In a clear Plexiglas laboratory cage, a mouse sleeps. A thin fiber optic cable projects upward from the top of its head and out through the cage’s lid. The cable lights with a pulse of blue light. The mouse continues to sleep; the light continues to pulse. After a few more pulses, the mouse wakes up. It rubs its face, stretches its legs and runs over to its food cup and begins to eat voraciously, as though it were starving. It keeps eating as the blue light pulses. The optical fiber that carries the blue light goes directly into the mouse’s brain. It targets a specific group of brain ... Read More
iPad App ‘Proloquo2Go’ Gives the Gift of Voice
September 10, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment
Just four years ago, my son, Jake, who has autism, couldn't make his basic needs and wants known. His speech therapist thought an augmentative communication device — a touchscreen computer running specialized software that speaks in a computerized voice when icons are pressed — would help him communicate with parents, teachers and peers. Jake is in good company — according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, more than 2 million people in the United States have a severe communication disorder and may be candidates for augmentative communication. But acquiring such a ... Read More
