Apps for Students With Emotional Behavioral Disorders

This week’s topic was Students with Emotional/Behavioral Disorders (EBD). This umbrella category of disorders covers a wide range of disorders such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Anxiety, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Biploar Disorder, etc. This is an area where I have some experience as many of the students I have had over the years have been diagnosed as having EBD. There are a range of effective apps used to assist students with EBD. There are all of the “academic” apps that allow users to navigate through a variety of subjects at their own pace. Again these should be selected on an individual basis in order to meet the student’s needs. There are also suggestions for social stories, similar to ones for students with Autism. However, in our readings this week and in my additional research I found the overarching theme of motivation being a key use of technology for students with EBD, which has been different than the previous weeks. A lot has been said about creating a system of reinforcement for students where they can earn time on the iPad. The iPad is a highly motivating item for which students can use to keep them focused during work time in order to enjoy this reinforcement. That got me thinking about the iPad and its use in during leisure activities. 

The iPad also offers students with limited social skills or desire for social interaction an option for leisure activities. I have a student in my current classroom that has difficulty finding productive things to do with his down time. He does not engage in activities with his peers and reluctantly participates in a game of Uno only when asked to by staff. He often does not make it through an entire game before getting bored and quitting. He does at times like listening to music but again that is often short lived. This student has an IEP goal to select and remain engaged in a leisure activity for a certain amount of time.  I have been thinking even before this assignment that our newly purchased iPads would be an interesting way to see if can remain engaged in an activity. The iPad offers several different leisure type activities such as angry birds and other games. The iPad also allows him to listen to music. He can switch between activities on his own but remain engaged in the overall leisure activity of time on the iPad, ultimately allowing him to meet an IEP objective that has been difficult for him thus far this year. The key is to find those apps that he will find engaging and entertaining. They may have to be rotated in and out so that he does not become saturated with the same choices and loose interest quickly. I am excited to start this little project and hope that we can make progress in helping this student achieve his IEP goals.