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My name is Jamie Knight, and I am an autistic front end web developer from the UK. In this article I am going to explore how Apple technology fundamentally changes my life, and enriches the lives of others. Disabilities, differences, call them what you will, have for a long time been a great area for technology to help. From the first white canes to the latest assistive and augmentative communication aids, there are a range of needs out there which technology is able to fulfil. For this article I would like to focus on 3 areas: communication, organisation and management. These are the ways in which my autism affects me and where technology helps the most.

Jane Farrall has constructed a great table listing all the important features about all the known assistive/adaptive communication (AAC) applications for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. She’s actively updating the table in response to feedback, this is a great resource for those looking for information about AAC out there.

The Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) 2011 Webinar Series has added a new collection of live, interactive, online educational events. They cover a broad range of topics to help you enhance your knowledge of assistive technology and the skills needed to support the products and process.  ATIA has tapped into national leaders in their field to bring you this outstanding collection of webinars.  Upcoming webinars for JANUARY through JUNE - You can go to our website for complete session abstracts, learning outcomes, and speaker biographies: Don't miss our new "There's An App for That" Series with Dr. Therese Willkomm and Phyllis Watson who bring you in-depth discussions of the apps for selected functional areas.  Sign-up for all three at one time and receive a discount! AT11-WEB01:  Apps for the iPad, iTouch, & iPhone on Remembering, Prompting, Organizing, Assessing, and Increasing Productivity - REGISTER Thursday, January 13, 2011   1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Mountain Time Overview:  Productivity at home, school and work is affected by how well we are organized and can remember essential tasks that need to be performed.  This webinar will demonstrate apps that can help with executive functioning such as reminders and prompts to completing essential tasks.  In addition, the webinar will also review various apps related to organization, time management, and online assessment tools.  - Full abstract AT11-WEB04:  Apps for the iPad, iTouch, & iPhone on Alternative and Augmentative Communication - REGISTER Thursday, February 17, 2011   1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Mountain Time Overview:  There are over 30 different apps that can benefit individuals who experience various communication impairments.  This webinar will review 20 of the most successful apps for children and adults.  In addition, apps related to sign language will also be discussed. - Full abstract AT11-WEB08:  Apps for the iPad, iTouch, & iPhone on Reading, Writing and Arithmetic - REGISTER Wednesday, March 23, 2011   1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Mountain Time Overview:   This webinar will demonstrate apps that can assist in reading using text to speech, narration, and audio books; apps that use voice recognition or text expanders to increase writing ability and speed; flash card apps and math tutorial apps; and apps that will quiz you. - Full abstract

Click here to register for this webinar -- $49 What: Individuals with autism have complex needs. There are thousands of apps out there, but which ones will meet their needs? This webinar will provide a preview and describe uses of apps that therapists and parents are finding useful in meeting the unique challenges of individuals with autism. These apps promote a wide range of skills for individuals with autism: communication, social skills, behavior and more. When: Monday, August 15, 2011 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Mountain Time Presenter: Phyllis S. Watson, CCC-SLP, Augmentative Communication Specialist, Crotched Mountain ATECH Services Full Abstract – Including speaker biography and learning points

On Tuesday in London, the tech giant unveiled Hawking's new, custom-built system -- called ACAT, or Assistive Context Aware Toolkit -- that is twice as fast as his old system.

As you probably know, there are an increasing number of iPhone/iPod touch/iPad Apps for AAC available on the iTunes store.  So many that I’m having trouble keeping them straight in my own head – so I thought a blog was in order as that would be something for us all to refer to. I have listed all the AAC Apps I am aware of below – along with some salient features. Keeping in tune with the idea of user ratings encouraged by iTunes, I have also added my own rating column from one to three stars. I have also put the Apps into three groups – Apps with symbols/pictures only, Apps with symbols/pictures and text-to-speech and Apps with text-to-speech only. It has ended up being a long table – but I hope you find it useful.

Meet new friends and learn with others at an AAC Summer Camp! Improve your literacy skills and participate in language-building activities. The following camps provide unique learning experiences for AAC device users and families.

Speak It! is an application for iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad which lets you enter text via the regular keyboard and then speak the words via the built-in speaker, or save them to an audio file to email to others.

Click here to register for this webinar -- $49 What: School therapists will enjoy finding a bag of tricks in their pocket to meet the needs of a large and very diverse caseload. There are thousands of apps out there, but “How do I choose?”  This session will review apps for students with articulation problems, fluency issues, voice disorders and language delay.  Apps will be identified with some initial guidelines for how to evaluate these increasingly popular ‘pocket’ products. When: Monday, September 12, 2011 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Mountain Time Presenter: Phyllis S. Watson, CCC-SLP, Augmentative Communication Specialist, Crotched Mountain ATECH Services Full Abstract – Including speaker biography and learning points

April is Autism Acceptance Month, and more specifically, April 2 is Autism Acceptance Day! No, this is not a typo. We are shifting from autism awareness to autism acceptance. We need a positive change!