This week our focus was on the use of technology with students with autism. Go into the apple store and just type in “autism” in the search. Go ahead I dare you. Yeah that list is pretty intimidating. There are apps that serve as communication device and choice board creators. There are apps that work on eye gaze and social skills. The list seems never ending, especially as new apps are constantly being developed. There are resources to help weed through and cut your time searching for an app and if you cannot find one you like there are ways to make your own apps.
I have read many books and visited many other blogs that review apps designed for individuals with autism. I have enjoyed reading the Patrick Black’s blog http://teachingall.blogspot.com/. It is not necessarily a blog for apps or students with autism but encompasses technology in all of special education. Patrick does offer a weekly review of an app. Sometimes he reviews the full version of paid apps, which is useful for those not able to spend extra money on an app that might not end up working out. I also have borrowed the book “Apps for Autism” by Lois Jean Brady. This is a pretty comprehensive list of apps for iOS devices. The book is divided into different sections such as apps for communication (sign language apps and voice output apps), apps for occupational therapy and apps that deal with social skills. Her book seems to be much more of a list that a critical review of the apps that are out there. For example, I have had the opportunity to use the app proloquo2go which is listed first in her communication apps and goes for $189.99 in the apple store. I am not a speech pathologist nor am I an expert in communication devices (I trialed a student with a Dynavox 9 years ago) but found it frustrating that many of the words already in the apps library were pronounced incorrectly. This fact was never mentioned in Brady’s book and seems pretty significant thing to not mention for an app that costs so much money.
I have seen many apps and have tried some out and it always seems that while the developers are good they just seem to miss out something significant that would greatly increase the usability of their app. Autism is a broad label that can look different from person to person. Therefore it is difficult to make an app for autism that will serve all individuals with autism equally. I often say to myself or some of my colleagues, “This is a good app, but it is missing something and I can do it better.” I often try make a similar app using boardmaker. I have also recently gotten into creating real apps for android and iOS devices. I use the MIT app inventor at http://appinventor.mit.edu/ for android apps. This is a simple app authoring tool where your projects are kept in the cloud and can be worked on from virtually anywhere. Apps are developed in 2 distinct stages. First you design the look of your app by including any graphics, such as pictures and buttons, and sounds you wish. Next you go to the blocks editor and literally piece together the script that will allow your app to do what you want it. These scripts are in the form of puzzle pieces that will fit together to create a full set of directions. I love this tool and have used it to make some of my own apps to use at home with my kids but have many ideas to try with my students but there are 2 major problems, 1. I simply do not have the time as a teacher in an 7:1+4 classroom to make this happen and 2. Our school has just recently purchased 20 iPads. This brings me to the second app authoring tool that I want to discuss, Stencyl. Stencyl is designed as a game authoring tool that supports flash and iOS currently and is going to expand to android in the future. While this tool is a bit more complex than MIT’s app inventor it does offer more options to the user. Scripting is done in a similar fashion by connecting pieces together in order to program your app. Both sites also include decent tutorials and forum sections for working out any problems you may be having. I have had to use a fair amount of trial and error when using both authoring tools but the result is a fully functional app that is designed the way you want it for your student.
Finally, I have seen that apps designed for and marketed toward helping those with autism often are useful for other disabilities. I often tell new staff to not concern themselves too much with a student’s diagnosis but to focus on their strengths and weaknesses in order to figure out the most effective teaching methods. Therefore it is up to you the teacher to find the best app for your student regardless of their ability level, and if you cannot find the perfect app there are ways to make your own. Let me know if you have any questions about either of the authoring tools or if you have an app you think is worth trying out.
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