Apple Celebrates Autism Acceptance Month With Two New Videos

[Dj64Mk7]

As someone who also has Autism, I fully support Apple with showcasing this young man's story.

You might think that I have more to say (and I do), but I don't think most would read it so I'll just end it here.

Please, go ahead and share your story.

Feel free. We have a number of autistic members here.

Somewhat unrelated, I can be added to the list of people with a "disability."

I have cerebral palsy, so life for me is somewhat different from most 16 year olds. I use Apple products every day to get around this, so I support Apple with this as well as all their other accessibility-related moves.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Better awareness is always good. But somethings up and I'm concerned we just don't know all the facts. Why has autism spiked so much in recent years?

Because the awareness is better more people are being diagnosed with autism rather than just being written off as a naughty child or just odd. I've trained healthcare professionals who genuinely believe autism is not s condition and is just down to bad parenting.

 

[DMVillain]

My brother has autism and is nonverbal. Thanks to the iPad, he can communicate at a level I feared wasn't possible. From the bottom my heart, thank you Apple.

 

[mdelvecchio]

So how does iPad actually helps? How is this different to writing or typing on a typewriter. I also form words from letters, and sentences from words while typing or speaking.

if you don't understand the difference between difference in productivity between an iPad and a typewriter, then there's little we can do to help you.

 

[Kissaragi]

Because the awareness is better more people are being diagnosed with autism rather than just being written off as a naughty child or just odd. I've trained healthcare professionals who genuinely believe autism is not s condition and is just down to bad parenting.

Exactly, unfortunately some people cant accept that and go looking for other dangerous theories.

Im just glad technology can help some people so much. I think VR is going to be massive for therapy for many different conditions.

 

[verniesgarden]

The autism rate over the last few years has spiked drastically. I'm still convinced the cause is something that's being kept from the public.

It's likely more a case of greater recognition that autism is a thing, back in the 1950s they would just lumped you in with a bunch of other mental disabilities.

 

[AbSoluTc]

Because the awareness is better more people are being diagnosed with autism rather than just being written off as a naughty child or just odd. I've trained healthcare professionals who genuinely believe autism is not s condition and is just down to bad parenting.

Even if awareness is better and more people are being diagnosed, the question is - what's causing it? I don't subscribe to the vaccination crap either. Something else is at play here.

Either way, it's really cool what Dillan can do thanks to Apple's iPad.

 

[ChrisH3677]

The autism rate over the last few years has spiked drastically. I'm still convinced the cause is something that's being kept from the public.

Would be nice to see apple spend some money on research towards those answers.

As one on the spectrum at the high functioning end, I believe one of the big reasons is society has, in the last 35 years, become significantly more demanding of having a high social IQ and emotional IQ to be "normal".

Low functioning autistics, like Dillan, have always been obviously autistic and easily diagnosed. And it's great to see tools like the iPad help them become more functioning.

But it's higher up the spectrum that all the new diagnose is occurring. People who function reasonably okay and you generally don't pick until you talk to them a little or longer.

Back in the '70s and earlier, it didn't matter if you were not able to understand feelings, or be a social butterfly, because the dominant "species" (men) were not anyway. Before the '80s, you'd never see a man cry, for example.

It was much easier for an functioning autistic to disappear into the background and find a niche were they could be happy or at least, not pressured to be someone different.

Ironically, back then, particularly for guys, if you were social and emotional, you were the one with a "disorder".

But now, we expect everyone to be in touch with their feelings and social masters. I think that's why my own diagnosis didn't come til I was 45 (7 years ago).

As I got older and the world changed, I think I found it harder and harder to conform to what was expected of a "normal" person.

I'm not saying this change in the world is a bad thing either. I think it is a very good thing. It has been a significant reason for the improved relations and understanding between men and women.

But at the moment, it's a bit out of balance because we are expecting *everybody* to fit this new "normal" and when they don't, we say something is wrong with them, and often they get diagnosed autistic.

We need to get to a point where we see functioning autistic people as normal - but in a different way.

 

[rk25123]

Autism acceptance month?! WTF?! Who doesn't "accept" autism?! Are we really so primitive that we need an "acceptance month"?! Sadly, yes. We're basically monkeys with smartphones.

 

[Fishcake21]

Earlier this morning, Apple posted a pair of videos onto its YouTube channel to join in on celebrating Autism Acceptance Month. The videos - titled "Dillan's Voice" and "Dillan's Path" - show how the company's technology, namely the iPad, has helped a young man with autism navigate a world that doesn't fully understand what he's going through.

Dillan narrates the first video, Dillan's Voice, using the help of an assistive communication app on the iPad. He mentions that most of his life it was impossible to convey what he felt to people around him, but with the help of the iPad he can finally speak and have conversations with his friends and family.

Dillan's mom Tami, and his therapist Deborah Spengler, provide some background into Dillan's past in the second video. Dillan was born in 1999 and Tami mentions that what the iPad has done for her son is "just the most incredible thing ever, to suddenly start to hear your child's voice." Before he could use the iPad to type, Dillan describes "a lonely existence" where he had to create relationships with his various toy animals since he couldn't communicate with his family.

Apple has been known as a big proponent for first-party accessibility features on its devices, as well as encouraging the development of third-party apps that facilitate educational experiences for users with vision, hearing, physical, or learning impairments. Many of its award-winning efforts have yielded results such as bringing gaming to the blind on iOS, and even various assistive technologies like VoiceOver and haptic feedback on the Apple Watch.

Apple has also launched a section of the app store, called Voices of Autism, inspired by Dillan's story. There users can download educational and every-day apps, helpful books, and listen to podcasts about "real-life stories" from people living with autism.

More can be discovered about Apple's extensive accessibility features on the company's website.

Article Link: Apple Celebrates Autism Acceptance Month With Two New Videos

 

[Apple_Robert]

Great videos. Kudos to Apple, as well as everyone else involved, in helping to get out a very important message that goes far beyond any iPad.

 

[Fishcake21]

Thats very nice. Very well done.

Now how about lowering the prices and making clear on total spending for in app purchases. I love it how one app in particular is very honest on full price and charging 59.99 versus the others that lets you get to that price point eventually.

Caring isn't cheap i guess...

 

[greytmom]

Beautiful.

 

[thisisnotmyname]

I'm going to express what I expect is a very unpopular opinion. I believe there are fad diseases that are over diagnosed and that some people try to include themselves (or their loved ones) in under an overly broad definition. I think that autism is the latest such "craze". People like Dillon undoubtedly have serious challenges but for every Dillon it seems there are 10 more people on the autism "spectrum" that have only minor challenges in life that could easily be chalked up to us all being different rather than any specific underlying condition. To me it seems that many people having concerns about their child's development today jump to the autism spectrum as an explanation and given the lack of a hard diagnosis it can be a dubious claim. The spike in cases could be a combination of increased awareness leading to increased diagnosis but also a large increase in parents (incorrectly) using it as an explanation for whatever other concern they have. We seem to have a spike in something like this for every generation, prior to autism it seems it was food allergies, prior to that it was ADHD, prior to that it was asthma, repeat ad-nausium. For every one of those conditions there are people legitimately suffering from the effects but I'd wager a significant number - for some even a majority - are not impairing and/or correct diagnosis. Perhaps I'm an idiot who hasn't been informed of the facts or maybe time will prove me wrong but I highly suspect this "epidemic" is overblown.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I'm going to express what I expect is a very unpopular opinion. I believe there are fad diseases that are over diagnosed and that some people try to include themselves (or their loved ones) in under an overly broad definition. I think that autism is the latest such "craze". People like Dillon undoubtedly have serious challenges but for every Dillon it seems there are 10 more people on the autism "spectrum" that have only minor challenges in life that could easily be chalked up to us all being different rather than any specific underlying condition. To me it seems that many people having concerns about their child's development today jump to the autism spectrum as an explanation and given the lack of a hard diagnosis it can be a dubious claim. The spike in cases could be a combination of increased awareness leading to increased diagnosis but also a large increase in parents (incorrectly) using it as an explanation for whatever other concern they have. We seem to have a spike in something like this for every generation, prior to autism it seems it was food allergies, prior to that it was ADHD, prior to that it was asthma, repeat ad-nausium. For every one of those conditions there are people legitimately suffering from the effects but I'd wager a significant number - for some even a majority - are not impairing and/or correct diagnosis. Perhaps I'm an idiot who hasn't been informed of the facts or maybe time will prove me wrong but I highly suspect this "epidemic" is overblown.

As a parent of an autistic girl, I can assure you it's not a parent that makes a diagnosis. It's a trained specialist.
The autistic spectrum is after all a spectrum. There are those who are mildly affected, and those who are more severely autistic. But I don't think it's trendy.

 

[Popeye206]

As a parent of an autistic girl, I can assure you it's not a parent that makes a diagnosis. It's a trained specialist.
The autistic spectrum is after all a spectrum. There are those who are mildly affected, and those who are more severely autistic. But I don't think it's trendy.

I would agree. A good friend of mine has an autistic son and it's no fad that he has. It's very real. It's great that tools like the iPad are helping people like this. Very nice ad.

 

[YsoSerious]

To is so cool. Going through many therapies with my 6yr old who hasn't said one word to my wife and I since he was born. This is another option I would love to take. I know my son has a voice.

 

[kevinkyoo]

The autism rate over the last few years has spiked drastically. I'm still convinced the cause is something that's being kept from the public.

Would be nice to see apple spend some money on research towards those answers.

More of a broader range for diagnosis and more understanding than anything that's a conspiracy.

 

[Even Longer]

Definitely nice and touching clips.

 

[JediZenMaster]

I'm not gonna lie. These videos made me tear up a little. Because a lot of us who have a voice take it so much for granted and a lot of us don't get just being able to utter a single word is amazing.

 

[Woodstockie]

Great video's and story about Dillan. I am glad that there is a way for him to communicate through the iPad. All those years without a form of communication must have been very frustrating for him.

 

[deany]

To is so cool. Going through many therapies with my 6yr old who hasn't said one word to my wife and I since he was born. This is another option I would love to take. I know my son has a voice.

As well as yourself & your wife does your 6 year old have a carer? If so show them this video & ask them to look into getting the necessary help, I would say as soon as possible.

This could be life changing, in the best possible way.

 

[Elian_Gonzalez]

Better awareness and diagnosis perhaps?

I suspect he's going for "chemtrails" or some such thing...
[doublepost=1459645488][/doublepost]

Autism is a total misunderstanding of human evolution.
Large groups of so called autistic people are incredibility efficient communicating with each other by other means. However, the "muggles" cannot tune-in this way. They fell left out and label those more efficient as "deficient" since they are passed. Anyone exceeding at a competition seeing the crowd trying to hold you back knows exactly what I'm talking about.

Harry Potter isn't real. X-Men aren't real, and human evolution does not operate in a way to give people magical powers within one or two generations because the Age of Aquarius demands it.

 

[jackth29]

someone is cutting onions. I love this

 

[ChrisH3677]

...but for every Dillon it seems there are 10 more people on the autism "spectrum" that have only minor challenges in life that could easily be chalked up to us all being different rather than any specific underlying condition.

Although you do incorrectly assume the rise in autism diagnosis is mostly parents pushing specialists for the latest fad diagnosis just so they can justify why their child is different, what you touch on about "us all being different" is an important issue.

Those of us on the spectrum but who generally get by, do get frustrated that we are being forced to conform to some norm, instead of being accepted for our differences.

And this is not unique to us. Across society I see a push for everyone to meet certain guidelines.

I struggle in job interviews because of modern expectations about eye contact and social ability etc. The hoops you have to jump thru to get a job nowadays is ridiculous. My daughter at 15, going for a casual after school job, her first job of any kind, and at a bakery selling bread across a counter, was asked what her five year goals were!

By the way, that's another interview question that terrifies me. My expression of Aspergers includes being indecisive and not a good long term planner, because I like to have all the facts and make right decisions. So how on earth could I know where I'll be in 5 years?!

What I'm really saying is, you are kind of right. If we were all a lot more accepting of differences, and didn't try to put everyone in the same box, and expect them all to meet the same "key attributes", there wouldn't be the need for as many people diagnosed autism as there are.

For me, as an adult, I sought a diagnosis when functioning and fitting in in this world became a real problem. It's disappointing that it came to that. (BTW The diagnosis helped massively as it helped me accept me, and helped me find where I do fit most comfortably.)