iPad/iPhone/iPod Apps

• I have a few favorite iPad apps that I will list and I will tell you why!  In addition thanks to my friend Helen Robinson, I have found some other ways to access suggested apps for the iPad for kids with special needs.  You will find links to those spots below.
  
  I always use the Lite versions first to see if my kids are interested.  Sometimes what looks like a lot of fun to me will not interest my kids at all.  I have wasted a few apps, but with the lite versions when they are available I can pretest and avoid wasted money.   Luckily though most of the apps I have purchased are less than $2 so not a great waste.  Sometimes you have to take the risk! =)
  
  Pocket Phonics:  My kids love this one!  They learn letter sounds and practice making the sounds into words.  The also get to practice  making the letter with their finger.  It covers so many of the bases on letters and it's a game and it's fun.  I have accidentally purchased apps (usually only free ones though) that aren't fun - why bother?  My kids wont play with them!  They even have a free trial that you can use to see if your child will enjoy it.
  
  Tangrams:  It seems like it's just about fun, but these puzzles go from simple to complex and puzzle skills are great for building a good math brain!
  
  Any of the Kindergarten.com apps are good if they are interactive - the flash card apps were not at all entertaining but the apps that have you find the right object or person are great!  Some kids like flash cards though so if your kid likes to do flash cards those would probably be good.
  
  Different Roads to Learning has several fun apps - I have chosen different apps of theirs based on my kids' particular needs.
  
  Voice Memos is cool for your child to hear themselves.  Audio Note - Lite - might be just as good as Voice memos depending on your kid.
  
  Fun Rhyming is a lot of fun and rhyming is a skill taught in kindergarten so important to practice.  This would be a great kindergarten prep activity than can be used through at least the kindergarten year and most likely beyond.
  
  Autism Xpress - great for learning a few facial expressions - but you might find something with even more expressions once you've gone through these.
  
  Peekaboo Barn - fun for the very young -hear animal sounds and try to guess with animal it is - great for building auditory discrimination skills.
  
  Cake Doodle - great for working with your child - you can pull more language out of a reluctant speaker by having them name what they want to do - the reward is a beautifully or goofily or crazily decorated cake!
  
  The Monster at the End of This of This Book - and The Monster at the End of the Book 2 - My kids love these very interactive books - seriously this is why books on an iPad (or other fun device like this) were created!  Kids help the monsters get to the end of the book despite a certain monster's every effort from keeping them back - so fun and encourages reading!
  
  Starfall ABCs - Starfall is a premier in educational learning
  
  Alligator Apps has many entertaining and educational apps - just depends on what you child needs and likes - I would check out their selection.
  
  Bigitech Matching Games - free trial and you get six matching games for just $ .99!  This includes cars, flags, smiley faces, traffic signs, and animals.  Great for improving memory!
  FizzBrain's Eye Contact - great for kids with autism though it can be hard to get them to play so depends on your child.
  
  Dot to Dot Numbers and Letters - great for developing alphabet and counting skills - my kids love do to dot and this doesn't waste a ton of paper!  There is a free trial app you can use to see if your kids will like it - could be too hard for kids with fine motor issues on the iPhone and iPod - great on the iPad for almost anyone.
  
  Super Duper has a number of great apps - they are a bit expensive - $2.99 so pick carefully the ones your child needs.  And most of them require that you are working with your child so if you don't want to sit with them regularly don't waste your money.  If you enjoy working with them, these are worth the cost for those apps that your child needs.
  
  Speech with Milo interactive storybook - Fun and interactive - but it requires that you be able to hear the app well so some devices may need additional speakers or headphones - it is great on our iPad, but too quiet on my iPhone - it really depends on your device.
  
  Steam Draw - great for developing letter writing skills - the kids like it because it's like drawing on the shower door
  
  Below are the places you kind find apps for autism and other special needs:
  
  
   http://www.squidalicious.com/2011/01/ipad-apps-for-autism-spreadsheet-of.html
  

  
  

  Squidalicious: iPad Apps for Autism: A Spreadsheet of Reviews and Recommendations

  www.squidalicious.com
  TweetInstead of making folks ferret out multiple posts for apps info, I've put together a categorized spreadsheet of iPad apps for people with autism.
  
• http://blog.friendshipcircle.org/2011/03/02/10-websites-to-find-special-needs-apps-for-the-ipad-iphone/
  

  10 Websites to Find Special Needs Apps for the iPad & iPhone | Friendship Circle -- Special Needs Bl

  blog.friendshipcircle.org

  Looking for the special needs apps? In this post we highlight 10 Websites that give you information and reviews about Special Needs Apps for the iPad & iPhone.

  
  

  Helen has also shared some apps and Facebook pages that you might want to check out while we are on the subject of technology.

  
  LINKS
  
  http://www.freetech4teachers.com/  This is Helen's favorite site for technology!  
  
  Read, Think, Write:  http://www.freetech4teachers.com/
  
  http://cast.org/
  
  
  FACEBOOK PAGES
  
  
  

  Free Technology for Teachers.

  
  

  Technology in Special Education.

  
  

  
  

  FREE DIGITAL BOOK

  
  

  Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age.