SNEAK's Peeks #4: Hands-on Interactive Play with Sifteo Cubes

 Sifteo Interactive Game Cubes were one of the coolest tools I saw at ATIA 2012 this past weekend! Check out this quick demo  the rep from EnableMart gave me of this awesome new learning modality!
  


These high-tech "manipulatives" interact with desktop software on your computer to display and play fun and educational games! You can create your own games using the Sifteo Creativity Kit, or play a variety of games from the Sifteo Game Studios, suited for a variety of ages and interests!
I had a blast playing with the cubes and saw so much potential for use with kids with special needs. The cubes have a high color display, are extremely lightweight and easy to push along th table or grasp, and easily connect and interact with each other to give feedback to the player.  What a fun way to incorporate manipulatives into simple counting, math, colors, or matching game!  The rep assured me that they re pretty durable too. Can't wait to see where this technology goes!  Check out Sifteo Interactive Game Cubes on Amazon!

Carly's Voice Provides Amazing Insight into Autism

 One of my therapy moms shared this amazing video (thanks Rebecca!)!  This is a must see for anyone who has been touched by a child with Autism or other devastating developmental challenges.

Click here to watch a video clip of Carly on 20/20's Medical Mysteries.  

This amazing young girl shares her thoughts with the world on her very own blog, Carly's Voice.

 

Speak for Yourself App, a Great Blog Post & Video from A Parent's Perspective

A few weeks ago I posted about a new AAC App called Speak for Yourself and I was thrilled to come across a blog post on Uncommon Sense showcasing how one mom is using this great App with her special needs child.  The post is insightful and informative and it also includes some great video!  You have to check it out! :)

Tecla Access for Android Opens Doors for Switch Accessibility in Mobile Devices

What is Tecla Access?

Tecla Access is an App and hardware “shield” designed to provide switch access to the underlying operating system (Android) on Android mobile devices. This includes ALL of the Apps loaded onto a particular device.  In other words, you can use Tecla Access on your Android tablet to access other Apps witch a switch. This technology is in the pre-production stages and is currently being tested in the UK, Canada, and US with adult users.  The research team at the Inclusive Design Research Centre of OCAD University in Toronto is currently gathering data on the compatibility of Tecla Access with various Android Tablets and Android Apps. They post this data as it is gathered on their project site.  Currently, Tecla Access is compatible with various Android mobile phones and the Samsung Galaxy Tab (a mobile tablet similar to an iPad).  The research team will test the compatibility of different Android Apps with the Tecla Access system upon request.  They are still in the working stages of identifying those Apps which follow best accessibility practices most closely, and therefore present good compatibility with Tecla Access.  Check the Tecla Access Project site  for more information on the Apps that have been tested as well as those in process. 

How do I get Tecla Access?

Visit Tecla’s site to learn more about how to participate in the initial use of this amazing product.    Keep in mind that this is a two part system-in order to use Tecla Access on your Android tablet for switch accessibility you must have the Tecla Access App  and the Tecla Access Shield. 

You can download the Tecla Access App for free in the Android Market.  You can get other great Android Apps in  the Amazon AppStore for Android

I am really excited about this project and I can’t wait to see how it develops in the coming months. Despite the fact that the initial focus of this project is on adult users, I am completely confident that this technology has wonderful applicability for our kids who use switches.    Do you use Android Apps with your kids?  Which Apps should Tecla Access test out to get this project moving for our kids?

A special thank you to Jorge Silva at the Inclusive Technology Research Centre of OCAD University for answering all of my dummy questions and providing great resources for this post! J

SNEAK's Peeks #3: Using DrawCast to Create High Contrast Picture Symbols

Here is a quick demo of how to use a free App, DrawCast, to create easy, high-contrast picture symbols that you can load into other apps (e.g., AAC Apps, flashcard Apps), or use in print materials for children with visual impairment.  The use of high contrast when creating visual materials for children with visual impairments is an adaptation that helps make pictures and text more accessible to children with special visual needs.  There are a few Apps on the market that sell you high contrast picture sets as flashcards (e.g., Baby Symboizer, iLook) but I find these somewhat limited for the cost, at least when it comes to working with kids with visual impairment and CVI to build attention, vocabulary, and a picture communication system.  Consult with your child's vision therapist or other vision specialist about which vision adaptations (e.g., color combinations, size of pictures, line thickness, etc...) would be best for his needs.  With some guidance and a little creativity, you can use this simple App to create a library of accessible picture symbols for your child that helps build vocabulary and communication skills!

New AAC App With a Core Words Approach!

Find it at the App Store

Thank you toTherapy App 411 for this awesome review of a great new App that looks and works a lot like MinSpeak/Unity on the PRC communication devices (e.g., Vantage, Vanguard)!

Speak For Yourself! (click link to the left for Therapy App 411 review) is an AAC App
that is rooted in the use of core word vocabulary (FINALLY!) and motor planning concepts to help kids with communication disabilities communicate more quickly and effectively!  Visit the developers website for additional info. Here is a video demo (produced by the developers and posted on You Tube)

 My only gripe is that there isn't a lite version :(. It is a pricey App at $299.00 and I know therapists and parents are going to want to try before they buy.  Maybe if enough of us suggest this to the developers they will throw us a Lite Version Bone :)

 

You have to check out this App and let us know what you think!  It is truly UNIQUE!

Gube App-Safer YouTube for Kids!

Gube is a great new App that “filters” YouTube to provide a more kid-friendly, G-rated search and viewing platform. The App pre-screens videos and includes only those that are appropriate for the eyes and ears of babes! The library of the App contains thousands of videos chosen by the developers (parents) with new videos added regularly. Users can also submit video recommendations for consideration by the developers of Gube. Gube categorizes its catalog of videos by age, allowing you (as the caregiver/ professional) to display only those videos that fall within selected age groups (you can toggle these age groups in the settings of the App). The interface of the App looks and acts much like YouTube, with “Favorites”, “Recents” and “Featured” tabs, and also a search option (although it only searches those videos within the App, remember, not the entire Youtube database). Use of Gube with ahome button cover like the BubCap, orLasered Pics Home Button Guard and a durable case like the Big Frame or Otter Box lets allows kids to have a more independent, unsupervised viewing experience on You Tube without parents getting too nervous. J

One feature that I would like to see included in this App is the ability for users to prescreen videos on YouTube themselves, and then upload these as links within the Gube App. This would allow therapists, teachers, and caregivers to load specific videos for lessons, themes, and activities within a safe viewing environment, giving Gube more applicability as a teaching tool and not just a source of entertainment. I would also love to seeswitch accessibility with this App as it is a simple, but wonderful platform to help motivate kids to learn how to useswitches! And how empowering to be able to play their own videos using their switches! How are you all using YouTube and other video platforms to enhance play and learning for your kids?

Cool Speech Therapy Tool: Little Printer available in 2012!



Little Printer by Berg Cloud

 I know everyone wants to get info about Apps, but I just had to shift gears for a minute because I saw this and I really thought it was cool! Then, the more I thought about it, the more my mind raced with how I could use this really cool gadget to help kids with special needs!  Well, maybe indirectly, but humor me for a moment.

Little Printer is a pint sized, thermal printer that uses similar technology to a receipt printer you might see at a retail store. The Berg Cloud company have integrated this technology with formatting software so that you can print different news articles, blog posts, and more in a visually appealing, pint-sized printout!  This product isn’t available for initial use until 2012 (L) so full exploration of its application in educational and therapeutic settings isn’t quite possible at the moment. However, I had a few brainstorming ideas that I hope to see through when I get my Little Printer (hopefully in early 2012)!

I love using my iPad and other mobile technology in therapy sessions, classroom lessons, and training sessions with parents and colleagues.  BUT, sometimes I really need something in print! 

• Wouldn't it be amazing to be able to link a parent to an online resource for information on a clinical topic and then print out the website, article etc... right there in your session? 
• How about locating an evidenced based research article on a technique you are trying in your session for the first time and being able to print the abstract for your client's parent to review as you implement the technique in session?
• What about loading data and progress stats from your favorite Apps like ArticPix and being able to send a quick, printed progress note home to mom straight from your mobile device?
• And wouldn't it be cool to create little "mini handouts" at the end of your session where you can capture what you've discussed with mom and dad and provide bulleted tips in print for them to hang on the fridge? Or even integrate photos from your mobile device's photo library (of oral-motor exercise examples or products you'd like them to try etc...) to provide a visual to go along with your verbal home practice suggestions!

I can only hope that Little Printer is just the start of this cool technology and that more companies bring similar, cost effective and useful resources to the therapeutic arena.  I hope to be able to try out many of the ideas above when I get my hands on a Little Printer-I'll let you all know the CAN's and CANNOT's of this cool little gadget as soon as I try it!

SNEAK's Peeks #2: The AAC Apps Assistant by AAC Tech Connect

As promised, here is a peek at the AAC Apps Assistant, a web-based service (available for free trial until January 15, 2012) at AAC Tech Connect!  This is the first program that I know of to allow you to search for AAC Apps that run on multiple mobile platforms based on relevant criteria individual to different types of AAC users.  Check out the video demo below and go AAC Tech Connect to login for your free trial! :)

SNEAK's Peeks #1: " I Like Books" by Grasshopper Apps

 

I Like Books

I Like Books (developed by Grasshopper Apps)includes 37 picture books for kids (in 1App!) with high quality, colorful photos, simple embedded text, and voice output!  Many elements of the stories are also fully customizable so you can change the voice output, change the story text, and even create photo "hot spots" that speak when they are touched! 

Check out our SNEAK's Peeks video demo below (or click here to view on YouTube) for a quick introduction to this really cool storybook App!

I really like the simplicity of this App and the photos are great!  I would like to see the ability to use your own photos added to future upgrades.  This feature would expand this App's potential as a platform for creating adapted stories and social stories for children with special needs.  For children with higher level language skills, I think this App is a great way to elicit simple narratives based on the pictures provided in each story.  The kids can even record their story retell or spontaneous narrative as they look at the pictures and then have the App read their own story back to them! 

Introducing "SNEAK's Peeks"!

SNEAK’s Peeks is a weekly video feature on SNEAK Outside the Box where we showcase a video demo of a new App each week!  Check out our first episode, a video demo and commentary of the new App from Grasshopper Apps, “I Like Books”. 

Check back weekly for new peeks! 

Have an App you’d like us to demo before you buy? Comment here and let us know!