AACs, and Social Skills, and Organization, oh my!

I've been attending an assistive technology conference this week, and man, I am so excited about the new technologies that can help our kids learn SO much and in such a variety of ways.

Wednesday's focus was the iPad, which all of you know, I am obsessed with (sorry, "with which I am obsessed").  I was really encouraged by the speaker, who had years of experience using an iPad with kids with language disorders and autism - and by the audience, largely comprised of school administrators, OTs, PTs, and SLPs.  How great would it be if schools got behind the iPad phenomenon?

Again, not to be a broken record, but what I love about the iPad is how customizable it is - and how affordable.  I want to run through some of the categories of apps that you might not have thought of as helpful to kids with special needs, as well as some of those that are specifically designed for speech, literacy, learning, and other difficulties.

And just as an FYI, I am a cheapskate, so I don't like to spend much money, if any, on apps.  A lot of the ones I've tried are free, but then again, some of the coolest ones require $3 or $4.  Pretty manageable (heck, that's 1/16th of one of Siobhan's speech therapy sessions!)

Apps for Special Needs: More Resources

Just have to pass along some links that a friend shared with me (thanks Lorri!)  These are worth checking out - a few more resources that recommend certain apps for special needs kids.  It's nice to have some independent recommendations before you shell out even $7 for an app.  The cost can certainly add up!

This link shows you what's in the iTunes Special Education store: Special Education in iTunes

And this link offers concrete recommendations for AACs, scheduling/prompting apps, and data collection apps: Teaching Learners with Multiple Needs.  (And I love the acronym YGWYPF re apps!)

A lot of apps that could be useful to kids with special needs (and the families that support them) have general applicability as well.  Organizational apps like Evernote, and the newer Awesome Note, help anyone with organizational tasks - with the added benefit that (a) the notes won't get lost and (b) are backed up on either your computer, or Google Docs.

Basic reading and letter-tracing apps are great for any preschooler, and might encourage a child who doesn't particularly like "old school" books to read and engage more with language.  There are similar math apps - everything from basic arithmetic to fractions and decimals.  There's even a graphic calculator app (do you remember the TI-81?  The big blue calculator?  I still have mine.  It makes me nostalgic for Calculus II and Mr. Greenberg.)

Communication and modeling, data collection, and scheduling apps are a little more special-needs specific.  Definitely check out the reviews for the AAC apps before you buy one, because they tend to be higher priced.

Happy app hunting!

Apps for Kids: Do they really teach anything?

I've posted a fair amount about how schools can use technology like the iPad to provide services and curriculum support to kids.  Tablet computers will likely replace paper textbooks at some point - and it's really easy to see that coming for graduate schools (maybe even colleges). But, one commentator rightly asked "are these things really suitable for elementary school kids?"  Good question: after all, one of Siobhan's therapists is adamant that we *not* use the iPad as her AAC because of the potential for breakage.

We've seen how young kids - even as young as 3 years old - have an amazingly intuitive ability to use tablet computers to play games and watch videos.  But is there really any learning value?