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Apps and Podcasts
SCHEDULES
1. Choiceworks ($16.99)
Helps kids to develop/complete daily routines, understand and manage feelings, and improve waiting skills with 4 board types: Schedule, Waiting, Feelings, and Feelings Scale. Personal photos and recordable audio can be added to boards. Boards can be saved as a pdf and shared via email.
2. DayCape (free 30 day trial, then $11.52/month for 3 plans at home or $17.46/month for 4 students at school)
Set up your child’s day using the images provided or add your own. Each item on the schedule has the time when the task should be completed. The app allows you to send reminders directly to your child’s device.
VISUAL TIMERS
1. Visual Countdown Timer (free, $3.99 to unlock premium version)
Our favorite visual timer for younger kids. Choose from 24 cute pics or, pay the $3.99 and have the timer reveal your own photo in a silly frames. The picture is slowly revealed as the timer counts down. Can be set for times as short as 10 seconds and up to 59 minutes.
2. Time Timer (free)
The classic red disk timer that disappears as time elapses. Great visual cue to help make the passage of time concrete. Help with time management for kids who need visual reminders to stay on-task. We also use it a lot to help students get through non-preferred tasks. Timers can be saved and reused. The app offers a variety of colors and sounds for personalization.
ADL'S AND SELF-CARE
TOKEN BOARDS/CHORE CHARTS
BEHAVIOR
1. Reward Charts by Stellar (free)
Customizable behavior chart. You can put in student’s name and specify goal, what they are working towards and how many stars they need to achieve their goal (between 7-50). We like this to keep track of kids who are working on
longer term goals, or for older students who are self-monitoring data on their own device.
REINFORCERS/REWARDS
1. Tappy: Self Care Fidgeter (free).
Described as a “fidget app” by the developer. This app provides a variety of interesting auditory input as you tap and slide the phone. Use as a reinforcer or as a fidget for students who benefit from fidgets.
2. Super Slime Simulator (free with adds).
Fun reinforcer for situations where it’s not practical to take out a can of slime. The ads pop up often, but if that doesn’t bother you (or you have a student who likes adds-we do), this could be a good option.
3. Virtual Slime (free, in-app purchases)
Another sensory app that can be used as a reinforcer. Several color and add-in options.
4. Gravitarium (free, additional features $3.99)
Perfect for kids who like visual stimulation. As you move your
fingers, you guide different formations of colorful lights. The 3.99
Gravitarium Plus version allows you to connect with your own music and have lights move to the music or your voice.
5. Triple A-Touch Visualizer (free)
Another app that combines music and lights that move as you manipulate the screen. This one has 5 lights options and 8 classical music options.
6. Pop It-Fidget Sensory Toy (free)
Digital option of everyone’s favorite fidget. Remarkably similar to the
hands-on experience. We’ve found a lot of kids who like this one.
7. Code Spark (free trial, $9.99/month or $6.67/month if paid annually)
Fun app to teach young kids (approximately ages 5-8) basic coding skills. Allows kids to code their own games.
8. Epic-Kids’ Books and Reading (free trial, $9.99/month or $79.99/year)
No more “accidentally” watching content that is too mature for kids. This app allows kids to access to thousands of kid-appropriate (K-8th grade) videos and audiobooks. The app offers a good variety of graphic novels, comics, and nonfiction books, which have been popular with our students. An account gives you accounts for 4
learners. You can keep track of their usage and assign books and videos.
SPEECH/COMMUNICATION
1. Spoken (free, but premium features 12.99/month or $99/year).
Text to speech app. Nice resource for teens and adults who are literate, but unable to speak. The app learns your speech patterns and becomes faster and easier to use the more you use it. Several voice options to choose from.
2. Speak (Free with ads, $1.99 to remove ads)
Another text to speech app. Settings for many languages and accents. Also allows you to change volume, pitch, rate of speaking. You can record messages (or capture the screen) to save and send messages to others.
3. Speech Blurbs (free 1 week trial, then $14.49/month; $65/year; $99 lifetime)
Speech app designed to help kids learn to imitate first sounds, words, and then sentences. The creators developed the app with kids with ASD in mind. Kid models demonstrate first sounds, words and sentences to get children interested and motivated to copy. There are some fun filters to use with your own pictures to make practice even more fun.
4. GoVisual Experience(free)/Go Visual Scene Maker($49.99)
Great app for develop communication and literacy skills. Students create a scene or take a video. They can then draw a “hotspot” to highlight the things they want to talk about. The app allows text-to-speech or record a voice for playback. The Go Visual Experience is a limited version to check out the app before committing to buying the Visual Scene Maker. The Go Visual Scene Maker includes Transition to Literacy, where a word related to the scene pops up over the scene for several seconds to build reading comprehension.
5. Visuals2Go (free 14 day trial, then $9.99 monthly/$59.99 yearly)
A variety of features make this app worth its cost. It is most commonly used as an AAC device, but can also be used to create visuals for teaching labels and concepts, create schedule boards and stories, or use as a photo album with text and voice. Custom pictures can be added and all pictures/icons can be printed.
6. ASL Dictionary($7.99)
Excellent video library of ASL with over 5000 videos. The app is well organized by category and it’s easy to locate the sign you want to learn. No audio on the videos. For those who are looking to sign fluently, there are quizzes to help you learn.
7. Flip Writer AAC AAC Pocket ($24.99)
Another great app for those who are literate, but have limited vocal speech. The typed message is displayed
twice-once facing the writer and once “flipped” so that their communication partner can read it. The text can be vocalized when tapped using the text-to-speech feature. We like that the text is large and easy to read. The box to tap to utilize the text-to-speech feature is large for those with fine motor difficulties.
8. Sago First Words ($1.99/week)
Developed with guidance from SLP’s. Kids learn to imitate and speak through a variety of fun videos and interactive games. Our students like the face filters. Appropriate for younger kids, approximately ages 2-5.
9. Language Therapy for Kids-MITA (free
to use, but $15.99 to use parent dashboard)
Evidence-based language therapy app for kids. Developers report that after 3 years of use, children who used MITA had significant increases in language development. MITA stands for Mental Imagery Therapy for Autism. The app using a systematic approach to gradually teach more complex concepts. App uses a variety of engaging games and activities to teach skills like vocabulary, adjectives, pronouns, verbs, syntax, working memory, and creativity.
Great app for develop communication and literacy skills. Students create a scene or take a video. They can then draw a “hotspot”
to highlight the things they want to talk about. The app allows text-to-speech or record a voice for playback. The Go Visual Experience is a limited version to check out the app before committing to buying the Visual Scene Maker. The Go Visual Scene Maker includes Transition to Literacy, where a word related to the scene pops up over the scene for several seconds to build reading comprehension.
11. Visuals2Go (free 14 day trial, then $9.99 monthly/$59.99 yearly).
A variety of features make this app worth its cost. It is most commonly used as an AAC device, but can also be used to create visuals for teaching labels and concepts, create schedule boards and stories, or use as a photo album with text and voice. Custom pictures can be added and all pictures/icons can be printed.
12. ASL Dictionary Sign Language
($7.99). Excellent video library of ASL with over 5000 videos. The app is well organized by category and it’s easy to locate the sign you want to learn. No audio on the videos. For those who are looking to sign fluently, there are quizzes to help you learn.
1. I Create… Social Skills Stories ($4.99)
Allows you to create your own social stories or personalize the app’s stories with your own pictures. Books can be saved as a PDF document and printed or shared.
2. Social Story Creator & Library (free to create, price for pre-made stories varies).
Easily create individualized social stories using your own pictures and voice for free or purchase pre-made social stories (or both!). Individual stories range from $.99 to $2.99) You can purchase “bundles” of stories in a category (e.g.self care) for a discount. Stories can be saved as a PDF and shared or printed.
3. Do It…Or Not (beginning levels free, then $5.99)
Practice decision making and perspective-taking in 100 real life scenarios. Scenarios are categorized by family, school, and community. Students move up levels and earn digital “prizes” as they correctly answer questions. Options to turn music
and voices on/off for students who are distracted by sound. Pay version allows you to play with up to 10 students.
SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL
1. Zones of Regulation ($2.99)
For regulating behaviors, managing emotions and level of alertness. Includes scenarios for kids to reflect on and practice.
2. Go Noodle (Free).
This app is known for its short movement, or “brain”
breaks in the classroom, but also includes activities to practice breathing and body awareness.
ACADEMICS
1. Speech Kingdom (Free 30 day trial)
Social skills, safety, life skills, and speech concepts (e.g., opposites, pronouns, idioms) taught via social stories with your child’s customizable avatar and learning games.
Teacher: $8.30-11.97/student per month or $99-143.60/student per year (depending on number of students using).
Therapist: $12.45-17.95/student per month or $99-143.60/student per year (depending on number of students using)
Parent: 19.95/month of $199.50/year
for up to 2 children
2. Flashcard Maker (Basic features free, unlimited photos, no adds for $1.99/month)
App allows you to create your own digital flashcards for kids who learn well using tablets and phones. You can create flashcards of anything you desire using your own photos. You can add audio to flashcards if desired. The free version allows you to use 20 images.
After that, you’ll need to pay $1.99/month for unlimited images. The pay version also allows you to sync photos across devices. Flashcards are shown one at a time.
3. Starfall ($5.99)
The app covers basic readiness skills in digital game
format. Reading, colors, phonics, math, music and social-emotional development are all covered.
4. Bitsboard Flashcards ($42.99)/Bitsboard Student ($4.99)
The teacher/therapist version (flashcards) allows you to quickly create individualized lessons using the app’s images and audio. The app has 35 games and study modes including options like, flashcards, word builder, bingo, sequencing, etc. You can track progress for multiple students and save their progress. The student version allows students to receive what teachers share with the class (i.e., they can access content on their tablet without paying for the teacher version). One student app has to be purchased per device (unless student is using same device as teacher).
5. Otsimo
(free 7 day trial, $20.99/month or $13.99/month if subscribe to yearly
subscription, $229.99 lifetime)
Collection of educational games designed for kids with autism and other special needs. This app includes a lot-activities to teach concepts, motor and communication skills, built in auditory and visual prompts, an AAC module with over 1700 words, detailed progress reports, and more.
6. SnapType
(free)/SnapType Pro ($14.99)
Nice app for kids who prefer typing or are unable to write with pencil and paper due to fine motor challenges. The app allows students to take pictures of school worksheets and then complete worksheets using their phone/tablet keyboard. Completed documents can then be printed or emailed to teachers. The app also allows you to take photos and write captions anywhere on them. Teachers and therapists can use this app to create quick activities (picture description,
vocabulary, attributes, storytelling, etc.) using pictures of preferred items. We’ve used it as reinforcers for kids who liked creating captions of what their pets or favorite characters might be saying in a picture. The SnapType Pro allows you to draw on your documents/photos.
COMMUNITY
1. Life 360: Find family and Friends
Tracker app to keep family, friends and caregivers connected. Life360 runs on your mobile device and allows you to view your family members on a map, communicate with them, and receive alerts when your loved ones leave and arrive at home, school or work.
2. Sunnyfield Skills for Life (free)
Free app
to teach vocabulary and skills like crossing the street or healthy eating. Some nice content to add to your resources. Currency is Australian dollars so maybe skip that section.
3. Sunnyfield Skills for Work (free)
Free app to add to your collection of resources to teach work readiness skills. This app gives scenarios that may come up and asks individuals how they would respond and teaches about work roles and responsibilities.
4. Skilling It (free)
This app is a collection of short (under 3 mins each) videos that aim to teach teens life skills like how to decide if you’re ready for your first credit card, what to do if you hit a parked car, and words to avoid in an argument. Nice for teens who are gaining independence, but sometimes need complicated situations explained in simple steps. The content is good, but somewhat limited. We are hoping this app continues to grow and add more content.
5. Magnus Cards (free)
Social stories complete with photos and audio (if desired) on community skills like buying things with a debit card, counting change, depositing checks into an ATM, ordering a meal in a restaurant, and how to use public transport. A great app with more content than
expected for a free app. We love it for older students who are gaining
independence.
INFO
1. Learn Autism (free)
A good source of information for busy parents and therapists/educators. The app offers (mostly)
brief on-demand videos on a good variety of topics like, establishing routines, managing tantrums, autism and puberty, IEP’s and special education law. There are videos from SLP’s, OT’s, BCBA’s, autism parents, and autistic adults.
2. Aspergers Experts (free articles, other paid content varies)
A collection of articles on topics like parenting, transitioning to adulthood, and school accommodations. They offer other paid content including self-directed multi-week courses ($197-$795) and books on topics like transitioning to adulthood and parenting an autistic child, but we haven’t reviewed these yet. The app was founded by two people on the Autism spectrum.
3. ABA Exam ($1.90/week or 1-time
charge of $99.99)
Tons of practice questions and mock exams for the BIG BCBA exam. The app gives you a personalized study plan and then tracks your performance and lets you know your areas of strength and
areas to spend more time on. The app will send you daily reminders to study (if wanted).
SOCIAL SKILLS