Special Education Apps
How specific apps can help address special education needs.
The video is simple, but powerful. In just four minutes it shows how Dennis Lamme Jr., a first-grade special education student in Pittsburgh, uses the iPad to learn letters and numbers. His mother says the tablet keeps him from being frustrated; his teacher verifies the tool allows him to stay on task for long stretches of time. Although this scenario is far from typical, it is gaining popularity across the country as more schools and parents are learning how to harness the power of tablets for special education students.
Accessibility Apps
iComm Free
A picture and voice communication aid that can be customized with your own photos.
iCommunicate $29.99
Work on language comprehension using pictures, flash cards, and storyboards. You can also record custom audio in any language.
iConverse $9.99
This augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) application allows students who can't verbally communicate to tell adults their basic wants and needs.
Stories2Learn $13.99
Created by educators, this app allows users to make personalized stories to help teach social skills and literacy.
Look in My Eyes 1 Restaurant $2.99
Teach children to make eye contact with play and rewards.
Angry Octopus $7.99
The title character in this story learns how to control his anger through deep breathing and muscle relaxation.
Behavior Tracker Pro $29.99
Administrators, teachers, and parents can track and graph behaviors with this tool.
Sentence Builder $3.99
This helps elementary-age children create grammatically correct sentences, using
pictures and audio clips.
Special Education Collection
Twenty-four pages of apps covering different areas, from reading, writing, and math to accessibility and organization.
Autism and Asperger's Syndrome
This compilation includes interactive books and behavioral apps, as well as some advice for adults. With plenty of comments from users and a list of Android apps.
- Teacher Store
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Autism Spectrum Disorders in the Mainstream Classroom
The Teacher Store 
Autism Spectrum Disorders in the Mainstream Classroom
by Boroson and BarbaraThis engaging and informative book gives you the knowledge you need to understand students with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and the strategies you can use to help them succeed in school. An educator with more than 20 years experience working with students with ASDs, Barbara Boroson guides you through creating a responsive classroom attuned to the needs of your students with ASDs, and she shares preventative strategies that help head off challenging behavior before it becomes disruptive. Sh
$24.99
Professional Book | Grades K-6
Grades K-6 $24.99
- Scholastic Store
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Autism Spectrum Disorders in the Mainstream Classroom : How to Reach and Teach Students with ASDS
The Scholastic Store Autism Spectrum Disorders in the Mainstream Classroom : How to Reach and Teach Students with ASDS
by Boroson, BarbaraThis engaging and informative book gives you the knowledge you need to understand students with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and the strategies you can use to help them succeed in school. An educator with more than 20 years experience working with students with ASDs, Barbara Boroson guides you through creating a responsive classroom attuned to the needs of your students with ASDs, and she shares preventative strategies that help head off challenging behavior before it becomes disruptive. She offers suggestions for breaking through to hard-to-reach kids, ideas for collaborating with families, and strategies for differentiating instruction to support every student. The end goal is a classroom in which all students feel valued and respected, in which all students can learn and grow. For use with Grades K-6.
Biography:Barbara Boroson holds an undergraduate degree from Cornell and a masters degree in social work from Columbia University. She has worked in the field of autism spectrum education for almost twenty years in clinical, administrative, and advisory capacities. She is a guest lecturer at colleges of education and, as a consultant, helps districts integrate students on the spectrum into mainstream settings. Her writing has appeared in publications across the country. Barbara lives just outside of New York City with her husband and their two children.
$19.99 You save: 20%
books;teaching resources;paperbacks | Ages 5-12
Ages 5-12 $19.99
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Curing Frustration "It's fairly easy to teach kids with learning disabilities," says Jerome Schultz, a former middle school special- education teacher. "What's really difficult is [dealing with] the cumulative toxic stress that builds up over the years." Schultz, now a clinical neuropsychologist in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, says students with learning disabilities are frequently frustrated because they don't have control over their environment and their disabilities hinder them from reaching their academic potential. This cycle can quickly lead to a student who "shuts down" or becomes recalcitrant in an effort to avoid work and the frustration it brings. Schultz says there needs to be specific education about the process of how these students learn. "The way they think or process information could be a strength and a liability. We have to understand what they can do." One way to do this is to allow students to use speech recognition software to write papers, he adds. Most students with language-based disabilities are two to five years behind their grade level in writing ability, in large part because a physical or neurological problem makes it hard for them to translate their thoughts into words. Schultz, who uses Dragon NaturallySpeaking, says the software can "take away the impediment. It gives kids a chance to walk around the barrier." Giving kids these tools shows gains at home, too, he adds, because parents can get a deeper appreciation of their child's intellectual ability. "Having parents with a better understanding of how they learn means the child can be more successful." |
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