Software & Online Games for Children with Visual Impairment

Not everyone has a mobile tablet (iPad, Android tablet) and for some kids with special needs, especially those with visual impairment, tablet activities may not be the best choice for all occasions.  Personal computers are readily available in many classrooms and homes and there are lots of great software programs out there for kids with special needs!  I often hear parents and professionals say "Why would I spend $200.00 on a software program when I can get an App for $2.99?".  This is true, many of these software programs require a bit of an investment.  however, more often than not, the programs available will grow with your child and can be used across his or her development.  Furthermore, the development of these products involves extensive educational research and product support and in my opinion, that often justifies the cost!  Lastly, for kids who use switches, personal computers offer a much wider variety of educational programs and games than mobile devices.  Here are a few resources to find software and online activities/games that can be used on laptops or personal computers for children with a variety of special needs, including visual impairment: (PS:  Some of these are free!! :)

Software

7-128 Software for Blind & Visually Impaired Kids
This company makes simple, low cost games that you can download directly form the site or obtain on a CD.  The games were developed to be accessible to children with special needs at a variety of ages and stages.  The company uses an accessibility rating system that is helpful when choosing the right program(s) for your child.  There is also some free stuff on the site, definitely worth checkin out!

Inclusive Technology
This company offers a variety of accessible software for entertainment and education and also has some great Apps for iPad and Android tablets.  Many of their software programs and apps are also switch accessible.

Intellitools Products
A great source for educational programs like the Intellitools Classroom Suite.  This company also offers an activity exchange area where users can share the activities they have created for Intellitools programs.  One of the things that makes Classroom Suite a great tool is your ability to create custom activities for your child's needs.  They also have a braille learning program, IntelliBraille.
Free trials are available for download on the company's site.

Laureate Products
These programs focus on language and communication development.

Softtouch Products
Switch accessible programs for cause-effect learners and academic subjects (reading, match).

There is also a great list of Switch Accessible Software at Marblesoft

Online Activities

Starfall
Focus on literacy with activities for kids at all stages of reading development.

HelpKidzLearn
Free online games from cause and effect to problem solving.  Most games are switch accessible and all visually simple with high contrast.

Symbol World
Online newspapers for kids and adults using symbols to enhance literacy.  Free to access and the site offers accessibility settings like high contrast and large print.  Unfortunately, no voice output yet. :( But they're working on it.  Read more about it here.

News-2-You
Another symbol-based newspaper with a variety of reading levels (even appropriate for really young children).  This one is subscription based and comes with companion activities in each issue.  Also has voice output :)


Kneebouncers
Fun learning games for tots and preschool kids.

Looking for resources for older children and teens?
For some great resources for teens and adults, visit Wonder Baby's list!

What software and online activities do you enjoy?

Awesome Holiday Gifts for Special Kids

Parents often ask me what toys to buy for their special kids, as many traditional toys are not made with special needs in mind.  I came across  a link to the 2011 Gift Guide for Individuals Living with Paralysis (compiled by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation) and I was inspired to share the link, and to also compile a list of my own. :)  Below I have listed some web resources that I have used to help guide the gift buying process.  Check these out and share them with the families you serve.  I will follow up with my own tips and tricks on adapting my Top 10 Traditional Toys to suit the special needs of kid's with cognitive and physical limitations (that and more, in a later post. :) 

Toys R' Us Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids is an amazing compilation of great, traditional toys (non-adapted) that is compiled by Toys R' Us with the professional guidance of the play experts at Lekotek.  This guide is available in Spanish and English, Flash version and PDF, which makes it great for sharing with families.  You can also order print version of the guide (free or charge) to distribute at your school or center.  The greatest part of this guide is that it showcases toys that are easily accessible for most families as they can be purchased locally and don't usually cost as much as adapted toys.  The guide is conveniently organized so that toys are accompanied by symbols to help parents find those toys that promote different skills, such as Auditory, Language, Social, Creativity, and Fine and Gross Motor Skills.

Fisher Price Toys & Playtime Tips for Children with Special Needs is a web resource provided by Fisher Price with the guidance of the experts at the Let;s Play Project.  Although it does not currently provide specific toy suggestions, it allows parents to pick the level of support their child needs in certain developmental areas (Hearing, Seeing, Talking etc...) and then provides general toy buying tips on features to look for in toys to make them more accessible.


Visit the SNEAK aStore to find these great toys, and other, hand-picked toys for special needs kids that you can buy easily from Amazon!

Adapted Scribbling-You Don't Always Need an App for That

In my previous post, I mentioned that ever-present hurdle of getting our kids with significant cognitive and physical challenges to engage in drawing and coloring activities, or any arts and crafts project for that matter! The fact of the matter is, these activities are really hard for our kids, challenging many of their sensory, cognitive, and motor systems all at once, and, frankly, the effort tends to outweigh the reward. I had the great fortune of working as lead teacher in a small language enriched, special-needs preschool program in Florida, which gave me the unique opportunity to do something many speech therapists don't generally get to do-make "coloring" my business! :) Well, at least for the 15 to 20 minutes of the school day reserved for art time. You might be wondering(especially if you are a speech therapist, always focused on verbal output) "what's the big deal about coloring anyway?".

I recently stumbled across a unique web article, "When Children Draw" By Sandra Crosser, Ph.D (out of Ohio Northern University) which provided some nice insight on the role of "doodling" in well-rounded child development. We know it is important, not only to motor skill development, but also to cognitive, emotional, and social development. So how can we bring this developmental gem to our kids with challenges in a way they can manage, and more importantly, enjoy?

One way is certainly through Apps like Glow Coloring and others which add unique visual elements and modify the physical requirements usually needed for traditional scribbling, such as grasping a crayon and applying enough pressure to make a mark. But prior to using the iPad for adapted art, I found many "lower tech" adaptations that seemed to do the trick for many of my kids. One product I just HAD to have the moment the ad rolled across my TV screen was Crayola's Color Me a Song. By adding music to scribbles, Color Me a Song got many of my clients on the Autism Spectrum to pick up a crayon (and use it for awhile:)! I even used this cool tool t to teach color concepts by having my kids match the musical instrument button to the crayon color and show me what "blue" sounded like. As the scribbles speed up and slow, so does the music, making this a great tool for teaching qualitative concepts like fast, slow, quiet, and noisy in a multisensory way. Adapted crayons and paper stability can be used for those kids requiring more motor support. Other than that, for under 20 bucks (including flat sided, chunky crayons which come in the storage compartment!), you might just be surprised at how motivating this simple toy can be. What other adaptations (high, low, or no tech) have you used to help your kids catch the creativity bug?

More Early Childhood Apps for Kids with Visual Impairments

In my previous post, I shared a high contrast App called Bla Bla Bla with a promise for follow-up.  Here it is! :)

2)  Glow Coloring & Glow Coloring Pro
This is a high contrast drawing and coloring App that I came across at SpedApps2.  The free version (Glow Coloring) let's you draw, type messages, and even import pictures to color from your idevice camera or Photo library.  It also comes with "stamps" that can be pasted across your coloring page in various designs and sizes, simply by using a light touch on the screen. The Pro version ($0.99 at the moment)  integrates with GlowColoring.com, a social network of sorts where users can post their Glow Coloring creations, view the work of others, and even vote for their favorites.  (A cautionary note: I would use your own discretion as far as GlowColoring.com as I'm not sure what safeguards are in place to regulate the content).
 
I used this app with my little guy with CVI and found it to be helpful in targeting things like:

• Motor control for different touch-screen motions like touching and dragging.  These are skills I know will be important to help this little guy learn how to access more structured technology, such as AAC and Apps targeting early basic concepts, when the time comes. Using a drawing platform to help him learn these subtle differences and how to control his body to achieve different outcomes creates a visually motivating, error-less environment to build fun, successful, early experiences.
• Scribbling Practice!  Most children with significant developmental delays don't have the motor skills nor (quite frankly) the interest to sit down and color for any length of time.  Scribbling is essential to early development and an integral part of EVERY typical toddlers play routine-so why not our special kids?  I think this App  adds a bit more spice to a recipe for success when it comes to motivating these kids to interact with fluid materials.  

I think that this App works as a great high contrast "white board" (although it's a black board :) too.  I have used it to teach basic concepts like numbers, letters, shapes, and colors simply by drawing as I teach or by creating static supports form my drawings through the Apps built in sharing feature that allows you to share via email, Facebook, or by simply saving to your Photo Library.  You can create high contrast "flash cards" of the concepts you are working on, organize them into an album in your Photo Library, and use them as a quick teaching tool that can be added to any play session.

One of the downfalls of the free version of this App is, of course, the ads-however, I didn't find this aspect to be a huge barrier to interacting with the App.  I also realize that not all of our kids (my little guy with CVI included) have the motor skills to use drawing programs without support.  I think that motor limitations can definitely be assisted by some good old-fashioned adaptations-but more on this in a future post! :)

Have any ideas on how to use this App differently?  Please share!  Sometimes the simple Apps stretch the farthest.