Apple has released a couple of videos over the weekend starring Dillan Barmache, a 16-year-old kid who is autistic and non-verbal. These two films are powerful and also make a strong point in favor of accessibility features, specialized apps for autistic people and more.
Autism affects social and communication behaviors. Autistic people have a hard time communicating with the world. But it doesn’t mean they don’t have things to say.
It’s easy to shut yourself away when you have this disorder because you have a hard time talking with people around you, they don’t get that you understand what they’re saying, or, worse, other people are talking for yourself and misrepresenting you.
Dillan’s life has changed quite a lot thanks to technology, and in this case an iPad paired with three apps — Proloquo4Text, Assistive Express and Keeble. Now, he can type on his iPad and talk with people around him. It says a lot about the basic iPad user interface and how it’s much easier to use than a laptop.
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