ROCKINGHAM — When Millie Baucom handed her the slender iPad box, 4-year-old Faith Williams thought her birthday had come early.
Faith and her twin sister Hope didn’t turn a year older on Saturday, but they may feel more grown-up after a few weeks of watching educational videos and playing interactive learning games on the sleek tablet computer.
“Hope is my YouTube queen,” mother Gita Williams said. “Hope is completely nonverbal. Faith’s starting to use some vocalizing, so this is going to be a great learning tool for them.”
Six families of children with autism spectrum disorders received iPads and enjoyed a complimentary lunch Saturday morning at Captain D’s of Rockingham. The restaurant raised about $1,700 to buy iPads for kids who attend Sandhills Learning Center.
“It’s amazing,” Williams said. “The community here pulling together the way they have is really awesome.”
Captain D’s used contributions to buy a total of eight iPads — six for Sandhills pupils and two that were donated to Reagan’s Wish, a Matthews-based nonprofit that helps autistic children and their families.
Baucom, who manages the Rockingham restaurant, said Captain D’s customers pitched in $800, the Richmond Cruisers’ Au-Some Car Show on May 9 collected $700 and Mike Griffin of Griffin Chrysler Dodge Jeep donated the remaining $200.
As the mother of an autistic son, Baucom wanted to do something to help other families affected by autism spectrum disorders.
“I don’t know about everyone else’s situation, but in my situation I don’t get any help from the government,” Baucom said. “Everything’s coming out of my pocket.”
A customer suggested Sandhills Children’s Center kids as possible beneficiaries. Sandhills, which has campuses in Rockingham and Southern Pines, operates a child developmental day program for kids up to age 5. The center serves children with autism, cerebral palsy and Down syndrome as well as children without special needs.
Tablets like Apple’s iPad have become popular tools for children with autism and related conditions. Doctors and educators say the tablets help kids’ fine motor skills, and a variety of learning apps can encourage communication and teach math, language arts and science.
Several Sandhills parents said their kids enjoy playing educational games on websites like ABCMouse.com.
Darcy McFayden said his foster son Elijah, who turns 4 in July, likes singing along to children’s videos on YouTube.
“He’s got a little speech impediment, but he loves to try to sing,” McFayden said. “There’s a lot of things he’s high-functioning on. He’s catching on pretty good. He’s a great kid.”
Megan Ingram of Cordova said her 3-year-old daughter Kayla should have no trouble with the iPad. She’s already swiping and tapping on a smaller touch-screen device.
“We know she’s going to love hers because she steals my phone,” Ingram said. “She runs the battery down.”
Miranda Sweatt of Ellerbe said her son, Jayden, who is almost 5, was diagnosed with autism about two years ago.
“He gets really mad sometimes, a lot of times throws tantrums,” she said. “I’m trying to get him to listen more and talk to me. He’s still having a lot of problems with his speech.”
Learning games on his mom’s smartphone are one of Jayden’s favorite pastimes.
“He plays around on my phone,” Sweatt said. “He’s pretty good at it. He loves to play little games on ABC Mouse. He’s getting a lot better. He knows how to do it. He loves it.”
Sweatt said support from the community means a lot to her family.
“I’m glad we won one, because I couldn’t afford one,” she said of the new iPad Baucom handed her on Saturday. “That was awesome, it was great. The autistic children need more attention like that.”
A new iPad won’t solve every problem for families of children with autism. But parents like Sweatt say the learning games and educational videos make a noticeable difference.
“Every time I look at him, I want him to do better every day,” Sweatt said. “It’s hard for me, but I stay happy for him.”
Reach Editor Corey Friedman at 910-817-2670 and follow him on Twitter @RCDailyJournal.