Like most kids, children with Autism are often interested in characters from movies or TV. We can use these interests to reinforce many activities including literacy. Often, visuals of these popular characters are readily available. This example pairs technology and visual cues into a great activity.

The VoicePal 8K can play messages through its on-board keypad or through external switches. We placed an overlay with Shrek characters inside the VoicePal 8K and plugged a Pal Pad into the VoicePal 8K (up to 8 external switches can be used). We bought a light-weight Shrek puzzle at the Dollar Tree and placed one of the pieces on the Pal Pad. Character voices from the Shrek movie were recorded into the VoicePal 8K (go to Google and search “Shrek sound clips”). Whenever a character shows up in the book, the student presses the matching character on the keypad or switch.