The iPad has become a useful communication aid for many of those with speech and communication difficulties.

A variety of apps are now available for the iPad which are aimed at helping those with speech, communication, and learning difficulties, such as cerebral palsy and autism.

These apps have a number of different features, from facilitating communication through pictures, to teaching speech patterns with simple stories. One such app, Proloquo2Go, is used by nine-year-old Caleigh Gray, who has cerebral palsy. Her mother, Holly Gray, described how it has helped Caleigh to communicate:

“We’re not having to fight to prove to people that she is a smart little girl anymore, because it’s there once they see her using the iPad.”

Image: Jared Moossy for The Wall Street Journal

Another parent, Shannon Rosa, said that her nine-year-old son Leo, who is autistic, finds the iPad’s touchscreen interface more usable than a traditional mouse interface:

“There’s no cursor analogy he has to work through; it’s a direct connection.”

The iPad’s portability is also useful, as it allows users to keep the device with them in all situations.

Those within the medical profession, including researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, are  studying what else could be done to make tablets more effective for those with autism or speech difficulties, with plans to launch future apps for both iPad and Android tablet devices.

These examples highlight how the iPad, and other tablets, can extend beyond their original intended functionality and provide innovative and flexible solutions to inprove people’s lives.