Mornings in Natasha’s house are always busy. As a working mother, Natasha originally bought an Echo device to help her keep things organized. But she now sees how much her family has made Alexa part of their daily routine—especially her 16-year-old daughter, who has autism.
In Natasha’s words:
I have four Echo devices all around my house, and they’ve been so tremendously helpful. It started as just having something to listen to music on easily, but then I found Alexa useful for the small daily tasks—asking for recipe suggestions, asking for the weather forecast, and sharing and viewing photos with my mom and sister.
But to me, the most surprising thing about Alexa has been how much my 16-year-old daughter, Cala, has taken to it. She has autism, and I’ve been amazed at how much she’s come to enjoy organizing herself with Alexa. I have an Echo Dot set up in her bedroom, and we set up Routines so Alexa can help keep her on schedule. Alexa tells her when it’s time to go to bed, when it’s time to get ready for school, and when it’s time to get dressed. Alexa has helped give Cala a lot of autonomy—most days she gets her morning routine underway even without me having to check in on her. As she gets into her teens, that’s been really important to both of us.
I will often make announcements to the Echo Dot in her room, reminding her that she needs to take a bath or do her chores. If I’m out during the day while she’s still at home, I’ll drop in on her to make sure she’s doing okay and see if she needs anything. I think it’s kind of funny that sometimes it seems like my daughter responds better to Alexa than she does to me!
For me, as a mom, Alexa has made a world of difference. With Alexa, I feel like my daughter can be empowered to be a bit more independent every day.
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