Giving Your Toys a Makeover!

I just read a great blog post form Little Stories and it brought to mind something I stress often when working with families of children with special needs:  Don't underestimate the power of an organized play environment!

Don't get me wrong, unstructured play filled with creativity and freedom is crucial to the development of all children.  However, most of us don't work or play our best when we are surrounded by confusing clutter.  Reducing clutter, rotating toys often, and categorizing toys according to their purpose can help children in so many ways.  I have witnessed first-hand the type of magic a well-maintined play area can create!

• Increased attention
• Reduced hyperactivity
• Improved interaction and social skills
• Expanded language comprehension
• More speech output
• Improvements in pretend play

The list goes on!

Check out some details on the how's and why's of establishing a toy routine for your child with special needs at Little Stories.

How do you set up play time magic for your child with special needs?

Tactile Feedbak for iPad 3? An Amazing Prospect for Visually Impaired Kids!

I found this Youtube Video (Touch the Invisibles...) a few weeks ago that featured an innovation in the development phase that would bring tactile feedback to the iPad touch screen.  I haven't heard anything more about it since:  that is, until now!  Rumor on the street claims this feature (or something similar) might be available in iPad 3!  Check out the link below to find out more!

TUAW: Haptic feedback rumor gains traction for iPad

What amazing implications in the fields of sensory processing!  And even more so, what amazing potential for helping children and adults who are blind or significantly visually impaired interact with the iPad touch screen!  I will definitely have to add this one to my iPad 3 wish list!

Do you have experience using tactile feedback with children?

New App For Picky Eaters & Problem Feeders On the Way!

The awesome developers of Kids Food Adventure, an App to help kids explore new foods, recently reached out to SNEAK on the SNEAK Freestyle Forum about a new App in development that promises to be even more tailored to the needs of kids with sensory feeding aversions.

 

 

Daniela from Haymachine Entertainment shared the following about this new App in the making:

A thank you to SNEAK outside the box and many parents of children with food sensitivity issues for commenting on Kids Food Adventure and giving it a try!

 

Kids Food Adventure was designed to challenge a child's taste buds and to make learning about new, healthy foods fun. The app offers choices and gives kids an opportunity to earn virtual stickers, stars and to rate food, among other features. We learned that providing choices resonated with parents of children with autism and food sensitivity issues. The app fell short in that is lacked customization. Parents also expressed a need for less adventurous foods and more of an exploration of every day and very basic foods that could be within or outside a child's comfort zone.

 

The response for the need of an app that would help ease the anxiety and stress related to trying new foods inspired us to develop a concept for Choose My Food.

We are seeking funding to develop Choose My Food through Appbckr.http://bit.ly/xvpN5E

We've also started a forum where parents can vote on app features and/or offer suggestions. http://bit.ly/xagb1S

 

We'd love to hear from you. Please share this with anyone that you think would like to back this app or provide feedback for development.

Vote on the App features you want to see on Choose My Food by visiting the Choose My Food Forum.

Choose My Food is not yet available for sale in the App Store. :( BUT, you can help make that happen by backing this great new App on Appbckr. You can also get more info on this new App, including screen shots of the prototype, by visiting the Choose My Food Appbcker project site. I will keep you all posted of the progress of this App and will share a review as soon as I get my hands on the first release :)

Start your own discussion, ask a question, or share an idea on SNEAK Freestyle :)

What technology do you use to help kids with sensory feeding difficulties?

 

 

Sensory Pods for Kids with Visual Impairment

 A great pin on Pinterest shared by my amazing friend and colleague, Gabi!  Thanks, Gabi!  

These cool little pods might be low tech, but they have awesome potential to enhance sensory processing in children with visual impairment!

http://m.pinterest.com/pin/259590365991289593/

 

The Magic Carpet Interactive Projector

Spectronics Blog shared a great post on this new technology! 
Amazing Sensory Guru technologies now here in ANZ | The Spectronics Blog

I have used projectors with my iDevices before, especially to share books, videos, and pictures with my preschool class during Circle Time.  But I've never used an interactive one!  So cool-I hope this type of technology emerges in a manageable, affordable way (especially for iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch) for therapists and parents to use at home with special kids.  :)