Today is World Autism Awareness Day and the beginning of Autism Awareness Month.
The United Nations General Assembly designated the day in 2007 as a way to raise autism acceptance and help those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Since it's launch in 2010, the iPad and iPad apps have been a tool in providing that help, and in aiding those with autism in finding their voice.
According to the CDC, one in 66 kids in the U.S. are on the autistic spectrum. According to a study by UCLA, using the iPad can help minimally verbal children more than double the amount of words in their vocabulary, and the earlier they start, the better they do.
Apple has created features like Guided Access expressly for people on the autistic spectrum, and developers around the world have created dozens of apps either specifically or incidentally helpful as well. The App Store is currently featuring a collection of apps for Autism Awareness Month, including several on sale. Toca has also assembled a TocaBox for autism bundle. Here they are, and more!
1. Guided access
Guide access that lets you lock the iPhone or iPad to a single app. For as long as guided access is enabled, only that one specific app can be used, and there's no way to exit it for the Home screen or any other app. That can make Guided Access extremely useful for people on the autistic spectrum who need assistance focusing or with fine motor challenges.
2. Proloquo2Go
An argumentative and alternative communications (aac) app, Proloquo2Go is for anyone on the autistic spectrum who has trouble speaking. It provides natural-sounding text-to-speech voices, including American English, Australian English, British English, and bilingual American Spanish-English for children.
- $109.99 (on 50% off sale) - Download now
3. Grace
Grace helps give people on the autistic spectrum a voice by letting them assemble sentences based on images.
4. Proloquo4Text
Proloquo4Text offers natural sounding voices in 15 languages with word and sentence prediction and a customizable screen layout for easy conversation.
5. Autismate365
Autismate's comprehensive approach encourages the user to develop communication and behavioral skills simultaneously.
- Free with IAP - Download now
6. FlummoxVision
Flummox and Friends is a fun, quirky live-action comedy show that tries to help kids learn and understand the social and emotional dynamics of the world around them.
- Free with IAP - Download now
7. Kid in Story Book Maker
Stories are powerful and visual stories even more more so. For children on the autistic spectrum, Kid in Store can be a fun way to learn language skills and social modeling.
8. Keeble
Keeble is a keyboard designed for accessibility. It helps those with fine motor challenges and others better and more easily input text, with word prediction, timing options, and more.
9. Pictello
Pictello allows someone on the autistic spectrum to create simple talking photo albums an books. You get one image and up to fixe lines of text per page, and audio can be recorded or added using high-quality text-to-speech voices.
10. Choiceworks
For those on the autistic spectrum, daily routines can be anything but routine. Choiceworks helps by providing management tools that encourage emotional control and patience.
11. iDress for Weather
How should you dress if it's warm outside? If it's cold? If it's somewhere in between. iDress for Weather uses a customizable closet to help personalize the connection between what the weather's like and what clothing they should wear.
12. PuddingStone
PuddingStone, developed with the Boston Children's Hospital, is a way to help make language development not only interactive, but fun.
13. ChatterPix Kids
Take a photo, draw a line to make a mouth, record your voice, and, with ChatterPix Kids, your pictures can now speak.
14. Toca Band
Toca Band promotes learning sounds, beats, and rhythms through play and experimentation.
15. Toca Town
How a city works and what various locations are for, like stores, parks, and restaurants, are discoverable and learnable through Toca Town.
16. Peek A Zoo
Discovering animals, learning their names, and identifying social cues lets Peek a Zoo help engage children and build interactive experience.
17. Injini: Child Development Game Suite
The Injini collection of learning games can help with cognitive, language, and fine motor skills in a fun yet functional way.
18. Tiggly Counts
Tiggly Counts is a math toy for iPad that helps pre-schoolers and kindergartners (age three and older) develop early numeracy, counting, and math skills. It includes a set of five sleek, magnetic counting toys that interact with three different learning apps on your iPad.
19. Todo Number Matrix
Todo Number Matrix lets kids practice match skills with fun, challenging matrices.
20. Motion Math: Pizza!
With Motion Math: Pizza! kids can learn everything from basic arithmetic to economics by buying ingredients, designing pizzas, setting prices, and serving customers in a fun, simple simulator.
21. And more!
The iPad and the App Store make computing more available and accessible to everyone, including those on the autistic spectrum. If you or someone you know and love is using the iPad and iPad apps to help with autism and autism awareness, please let me know how!
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