Awesome Memory App

I've been reading a fun blog called OT's with Apps, and Carol recently featured an app called Awesome Memory.  She has some great ideas on how to use the app, and I was really impressed with the idea for using it to scaffold learning about how to keep yourself organized.  I love the graphic organizer that she used to help kids be more successful too.  If you are looking for some great app reviews, make sure to check out OT's with Apps.

Patrick

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"Babies, start your engines" #a11y #disability #udel #assistivetech #spedchat #OTpeeps #PTpeeps

Toy ride-on cars provide mobility and sociability to kids with disabilities!  Cole Galloway, an associate professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at my alma-mater, the University of Delaware, is adapting off-the-shelf ride-on cars to enable children with limited mobility to explore their world and make friends.

Galloway's research focuses on determining if mobility can drive children's socialization.  He is known for his "babies driving robots" research.  However, he recently switched gears and is exploring the use of off-the-shelf, ride-on toys.  Galloway explains, “Using these cars in our project helps to normalize the therapeutic experience for children with limited mobility."

Galloway points out that the low-tech isn’t replacing the high-tech but complementing it.  While these ride-on toys are the real deal that you could go out and buy at your local Toys "R" Us, each car is adapted to meet the needs of the child who is riding it.  Added features, or simple modifications, include roll bars made out of PVC pipe, sling seats made from soft fabric, harnesses fashioned from mesh and plastic, and a specialized console over the steering wheel.  Future ideas for improvement include the use of GPS and webcam technologies.

The untold secret is that the low-tech aspects of this might not stay very low-tech very long.  We are still going to work on the high-tech, but in parallel we are also going to work on lower-tech solutions.

One of the larger goals for this project is to take what the research team is learning and create a toolkit for others who want to adapt the cars for kids with special needs. Galloway emphasizes the importance of doing this right. “We make sure to stay within the manufacturers’ intent, which is to use these cars as toys,” he says. “We don’t alter their use, and we don’t alter the safety factors built into the cars.”

“Fun is the key here—it unlocks brain development,” Galloway says. “When your main goal is providing socialization for infants and toddlers, you can’t ask for better collaborators than Barbie and Mater.”

Read more about this research project on UDaily.

-  Jeremy

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Updated Blog Roll #edchat #spedchat #spedtech #assistivetech #SLPeeps #SLPchat #OTpeeps

Our updated blog roll is now posted under the Recommended Blogs tab above.   Over the next several days descriptions of each blog will be added.

READERS:  Do you know of any great blogs that we have not yet discovered?  If so, please share by commenting below!


-  Jeremy


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#promocodes for ABA Touch: Monsters - EXPIRE SOON! #spedchat #specialneeds #tck

ABA Touch: Monsters by SlingSpace, LLC (iTunes App Store | Universal | $0.99) is an app that was designed for children with sensory issues.  It is a cause and effect game with a monster theme.  The child presses the correct monster, which results in the device generating a sound as well as vibrating.

          

Promo Code Giveaway
The developer has provided us with 9 promo codes for ABA Touch: Monsters to giveaway.  There is an update being released for this app soon, so these codes expire today (8/30).  To win one of these codes, comment below.  I will announce winners this afternoon.


-  Jeremy

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Re-purposing iOS apps and Wii games for therapy?? #assistivetech #iTherapy

I thought I would share an interesting article published earlier today on PadGadget, Stroke Patients Rehabilitate with Fruit Ninja for iPad.  This article discusses how certain iPad and Wii games provide a new form of physical exercise required by recovering stroke patients.  iOS game apps like Fruit Ninja, which require a combination of gestures or movements help to improve fine motor skills.  Although such apps are designed for entertainment, it seems like there is an emerging trend of re-purposing such apps given their medical and/or therapeutic benefits.

Which iOS apps or Wii games have you re-purposed for use with your children or students?  I will share my list of re-purposed apps later in another post this week!

-  Jeremy


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Pointscribe

One product that I had decided to check out at ATIA is Pointscribe.  I'd heard about it on the QIAT list and thought it sounded interesting.  Basically it's software for teaching handwriting.  Sounds simplistic, but it's more than that.  It has several very interesting features - it works with touchscreens & tablet computers (that work with pens). It includes auditory & visual feedback and can teach basic shapes/lines, and will move up to letters, numbers and even cursive.  You can even create own scripts and have kids trace over it.

At ATIA I took the opportunity to try out the program, it worked extremely well, was responsive, and was easy to use.  It worked well with both the pen from a tablet computer as well as using my finger on a Magic Touch screen.  You can download a free 30-day trial from Pointscribe - Free Trial.  At this time the program is only available for PC, but I'm told a Mac version is forthcoming.  Try out your copy today!

Patrick

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