I
remember when the iPad first came out – and I was among the masses of people
mocking it. It was, after all, just a giant iPod Touch, and it basically just
seemed to function as a more powerful version of it. We then learned, however,
that such a simple change can be all that is required to induce a colossal
paradigm shift in the technological world. Small laptops (netbooks), as we
thought, despite Steve Jobs’ words, could function just fine in closing the gap
between a smartphone and laptop. (Ironically, it was just as simple an
innovation, only off of the latter rather than the former.) A well-functional
tablet, however, and to Steve Jobs’ point, can tackle that role in an intuitive
way that no other known device can. This innovation then sparked a revolution for the autistic
community.
It
really makes sense, coming from an insider’s perspective. I like to say that I improved
over the years, and in truth I have, but some things that come naturally to any
normal child can still prove demanding chores for me. Maintaining eye contact.
Exercising verbal and physical constraint, so as to not be caught talking to
myself or making embarrassing gesticulations and motions in public.
Socialization, meeting strangers, and speech, although those are also
exacerbated by a troubled adolescence. Communication, thus, is difficult for us
and we prefer physical activity to it. Writing can help, but that too is a
chore for me – my handwriting looks like shit, moving my pencil across the
paper is physically laborious and takes me longer than it should, and really,
who wants to turn endless pages in a dictionary? (I needed OT for writing until I
was nine.)
Typing,
however, is another story – once my mother showed me how to properly use a
keyboard in the fourth grade, I took it up as if I were a professional. It was
great for writing essays, but it was not until fairly recent years when I began
to privately explore my talent for English. Google
and Merriam-Webster.com
made physical dictionaries and grammar booklets a thing of the past. Most
importantly, I transformed from an awkward, seemingly foolish boy into a master
of verbal articulation. A tablet, I see, would thus be an even better remedy
for the autistic and verbally-challenged as it would close the gap of a
keyboard by allowing users to directly manipulate material on the screen.
There
is a dark side to all of this, however. Addiction to
the internet and video games is earning more recognition as a serious phenomenon. Advanced electronic
activities, such as MMORPGs and social media sites, worsen
this by presenting a constant stream of reward. Children with autism are more vulnerable
to this than normal children are, and I fear so out of personal experience. When
I was nine, I played MMORPGs such as RuneScape
all the time – by all the time, I
mean that I spent as much of my free time as I could have doing so, avoiding
socialization and physical exercise. (If any of you motherf*****s who knew me
back then open your mouths about this, I will find you.)
Childhood development
occurs over a short span of years, and can
be chunked into even shorter phases. A whole year, therefore, is a big deal. By the time I phased out of
it, I had been heavily damaged, and thus spent most of the 5th grade
friendless, bullied, and weak. And that wasn’t even the worst that could have
happened. I had some similar phases in years preceding and following, but not
nearly as severe. There are plenty of cases where people spend multiple years
in phases like this, and my words cannot do justice for the resulting damage.
It is saddening to see
our best remedies instigate our illnesses. Autism is a disability on
communication more than on anything else, and technology provides us means to amplify
a silent voice that otherwise expresses itself only in pain. We must be careful
though with what technology we use to that end – if we do not apply enough
resistance to the current, the circuit could overheat and we could be worse off
with than without.
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