 |
| TIGER'S
TALE REVIEW |
Reprinted from the ADVOCATE Newsletter of the Autism Society of America, Inc. March-April 1999. |
As a 20-year veteran speech pathologist as well as a mother of a 7-year-old son with autism, I am always looking for innovative computer software. I want programs that will meet my needs in my office practice as well as ones that will be apropos for the home programs that many of my clients have implemented for their autistic children. That means that the software should have widespread applicability, since the language levels of autistic children differ greatly. It should also be extremely motivating, cost efficient, and simple-to-use. Often times, I will utilize a program in my office, but the high price makes it prohibitive for families to purchase individually. The Laureate Learning Systems, an organization that has been providing software for those individuals with special needs for over 15 years has released a new program called Tiger's Tale which I feel meets my specifications.
AmuGruppen Hadar, a company that is owned by the Swedish government, developed this program. This organization provides vocational training for individuals with disabilities. Recently, Laureate sent me a copy to try with my students.
Tiger's Tale is designed to stimulate language production by motivating the child to "speak" for a tiger that has lost his voice. "Lost" in this sense meaning that he cannot find it. During the search to locate his missing voice, Tiger encounters several dilemmas, which he must deal with. For instance, when chancing upon a snake that needs some help, Tiger ends up being "wrapped up" a little too tightly by the serpent. Without a voice, he is unable do anything. The child is asked by an animated character to help Tiger by speaking for him. The student then tells the snake to let the tiger go. This protocol is followed for the other 13 scenarios. In the final scenario, the child helps Tiger find his voice. The interesting aspect to this tool is that the child's voice can be recorded into the program during each scene. Then the entire story can be played back thus creating a movie incorporating the student's thoughts. There is an alternative sequence that can be followed if the child is unable or reluctant to speak: There is the option to click on a character in the scene that will speak for Tiger. This then teaches the child some possible answers to the questions while allowing the child to interact with the story.
I have been using the program in my practice for the past several weeks. Initially, I used it with the children with autism who exhibited higher language levels-those that were able to communicate in sentences. These children loved being able to use the language structures that we had worked on in a therapy situation in a more conversational mode. The format stimulated their desire to communicate spontaneously. It gave me, as a therapist, the ability to provide an opportunity to promote higher levels of language. It also allows for the expression of feelings, such as pain, anger, fear, loneliness, and compassion as the Tiger encounters many types of situations. After the child has learned the response for the Tiger's dilemma, we tie his situation into a real-life predicament that the child has experienced. For instance, after viewing the Tiger being squeezed too tightly by the snake, we encourage the student to say (for the Tiger) "let me go" or "you are squeezing me too tight." As the child begins to understand this response, we may then ask him a related question such as " what would you say if someone gave you a very tight hug?"
In the beginning, I didn't realize the potential that this program provides for autistic children who have lower levels of language. However, much to my delight, these children have responded beautifully. Initially, I may model a response and ask the child to imitate it, but eventually, many of our students have started to answer without a lot of prompting. There are many opportunities to develop vocabulary. We have even used this program with children with autism that have had very minimal verbal output. I developed a protocol for these responses that increases in difficulty. Initially, we may try to get even a simple vowel sound as a response. For example, after a coconut falls on the Tiger's head, he can say something simple like "ow". Later on, we can try to shape this into "ouch."
I use computer software as an integral part of the speech therapy program that we offer in my practice. I can say, without hesitation, that Tiger's Tale has been one of the most stimulating programs that I have utilized with our students. Our kids look forward to coming to speech often because of Tiger. I have also seen children that have been so excited by the characters' antics that their verbalizations have dramatically increased. Wendy Grant, a speech pathologist practicing in the West Palm Beach, Florida area shares my enthusiasm. She has been using the program with her clients for several months. She mentioned in our interview that she feels that Tiger's Tale is one of the greatest programs that has been recently released. Her students love the captivating graphics. Ms. Grant stated, "I enjoy using this program with a multitude of populations."
Tiger's Tale, aside from being exciting and easy to use, is quite inexpensive. The price of $125 is extremely reasonable when one is purchasing professional grade language software. In addition, this program can grow with the child's language ability thus providing a long term of usage.
---------------------------------------------
Valerie Herskowitz, M.A. CCC-SLP is available to answer any questions that you may have regarding this program or any other speech, language, or communication matter as it relates to autism. You can reach her at:
Dimensions: Speech, Language, and Learning Services 481 E. Mount Vernon Drive Plantation, Florida 33325 1-800-99SPEECH (997-7332)
return to top |
|
|
