Technology Research: iPod-Based Speech Generating Device

Title of Study: Teaching Advanced Operation of an iPod-Based Speech-Generating Device to Two Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Authors: Donna Achmadi, Debora M. Kagohara, Larah van der Meer, Mark F. O’Reilly, Giulio E. Lancioni, Dean Sutherland, Russell Lang, Peter B. Marschik, Vanessa A. Green, and Jeff Sigafoos

Who Participated? Two adolescents males with autism spectrum disorders, one 17 years old and one 13 years old.

What Technology Used? An iPod Touch® with Proloquo2Go^TM software (called the “speech-generating device” in the study).

What Skills Taught? Requesting specific snacks or toys using the speech-generating device.

Results: Before being taught to use the device, neither participant was using the device to make any independent requests. After the intervention 1 phase of the study, both participants began to perform the multi-step requesting sequence on the device between 10 and 30 times per 5 minute session.

Where Published: Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, Volume 6 (2012), pages 1258–1264.

Please read the study for a full description of the teaching strategies used and to evaluate the results for yourself.