Apple ad shows non-verbal autistic boy’s battle to have a voice
Apr 6, 2016, 10:24 AM
Autism is a big talking point nowadays.
As more and more kids are diagnosed — one in every 68 children is on the spectrum — its becoming a mainstream word, but some are still unsure what the effects of autism can be.
While our friends over at the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center are likely better to answer all your questions, the folks over at Apple but together this touching ad to show one way autism can affect children.
The commercial focuses on 16-year-old Dillan Barmache, who is non-verbal and autistic. It shows him using an iPad to communicate.
“All my life I wanted so badly to connect with people,” he said via an iPad in the commercial.
In a backstory — also released by Apple as part of Autism Awareness Month and embedded below — Barmache’s therapist said he described the ability to type and express himself as being freed.
“Having autism is like being in hell and it is a lonely existence,” he said.
Barmache also said people were blinded by his autism so he developed relationships with figures of animals in order to be connected with something.
He said the technology now helps him connect to his loved ones.
Barmache has been using the iPad technology for years. According to BuzzFeed, he went viral in 2014 when he used the device to give a speech at his middle school.
