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Technology Breakthrough in Communicating with Autistic ChildrenAuthor: mom_to_one, 05 16th, 2008 CALIFORNIA – New technologies are helping autistic children communicate like never before. At the Pacific Autism Center for Education in Santa Clara, each morning begins with a Power Point presentation, launching a day filled with technology and a new type of autism therapy. Two out of every three students at the center are non-verbal, but thanks to a voice output device 12-year-old Alex is able to get the snacks he craves. Malique also uses the device to “talk” for him. “The largest benefit is the ability to give them a voice, gives them a voice that offers a breadth of options and the third benefit is the social interactions that come from having the ability to speak,” explained the center’s Kurt Ohlfs. Technology also makes communicating less cumbersome. Imagine trying to carry around a book with pictures of everything you wanted to convey in a day. Now the students have all that information at their fingertips; 21-year-old Daniel is using a more advanced, hand held device that offers him a menu with hundreds of icon options. He selects the ones he wants and the computer talks in sentences, conveying his thoughts. “It’s amazing when we’ve given some of this technology to our students and it’s opened up that door and now the students are surprisingly prolific when it comes to expressing their thoughts,” said Ohlfs.