Tablets open new avenues for children with disabilities

The tablet computer is proving to be a beneficial tool in a number of settings, and one of the most immediate seems to be in the homes of children with disabilities.

A December 2011 Topeka Capital-Journal report highlights the case of one 20-month-old girl with cerebral palsy. According to the news provider, a $500 tablet has become an incredibly helpful tool for the girl, supplementing her $7,000 augmentative communication devices in some cases and allowing her to leverage applications and accessories to improve the learning process.

Tablets have also proven to be effective tools for children with other disabilities, such as autism and blindness. For the former, the tablet can be used as a communication device, allowing the children to express themselves by pointing to pictures that appear on the screen.

Additionally, applications have been developed that allow blind people to use the tablet as a typing tool, which in some cases has actually proven to be more intuitive than a physical keyboard.

The applications for tablet devices are still being discovered. But even while the technology is still relatively young, it is proving to be more than just another entertainment device.