Computer companies have made software to help young children that have autism. These pieces of software are mainly used in autistic schools but can also be used at home. The programs concentrate on basic computer skills that all children learn with the aid of a computer. The TreeHouse School is one especially for children with Autism and was started in 1997. In each classroom around the school there is a computer that every child makes use of. The child will use the computer with help if they have to or they can use it alone. The programmes created by companies for TreeHouse, and for schools like it, for the ICT curriculum of young children focuses on several things. One of them being, “mouse skills - clicking, moving and dragging. A long time is often spent focusing on clicking and moving the mouse, so they understand the effect they and the mouse are having on the computer screen”, [4].
The teaching style they use is progressional. So after the children have learnt and mastered these skills they move on to the next step. They are then moved to more advanced computer skills like, “matching, speech recognition, memory, sorting and painting”, [5]. After this progression the child is made to move onto more curricular activities. This is because the ICT curriculum splits up into, “language and literacy, mathematics, science and creative skills” [6]. All these skills can lead to the children progressing leaps and bounds and slowly work the brain into help them communicate, socialize and play better.
Software programmes are not all that can help autistic children they can also use the internet to help them at home and at school. At home it can be used as a way for the parents to get more involved with their child’s education. At school it can be used as a treat for doing good work or behaving, in free time. With the websites the teachers advise the children to use, they are using the skills they have learnt in class to play the games on the sites. Some of the sites the school find the children like would be, “Cbeebies, Bear in the Big Blue House and Thomas the tank engine” [7]. These sites are really useful to the child because they are not only learning and playing they are doing it with the characters they see on TV which would make the games more enjoyable.
Cbeebies sites are the best to use and are for children aged 3-8 years old. When the children get a bit older they are encouraged by the teachers to play with toys and characters that are more suited to their age. Some of the children’s favourite sections are, “fun and games, art box, and stories” [8]. The stuff in these categories have for the children to play with are easy enough for them to work on independently which also helps them with their learning. These games and pages contain stimulating activities and music. The story side of the sight is also helpful, more to the teachers than the students, because children with autism have difficulties with their attention span. So using the computer to help tell them stories is an easier way for both the teacher and students to benefit from the story.
Lastly computers seem to be one of the very best ways of teaching autistic children at school and at home. Computer software and the internet are helping children with autism progress and are helping them to deal with their condition better. The TreeHouse children have made progress and still are and other children with autism should follow these steps so that they too can progress like the children at TreeHouse.
