With the exponential growth of technology, it is becoming evident that our smart devices have a lot more to offer our kids than cartoons and games and general distractions.
Developers are coming up with new ways to revolutionize teaching and learning. These new apps are becoming increasingly valuable for special needs education. They aim to make it easier for students and teachers to navigate lessons around learning disabilities so that kids can learn and express themselves at school and home.
Children with special needs face many challenges in their lives, and special needs apps can help improve their self-esteem and build their critical thinking, communication, and more. Here are our five favorite children’s special education apps – all of them are a great place to start.
iCAN™ | In-App Purchases – All Devices.
iCAN™ is a fun educational app designed for children with special educational needs. The app offers an extensive library of educational videos and games that boosts self-care, cognitive, and academic skills. And while you’re having a fun session of learning, you won’t be disturbed by ads.
The app provides hours of fun while still actively engaging your child in essential areas of learning. Each topic area has eight activities provided, allowing students to practice in a number of methods; Matching, Sequencing, Tracing, Tapping, Memory building, Scratch a Sketch, and Colouring. The app is free to download with a 7-day trial period. To access more games and useful tutorials, you’ll have to subscribe to their monthly or annual plan.
OTSIMO | Special Education Free – All Devices – In-App Purchases
Otsimo is an educational game app for individuals diagnosed with a learning disorder, attention deficit, Autism, Aspergers and other special needs. The award-winning app makes use of assistive games to teach the basics of education and concepts that develop communication, motor and cognitive skills.
The app has a collection of activities with an excellent approach for children with learning and attention problems to strengthen their language skills and understanding of everyday things and actions by playing simple, repetitive games. The app also has a unique feature that allows parents to customize their kids’ experiences. The free version has limited content. To access the full app, you’ll need to subscribe to their monthly, yearly or lifetime plan.
Speech Blubs | Free (In-App Purchases) – All Devices
“The beauty of Speech Blubs is the access to creatively and tangibly build upon those speech goals and needs, through an innovative and accessible app.” The voice-controlled speech therapy app is designed to aid your child to learn and practice new sounds and phrases in a stimulating educational environment.
The activities on the app have proven effective in triggering sound and word production in children with Apraxia of Speech, Autism, Down Syndrome, ADHD, and Sensory Processing Disorder. Speech Blubs offers a seven-day free trial. After the free trial, you’ll be expected to pay a subscription fee, which, when compared to one speech therapy session, is a great deal. You have the option of picking from their monthly, annual, and lifetime plan with prices starting as low as US$4.99/month.
ABC Autismo | Free – In-App Purchases – Android Only.
ABC Austimo offers several fun, educational activities in English, Spanish, and Portuguese based on the TEACCH methodology. (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communications Handicapped Children) The app is designed to help people with any degree of verbal communication improve their skills, gain confidence, and have fun while doing so. It is a great tool to have for your autistic child.
Proloquo2Go | $219.99 – iOS
You probably spent a few seconds looking at the price, right? Well, this app is worth every penny. The ACC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) app can be used as a tool that allows people to communicate through the use of pictures and develop essential language skills.
It is uniquely designed to cater for the needs of autistic children as well as their families, therapists, and educators.
The app displays on-screen buttons for words and phrases, which users tap to build sentences that the app speaks. Best of all, the app is fully customizable and designed to train your child’s visual and fine motor skills. This makes it particularly useful for non-verbal people with autism, Down syndrome and other speech impediments.
