iPads Help Give Autistic Children A Voice

CNN) -- Sharia stood immobile in front of the television, transfixed by its images, unaware of the world around her. Her family called her name over and over again, but she did not respond. It was that moment when they knew something was wrong.

Initially, they thought it was a hearing problem. When they found nothing wrong, they decided to take 2-year-old Sharia to a specialist at an early detection center in 2009.

"Within five minutes of looking at Sharia, (the specialist) said that she has autism," said Sharia's father, Fawad Siddiqui. "A very clear case of it."

Siddiqui, 38, and his wife, Ayza Sheikh, were under the impression that Sharia was simply a late talker. Originally from Pakistan, the Siddiquis had no relatives to advise them on their first child.

Speech, occupational and behavior therapies helped some. But Sharia still struggled with communication.

Then, in 2010, Apple's iPad was released.

Siddiqui, a Columbia, Maryland, resident who shared his daughter's story on iReport, said that before having the iPad, Sharia's only way of communicating was crying. She was non-verbal and had no way of expressing what she wanted or how she was feeling.

Apple's touchscreen gadget wasn't the first tablet computer and isn't the only one now. But it quickly emerged as the overwhelming market leader, introducing millions of people worldwide to the concept of a computer that dwells somewhere between a smartphone and a laptop and offers a large screen full of images and icons with which the user can interact with a single touch.

"What the iPad has done has given her a sense of control that she never had before," Siddiqui said. "She knows when you touch it, something is supposed to happen. She knows she doesn't need to cry, she needs to point."

At first, Sharia enjoyed watching movies and playing games. However, through therapy and at home, she was introduced to apps such as Proloquo2Go, First Words, ABCs and Me and Puzzle Me, to name a handful. She soon learned to put together short sentences like "I want Dora" to express what she wanted.

A communications revolution

Proloquo2Go was Sharia's first app and the first real augmented communication app, released first for iPhones in 2009.

AAC, or augmentative and alternative communication, is a series of interventions used to help children with severe communication disorders communicate. Many apps are designed based on this method of therapy.

David Niemeijer, founder and CEO of Amsterdam-based AssistiveWare, creator of Proloquo2Go, said that 90% of AAC users use an iPad for communication, and more than 25% use an iPhone or iPod Touch, according to the company's surveys. About half of them reported improved speech abilities.

A search for "autism apps" for the iPad in Apple's App Store brings 764 hits. About 142 were released this year.

Similarly, dozens of assistance and education autism apps have sprung up on tablets and other devices running Google's Android operating system.

The accessibility of online stores as a platform for apps has opened a new avenue for parents. Those with the know-how are able to create apps based on their child's specific needs.

Tricia Estrada of San Diego has developed apps for her son, Evan. The app and website Wonkido has a series of animations, each about four to five minutes in length, depicting various social skills such as "asking to play" and "going potty." By watching, kids acquire a database of episodes to draw from for future social situations, she said.

Estrada said the most appealing facet of the iPad is its mobility. Before, when Evan needed to learn a new concept in the middle of soccer practice or while at a restaurant, she had no way of showing him until the therapist gave him a card or bought a DVD weeks later. With the iPad or iPhone, it's immediate.

"I think (the iPad) is revolutionizing the augmentative communication field," said Dr. Oliver Wendt, assistant professor of speech, language and hearing sciences at Purdue University. "It's a very cost-effective system. Before, we had these expensive, bulky items, which now can be replaced with an iPad."

The equipment that was used previously could cost $9,000 to $15,000.

iPads are now available for as little as $399. A majority of the apps on the iPad are paid apps that cost 99 cents to $299.99. Some of these prices may seem rather expensive for regular iPad users, but autism communities are thrilled.

Read More From CNN