Help Peter get an iPad

Peter is a happy, loving, energetic two and a half year old. He loves his family, water, and anything transportation related. Shortly after Peter was born, we knew something wasn't right with his vision. Over the next couple months he missed all of his developmental milestones and we knew we had something more than basic vision problems. When he was six months, we learned he had Optic Nerve Hypoplasia (ONH), a neurological birth defect that impacts the optic nerves, corpus callosum, and other areas of the brain. In people with ONH, all of these parts of the brain are underdeveloped. While we are thankful this is not a degenerative disease, it is not curable and Peter will always have it. When Peter was a year and a half old, he was also diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The combination of these disorders means that Peter needs extra help as he grows. He has been in therapy since he was six months old for speech, motor, and vision support. These therapies are "adaptive", meaning the therapist are helping him learn and cope in the world but not trying to "fix" his brain (since that isn't possible). Peter recently started a preschool program for special needs toddlers that incorporates therapy in to his school time. He also walks with a white mobility cane for the visually impaired.

Peter has come a LONG ways and is always amazing us. However, he still struggles with communication, regulation, and, of course, his vision.  His therapist have recommended that he start using an iPad to help with his communication, giving him schedules for  the day that he can reference to help with transitional regulation, and for visual motor therapy support. His entire team would like to see an iPad become part of the tools he uses to become more independent, much like his mobility cane. 

We believe an iPad will help Peter better communicate with his world and provide him with some needed visual motor learning. We have looked at cheaper options but the necessary apps and accessibility is only found in the Apple world. 

We hope that we can raise the support we need to help get Peter this necessary therapy tool. We are raising funds for the iPad itself, a really durable case (because he is a two year old), and the apps he needs (which are pricey).  Any support you can give towards this will help Peter make his next steps in development. We would like him to start using this as soon as possible now that he is in a preschool setting.

Thank you....the Bennett Family (Mark, April, Peter, Isaac, Joel, and Eloise)