Using tablets to reach kids with autism The Flummox and Friends app uses live-action comedy and conversation prompts to help kids with autism learn social skills. Four years after iPad debuted, the autism community is still exploring how to use tabletsThe new Flummox and Friends app is a comedy show that helps kids with social skillsTablets are popular with parents and educators, but not being used to full potential yetApril is national Autism Awareness Month (CNN) -- Two 5-year-old boys, one with autism, were having some friendly playtime when they had a communication breakdown. Their speech therapist, Jordan Sadler, decided to address the issue by recreating it in an iPad app called Puppet Pals. Creating custom stories to help kids learn communication skills or understand complex situations is just one of the ways parents, therapists and educators have taken advantage of tablets to work with kids with autism. How do you communicate with a loved one with autism? Tablets as tools, not miracles Mixing laughter and lessons
IPad apps for special needs kids The iPad can be an effective tool to help many kids with learning differences or special needs. Here are some of the top special needs apps that help build skills — from identifying emotions to communicating to practicing social and perceptual skills to recognizing word reversals and more. Touch and Learn - Emotions From Innovative Mobile Apps, best for ages 3-up, Free, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch This is a great free app to use with kids who need practice deciphering emotions. Kids play by looking at four photos and then touching the photo of a person showing a specific emotion. Proloquo2Go From AssistiveWare, best for ages 2 and up, $189.99, iPad For speech-impaired kids, "Proloquo2Go" becomes the child's voice. The app provides a pictorial interface for kids to use. LetterReflex - Overcoming Letter Reversals & Backwards Writing in Early Childhood Development & Dyslexic Children From BinaryLabs, Inc., best for ages 4-up, $1.99, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch The Social Express
50 Useful Apps For Students With Reading Disabilities Whether you’re the parent of a child with a reading disability or an educator that works with learning disabled students on a daily basis, you’re undoubtedly always looking for new tools to help these bright young kids meet their potential and work through their disability. While there are numerous technologies out there that can help, perhaps one of the richest is the iPad, which offers dozens of applications designed to meet the needs of learning disabled kids and beginning readers alike. Here, we highlight just a few of the amazing apps out there that can help students with a reading disability improve their skills not only in reading, writing, and spelling, but also get a boost in confidence and learn to see school as a fun, engaging activity, not a struggle. Helpful Tools These tools are useful for both educators and students with reading disabilities alike, aiding in everything from looking up a correct spelling to reading text out loud. Speak It! Fundamentals Reading Writing Spelling
Apps for Autism Everyone working with Individuals with Autism can see the amazing potential, and opportunities that successful use of an iPad can bring. And I am sure we are facing some of the same challenges. Finding the time to set the iPad up properly and integrate it across environments. And how can we make sure that our team can access the right training, so it is being used, modeled and integrated effectively? How do we balance it with the other effective learning and communication strategies and technologies already being used? I may not be able to solve ALL of these challenges today, but here is a quick and easy list of apps you may like to check out, for students with Autism. ) to help match the right app to the right student, environment and task. App to help find Apps: Apps to support communication development: Depending on the communication levels of each person, you may need to look at AAC Apps and/or Apps to develop oral language skills Apps for AAC: Apps to develop oral language:
5 iPhone Apps for Students With Disabilities Photo Credit: smh.com.au You may not realize it, but people with disabilities are also at a disadvantage when it comes to education. Studies show that 54 million Americans have disabilities. 28% of those with disabilities aged 25 and above barely even finished high school. More than 16 million people in America have a mental illness or a cognitive function problem while 3 million people have difficulty with speech communication, thus hindering them from learning independently. If you’re a parent of a disabled child or a teacher for disabled students, you can make learning more interesting for them with the help of these apps! ArtikPix One of the best learning methods for children is the use of pictures and graphics, one thing that modern technology such as the iPhone can now offer for free. In My Dreams If you don’t have an iPhone 5, you can always opt for apps that are great for older iPhone versions. ADHD Angel TapToTalk Learn Braille Alphabet
Proloquo2Go Symbol-supported communication app to promote language development and grow communication skills, from beginning to advanced communicators Unique feature combination Proloquo2Go is the only AAC app that combines unique features, such as research-based vocabulary levels, (activity) templates to support motor-planning, ExpressivePower™ to express yourself and full bilingual support. Proloquo2Go is designed to ensure growth of communication skills and to promote language development. ‘AssistiveWare has done a beautiful job of listening to the AAC community's feedback, adding powerful features in Proloquo2Go 5 including Search with guided navigation and automatic backups.’ Who is Proloquo2Go for? Proloquo2Go’s unique features make it the premier Augmentative and Alternative Communication solution for children, teenagers and adults who need symbol support. We have tons of free support materials available. Check out the AssistiveWare Core Word Classroom for free AAC implementation resources:
15 Great iPad Apps for Special Education Students 1- Autism Timer " Autism Timer is a digital timer that shows the elapsed time clearly and is easy to use. You can set three different time for green/yellow/red zone. When the timer is done, it beeps/vibrate and show the black and white square flag ............." 2- Behavior Assessment Pro " Behavior Assessment Pro is an iPhone, iTouch and iPad application that identifies factors related to problem behaviors. 3- My Talk Tools "MyTalkTools Mobile for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad enables people with communication difficulties to express their needs and desires to those around them 4- Glow Draw " This is a great iPad app for drawing." 5- Talkulator " Talking calculator. 6- iConverse " iConverse is an educational tool designed for young children, autistic individuals, and individuals with other communicative disabilities, and also toddler-aged children who have yet to master language......" 7- My Choice Board 8- My Homework 9- iCommunicate 10- Aurifi 11- AutismXpress
“50 Best iPad Apps for Reading Disabilities” “50 Best iPad Apps for Reading Disabilities” Guest Blog by Rosa Ray Whether you’re the parent of a child with a reading disability or an educator that works with learning disabled students on a daily basis, you’re undoubtedly always looking for new tools to help these bright young kids meet their potential and work through their disability. While there are numerous technologies out there that can help, perhaps one of the richest is the iPad, which offers dozens of applications designed to meet the needs of learning disabled kids and beginning readers alike. Here, we highlight just a few of the amazing apps out there that can help students with a reading disability improve their skills not only in reading, writing, and spelling, but also get a boost in confidence and learn to see school as a fun, engaging activity, not a struggle. Helpful Tools Speak It! Fundamentals Alphabet Zoo: Alphabet Zoo is a great tool for helping young readers to recognize letter sounds. Reading Writing Spelling