Do it Yourself Easy Tablet Adaptations

By: Ryan Keefe, EC-SEAT Scholar

I based these adaptations primarily off of what could easily help a family in need. As a paraprofessional, I have worked with many families who have little available to them. These adaptations, are easy "do it yourself" (DIY) remedies to issues that may be found when using an iPad or other tablet at home, school, or in the community.

This is your basic under the carpet runner that you use under a carpet on a hardwood floor. You can find it at many local hardware or drug stores. Low and behold it can also work as a great no-slip mat for a tablet that does not have a case. This can often be an item lying around the house after laying down a new carpet, but it can also help with using as a placemat for an tablet. When the tablet is set on the mat a child is able to swipe and use the tablet without it slipping around on the surface it is placed on, which can also keep it from falling to the floor and suffering a fatal blow.

Often a child with a disability has a hard time using the iPad a being able to have the motor skills necessary to point a finger and press a single button, such as a button on an augmentative alternative communication (AAC) device. Just as much, often times a child loses a glove and only one may be lying around. Cutting the tip off one finger while leaving the rest of the fingers creates a stylus out of the child’s own hand. The fingers that are covered in glove will not manipulate the tablet, allowing the child to slide there hand around the tablet and use a single finger to press whatever it is they desire. Using a cotton glove also helps if the child cannot lift their hand, as it allows them to easily slide their hand across the tablet

Note: Early Childhood Special Education Assistive Technology (EC-SEAT) project scholars earn a graduate certificate in assistive technology (AT) at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and gain insight into how to incorporate AT devices and solutions into their practice as future early childhood educators dedicated to supporting young children with special needs and their families in a variety of settings. Scholars learn to select and make low-teach AT solutions from Therese Willkomm, director of Assistive Technology in New Hampshire (ATinNH) and UNH Clinical Associate Professor. 

Learn more about AT devices and solutions by following Assistive Technology in New Hampshire on facebook, twitter, YouTube, or by visiting ATinNH.org.