Ole Ivar Lovaas, Ph.D., a world-renowned autism expert, once said, "If a child cannot learn in the way we teach, we must teach in a way the child can learn." Technology -- specifically in Tablet form -- has revolutionized the way kids with autism learn and communicate, and mobile apps have given parents, educators, and therapists multiple approaches to teaching a child who develops at a different pace than his peers. Here are a few apps parents might find useful...
(Note: These apps have not necessarily been trialled by Muddy Puddles and this blog is not an endorsement of the app)
Proloquo2Go – Symbol-based AAC All ages
Proloquo2Go is a full featured augmentative communication application (AAC) that offers picture only, picture and text, and keyboard options for message formulation. The voices available are a more natural sounding male, female adult or child. The keyboard and picture/text grids can be used for novel sentence building. The images on the buttons are SymbolStix, although the user is able to use real pictures and some pictures are a more life-like cartoon drawing.
Birdhouse for Autism All ages
Birdhouse for Autism is an excellent app that offers caregivers the ability to track behaviours, health and daily living tasks of children diagnosed with ASD. Parents raising children with ASD designed this easy to use web and iPhone/Android application. As data is entered, it becomes easy for the caregiver to isolate and compare as well as find patterns of behaviours. Identification of patterns then assists the caregivers to determine what is working in the child’s daily schedule and what needs to be changed.
I Can Have Conversations With You! For children 6+ that are able to speak in sentences and can read
I Can Have Conversations With You! is designed to help children with conversation and social skills. The app provides a unique solution to parents who want to empower their child to initiate, understand, and participate in conversations. An easy-to-follow, self-explanatory program engages the learner’s interest within a fun, supportive environment so that learning to communicate is naturally reinforcing.