Using iPads to Teach Communication Skills of Students with Autism.

Three nonverbal 10-year-olds with autism got an iPad loaded with the SonoFlex speech app. Staff used least-to-most prompting to teach requests, answers, and social comments.

The team ran a multiple baseline across classroom and recess settings. They tracked how often each child spoke through the device without being asked.

After six weeks every child made far more spontaneous comments in both places. They asked for toys, answered teachers, and greeted peers without prompts.

The gains held six weeks later. No child lost any spoken words.

Anonymous (2019) extends this idea to older students. They blended the same iPad tool into PECS lessons for teens and young adults. Both studies show the device works, but Anonymous (2019) warns natural speech may not grow.

Bigby et al. (2009) and Spanoudis et al. (2011) are early cousins. They used PDAs, not iPads, to prompt life skills like cooking and task boxes. Their success set the stage for swapping the gadget into the talk domain.

Doughty et al. (2002) and Carr et al. (2007) used low-tech PECS. They also raised communication, so the iPad simply upgrades the format. The tech does not replace the teaching; it just makes the prompt portable and loud.

If you have nonverbal late-elementary students, six weeks of iPad SGD plus least-to-most prompting can unlock spontaneous talk at school. Start in one setting, then stretch to recess. Track unprompted touches as your main data point.