Apps4Autism

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Mother sets out to buy iPads for other autistic children

FRED ZWICKY/JOURNAL STAR Grady Oathout, 3, embraces his mom, Tara, as they interact together on an iPad. Tara says her son, who has autism, was trapped in a world to himself, unable to communicate his desires and remote from his parents. "With the iPad, we've learned just how amazing he truly is. He reaches out to us and now he can tell us what he wants and how it feels." Tara has founded a group called Loud Mommy Ministries to get iPads into the hands of other parents. Tara wrote: "We love our child with every fiber of our beings, hence why we are willing to do anything and everything we can do to be advocates on their behalf. To be their voice. To be a Loud Mommy."

Thursday, March 24, 2011

OneVoice Autism AAC App for the iPad

OneVoice - Legend - Available HERE, Learn More.

OneVoice turns the iPad into an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device. Building on the simplicity of the iPad, OneVoice is easy to understand, and designed for usability above everything else.

OneVoice is designed to be easily understood by all ages. No more getting lost as you go too deep into multi-level categories, or losing track of where words are. The straightforward interface doesn’t require hours of training to find words.

OneVoice is ready to use right away. No need to setup or configure anything. Though to get the most out of it you will want to personalize the vocabulary.

Beautiful Icons.

Each of our icons are designed specifically for use in OneVoice.

Real-world Focus.

Images actually look like real-life objects, rather than abstract stick figures.

Expressive Emoticons.

The “I Feel” section has a wide selection of emoticons to make it easier to select a mood or feeling.

OneVoice is Designed to be Personal.

The settings popover allows you to customize voice speed and gender. Also from here you can enable edit mode to modify or remove categories and words. All customization is done directly on the iPad, without needing a computer. No need to wait until you get home to add new important phrases.

Your Vocabulary.

Very soon you will realize that the default vocabulary is limited for you. When that happens turn on edit mode and start personalizing. Add new categories, then create phrases within any category. With each phrase you can choose from our icon set or add your own photos.

Use Your Own Photos.

You can bring photos from your computer onto the iPad to use in OneVoice. Also with Apple’s Camera Connection Kit you can plug your camera directly into the iPad and download photos. Make it so a list of friends and family has photos of each person!

Type Anything.

You don’t have to only use the existing words to build sentences. At anytime you can tap the sentence box to add say anything with the full keyboard.

Beginner & Advanced Modes

By default OneVoice will allow you to build a full sentence, then press speak to hear it. The “Speak Each Word” setting changes that so that each word is spoken immediately. This is better for kids who may just press “bubbles” rather than trying to say “I want to play with bubbles.”

OneVoice - Legend - Available HERE, Learn More.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Interactive iPads help special ed students

MONMOUTH — In the West Central special education class room, 7-year-old Seth Powell traced the letter S on an iPad as teacher Amanda Hennenfent cheered him on. Powell is a student with autism, and recently the West Central district began using iPads to teach children on the spectrum.

The district is one of a growing number of schools using iPads in their special education classes.

MORE ...

iPad Not an Autism Miracle?

Wired ... The iPad is not a “miracle device” for children with autism.

"The miracle there, as it always has been, is the parents and professionals who work with children with autism."

IN MILFORD SCHOOLS: Fifteen Minutes of Fame

In February the school district received an email from Radical Media, Apple's Media production company, asking about our use of the iPad and how we implement it in the classroom.

I explained how the iPad has been used in our preschool and elementary program with our non-verbal and limited verbal autistic students to address their communication issues. While utilizing an app called "Proloquo2go," we have been able to program the iPads to allow students to converse with their peers.

Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/archive/x1664571334/IN-MILFORD-SCHOOLS-Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame#ixzz1HQvwxZK5

Related:
Dump that Dynavox? Proloquo2go on the iPod iPhone iPad

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Apple iPads help special needs students

Schools find iPads help special needs pupils
By ELIZA WINSTON - Bulletin Staff Writer

The iPad can do more than become a textbook. It also can help students with special needs communicate.
“For our special education population ... it’s been a great tool to have in the classroom,” said Bethany O’Connell, an autism services coordinator for Henry County Public Schools.

Read More at http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/article.cfm?ID=27659

Fizz Brain Autism Apps

Fizz Brain: Quality Learning Games by Real Classroom Teachers: Developed specifically for children on the autism spectrum, these iPhone application games help children practice eye contact and expand their minds while earning fun rewards and playing creatively.

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