A dissertation by Veronica Montanaro, a clinical specialist in Augmentative and Alternative Communication, has provided fresh insight into the way children under the age of three interact with an iPad.

The study, ‘Young children and iPads: A Developmental Perspective’, revealed the ages at which iPad-specific behaviour emerges in the children. The behaviours inclu­ded attention skills, behaviour, language and communication skills.

There has been a rapid increase in the number of children using touch-screen technology, such as the iPad, yet the pace of adoption of this technology has not been matched by research. Montanaro’s study sought to fill this gap by creating a set of developmental milestones for children who have access to tablet devices. The results will help parents, professionals and application developers to understand age-appropriate iPad use.

Her dissertation was submitted for an MSc in Language and Communication Impairment in Children of the University of Sheffield. It was supervised by Dr Hilary Gardner and part-funded by the Strategic Educational Pathways Scholarship.

Montanaro is a speech and language pathologist at the Speech and Language Department.

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