Trujillos were Tran, fellow second-graders Jeffrey Tran and Carlos Vigil and first-graders Adrian Lumanog and Alexis Perez Marquez.
Phill Casaus, executive director of the APS Education Foundation, which accepted the donations, said their impact would be felt for years.
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