Ethan Gets an iPad

When Carie Spagnoli first heard about Dayforce Cares, little did she know she would soon find out exactly how much Dayforce cares. As well as being a mom to her son, Ethan, Carie works full time as an Implementation Consultant. Juggling both work and kids is hard enough for any working parent, but, shortly before Ethan’s third birthday, he suffered a seizure and Carie had the additional challenge of finding out that he was autistic.

Ethan’s autism requires special learning, even to do things that average kids pick up naturally, like talking or learning how to dress. To help Ethan learn, Carie and Ethan attend 16 to 20 hours of therapy per week. Since the therapy is not government funded, Carie has had to make many sacrifices over the years just to make ends meet. For example, she moved up north where housing prices are lower, and for her birthday, she often asks for gifts for Ethan!

Thanks to a lot of hard work, 8-year old Ethan is currently in grade 3, attending a regular school with some assistance. To help Ethan out, Carie initiated a social club at school, run by Ethan’s therapist where Ethan can put into practice the skills that he learns in his therapy sessions. Research has shown that one of the best learning tools for autistic children is the iPad, along with several apps designed specifically for learning (iLanguage, iConversation, iSentence, and iQuestion). These programs help autistic children learn to pick up on social cues, engage in play with other children, and initiate conversations – some of the common problems faced by those with autism. Other programs help with math and comprehension. Using the iPad also teaches turn-taking, use of gestures to communicate, play with objects, and social attention to partners during play.

The iPad was very helpful to Ethan during therapy, but it soon became obvious that having his own iPad at home would help take his therapy to the next level. Many of the apps can be used by two people at a time, making it the perfect toy for play dates with other children. During school holidays, the iPad could help stimulate and teach Ethan, when he was neither in school nor in therapy. Unfortunately, since the therapy itself cost so much money and their budget was already tight, Carie couldn’t afford to buy Ethan one of his own. After hearing about Dayforce Cares, Carie decided to apply for some assistance to help get Ethan the tools he needs.

Traci Cimino and Sean Setiawan, co-chairs of the Markham Ceridian Cares Committee, recall receiving the application for assistance. “Our committee had the honour of reviewing Carie’s application. The application was well-written and provided enough information for the committee to get a sense of how the funds would benefit Carie, her son, and their community. We were moved by their situation - a single mother looking to provide treatment for her son. Compared to the amount Carrie invests in her son, we felt the request was relatively small and ultimately undeniable. We were happy to be able to make a difference in their lives.”

Thanks to Dayforce Cares, Carie and Ethan recently received a new iPad, and Ethan just loves using it! Since Ethan has a photographic memory, Carie is constantly on the look out for new apps; as soon as he has memorized a program, he needs to switch to a new one to keep learning. With the school breaks, Carie has found the new iPad and its apps very helpful, not only to help Ethan learn, but to keep him busy and to better enjoy playing with other children.