The iPad/iPod technology is continuing to grow and become a part of our kid’s daily life. Many families have purchased an iPad and many classrooms have at least one iPad, if not more, for their students. The app market also continues to grow. To date, there are over 425,000 apps!
I have continued my search for the best apps to use in my work with children with special needs. Below is my current favorite list of apps for my students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. These apps have been chosen because they address the hallmark weakness of kids on the spectrum, are engaging, well attended to, and include realistic images and sounds. Many are also low priced or Free — I love Free.
Speech Therapist’s Favorite iPad Apps
- Teaching Emotions: Voila Friends, ABA Emotions, Touch Emotion and MoodyMonster, I was So Mad
- Sound Discrimination: Biggest Sounds HD, Noise Room, Things You Can Hear, Sounds, and What Was That Noise?
- Address Receptive Vocabulary: Photo Touch apps and My First 1000 Words by Grasshopperapps.com, Kindergarten.com apps, Word Slapps, and SeeTouchLearn
- Following Directions: Move Like Me, TallyTots, AlphaTots, Making Sequences
- Early Literacy, Site Words, and Spelling Skills: I Like Books and Little Spellers from Grasshopperapps.com, WordWizard, iWriteWords, FirstWords:Deluxe, Word Wagon, Winnie the Pooh puzzle book, There’s a Monster at the End of this Book
- Creativity: Drawing Pad, Learning to Draw is Fun, CookieDoodle, Toca Tea Party, ClickySticky, My PlayHome, and createAmonster
In addition to these great apps, there are two fun apps that help kids talk about and experience two very difficult activities- getting a haircut and going to the doctor. Toca Hair Salon and Toca Doctor are so cute. The actions kids can perform and sound effects make the app truly multisensory. It is a great way to rehearse and prepare for those two challenging tasks.
Also see the story app Little Bunny Visiting the Dentist and Brush It Up to open the discussion about going to the dentist.
If you need a kid safe way to search for images in your iPad, try FotoFarm. It completely screens images and has a simple interface. With this app, I can search with confidence and not have to worry about anything inappropriate popping up. (Warning- it is not 100% foolproof.)
Written by a Guest Author who works as a speech therapist with children on the autism spectrum.
Further Reading: 10 Free iPad Apps for Children With Special Needs
Thank You Readers!
[...] Speech Therapist's Favorite iPad Apps For Children With Autism Here's a list of a speech therapist's favorite iPad apps for students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. They are engaging and realistic. Source: http://www.autismpluggedin.com [...]
Hi I’m the author of the above Apps for ASD Therapist’s Fav list. Please see my web site or blog for more information http://www.communik-9.blogspot.com
Enjoy
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I started Brain Parade and created See.Touch.Learn. for children with Autism and special learning needs and have found that Speech professionals have been the most frequent and most vocal users of the app. There is a free edition and an all-inclusive paid edition. I think if you give it a try you’ll find it to be one of your favorites as well. We are making additions and enhancements to the app including student management features and the ability to create and share lessons with other professionals and parents. I’d love to hear what you think of it.
-Jim McClafferty, Founder – Brain Parade
Jim – Thanks for the info. We love your app, See.Touch.Learn, and recommended it in one of our earlier posts. Check it out here: http://www.autismpluggedin.com/2011/09/10-free-ipad-apps-for-children-with-special-needs.html Thanks for the info and the great app! — Jack