Evaluation of the iPad in the acquisition of requesting skills for children with autism spectrum disorder

• A picture-based communication system can be adapted and modified for use with the Proloquo2Go application on the iPad.
• Children diagnosed with ASD can acquire skills needed to request using the iPad with the Proloquo2Go application.
• Vocal requesting can increase for children with ASD using the iPad with the Proloquo2Go application in comparison to baseline.

The iPad® with the Proloquo2Go™ application is designed to function as a speech-generating device (SGD). This study evaluates whether children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can acquire requesting skills using the iPad® with the Proloquo2Go™ application. Participants included three children with ASD between the ages of three and five. A multiple probe design across participants was used. Intervention phases were adapted and modified from the picture exchange communication system (PECS) (Bondy and Frost, 1994 and Frost and Bondy, 2002). Results of this study support that children diagnosed with ASD can acquire skills needed to request preferred items using the iPad® with the Proloquo2Go™ application with training of a picture-based communication system. In addition, vocal requesting increased for the participants during the training phases in comparison to baseline probes.