Meet Shannon Rosa who won a iPad in a school raffle and has a 9 year old autistic son, Leo. After receiving the iPad Shannon decide to see if Leo would be interested in the device and gave it to him. Even though the iPad was not designed for the special needs community and Leo had no real prior training on the device, he was able to navigate and use the device with surprising ease. After Leo spent 30 minutes on each app designed to teach spelling, counting, drawing and making puzzles and more, Shannon knew this might be a device that could help her son.

Other have also taken notice of what the iPad can do for those with autism after Shannon blogged about it and gained wide-spread public attention. One expert went as far as saying it was "a quiet revolution" for the autism community. And developers have jumped at the opportunity to create applications aimed specifically at the special needs community.

Studies have already begun to measure the impact and effectiveness of the iPad and iPod Touch on children with autism. Anecdotal reports have surfaced stating the devices and the apps have helped with communication and life skills - in some cases, for the first time.