Hi Chris and welcome to the Forum!
If you are having problems occurring on the iPad it is a good idea to follow these steps.
Do the four finger swipe up or double press the home button to reveal your multi task bar along the bottom. It will show all the apps that you have opened at one time or another. Long press the app until it jiggles and a red minus sign will appear above it. Press the minus sign, this will close the app, not delete it. It's also a good idea to close all these apps, as it helps the iPad run smoothly, I do mine every night. Check and see if it is operating now, if not a restart is in order.
Restart: Press and hold the power off button, the one at the top right. You will see a slide appear to power off, slide this and the screen will go dark and a Whirly will appear. When the Whirly disappears your iPad is now off. Press the power button again until the Apple logo appears, this will take a few seconds and your iPad will start again. You should restart your iPad occasionally also as it will keep it running smoothly. Now see if it is operating. If not a reset is the next step.
Reset: Hold the power off button and the home button simultaneously, keep holding them in and you will see the power off slide appear and disappear, wait until you see the Apple logo appear before releasing the buttons. It will take a little longer for your iPad to start. This is a reset.
When an App or your iPad begin to behave strangely these are the first steps you should do to rectify it. Let us know how you go, good luck!!
2 very informative threads from which you will learn many tips and shortcuts for the IPad.
http://www.ipadforums.net/ipad-general-discussions/21590-tips-tricks-those-us-who-dont-know.html
http://www.ipadforums.net/ipad-os/49581-ios5-tips-tricks.html
Enjoy!
Sent from my iPad using iPF