ConversationBuilder™
Five Great Apps for Children With Learning Challenges
Children with learning disabilities can greatly benefit from the many apps available to meet their unique needs. Helping with everything from emotion recognition to speech assistance, the following five special education-friendly apps are very handy for kids facing challenges in the classroom. iCommunicate - This visual app allows educators to design schedules, storyboards, routines and more to help special-needs students understand and communicate. AutismXpress - A tool for visually conveying emotions, this app can help autistic children quickly identify and express their feelings. Eye Contact Zoo - This is a game where kids earn rewards for making direct eye contact. iSpeech - Perfect for kids with speech difficulties, iSpeech is a language app that brings speech therapy home for reinforcement and support. Dragon Dictation - Dragon Dictation voice recognition software allows the user to speak and have her words translated to text. Article by Sarah W.
Books for parents & caregivers
The Autism Sourcebook: Everything You Need to Know About Diagnosis, Treatment, Coping, and Healing by Karen Siff Exkorn When Karen Siff Exkorn's son, Jake, was diagnosed with autism, she struggled to pull together comprehensive information about the disorder. Fortunately, she was able to educate herself quickly, and her extensive at-home treatment of her son led to his amazing full recovery. The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome by Tony Attwood "I usually say to the child, "Congratulations, you have Asperger's syndrome", and explain that this means he or she is not mad, bad or defective, but has a different way of thinking." - from "The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome". Hopes and Dreams: An IEP Guide for Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders by Kirby Lentz This is the book parents have been waiting for! Right from the Start: Behavioral Intervention for Young Children with Autism, second edition (Topics in Autism) by Sandra L. Could It Be Autism? Could It Be Autism?
Preposition Builder | Teachers with Apps
Preposition Builder, by Mobile Education Store, is another feather in Kyle Tomson’s hat! This dedicated dad has been developing solid speech & language apps for quite some time and Preposition Builder moved him into the mainstream. This app is a wonderful learning tool for all kids at some point in their development. We found this app especially helpful with ESL students, of all ages. During play, the student is presented with an image and must drag a preposition to complete a sentence about the image. ” The choices are: in – on – under, and the picture shows the cereal in the bowl, when the child puts the word on in the blank the picture changes and shows the cereal on the bowl. This app contains nine different sets of prepositions starting with in – on – under and ending with more abstract concepts of across – past – over and with – about – for. We encourage all parents, teachers, and speech pathologist to jump on board with this app!
SoundingBoard
For teachers / educators
1001 Great Ideas for Teaching and Raising Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders by Veronica Zysk and Ellen Notbohm Parents and professionals can now bypass countless hours spent seeking answers to the mystifying day-to-day challenges of autism. In a snappy, can-do format, this insightful book offers page after page of try-it-now solutions that have worked for thousands of children grappling with social, sensory, behavioral, and self-care issues, plus many more. Educating Children with Autism by the National Research Council Educating Children with Autism outlines an interdisciplinary approach to education for children with autism. Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew by Ellen Notbohm Every parent, teacher, social worker, therapist, and physician should have this succinct and informative book in his/her back pocket. The Autism Encyclopedia by John T. Thinking About You, Thinking About Me by Michelle Garcia Winner How Well Does Your IEP Measure Up? Playing it Right!
Vocabulary iCues: Trading Cards
I have been a huge fan of Read Write Think’s interactives for some time. Naturally, I was ecstatic when they started releasing app versions of them. One of my favorites is the FREE Trading Card app. Trading Cards app Vocabulary Bulletin Board Vocabulary Connections: One of my English teachers here at Hill Country MS, Dixie McGrath, used this app with her students to demonstrate their knowledge of the week’s vocabulary. Below are a few student examples: WME050 - Student Created Books in the iClassroom 600+ iPad Lessons Pinned HERE! Did you know TechChef4u had a FB page? Contact TechChef4u: lisa.johnson@techchef4u.com
AutisMate
Mental Health: Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Why do I need to register or sign in for WebMD to save? We will provide you with a dropdown of all your saved articles when you are registered and signed in. It's not unusual for children -- especially those in their "terrible twos" and early teens -- to defy authority every now and then. They may express their defiance by arguing, disobeying, or talking back to their parents, teachers, or other adults. When this behavior lasts longer than six months and is excessive compared to what is usual for the child's age, it may mean that the child has a type of behavior disorder called oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). ODD is a condition in which a child displays an ongoing pattern of uncooperative, defiant, hostile, and annoying behavior toward people in authority. Many children and teens with ODD also have other behavioral problems, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities, mood disorders (such as depression), and anxiety disorders. Symptoms of ODD may include:
Best iPad Apps for Special Education
Educational apps can lead to significant academic and social growth in special needs students. Built in features on the iPad, like the text-to-speech and highlighting functionalities along side differentiated content apps can accommodate a variety of IEPs and provide students with greater access to academic and social settings. While educational apps can assist teachers in fostering academic and social success in their special needs students, the success of iPad initiatives is dependent upon the quality of the apps being used. The best iPad apps align with students’ learning needs, increase student engagement and focus, and provide clear feedback on student work. Apps should be free of risk factors like advertisements and social media and intuitive enough that students are able to work independently. Because it can be overwhelming for educators to evaluate the many apps designed for SPED students, eSpark has compiled a list of the 12 best iPad apps for special education classrooms: 1. 2.
Proloquo2Go - Symbol-based AAC
