In occupational therapy, there are many ways to use motivating technology to address specific fine motor, sensory processing and sensory-motor skills. Here is a parent’s guide to apps and game systems that will keep children entertained while also assisting in their development. iPads & Tablets Games such as Temple Runand Fruit Ninja help with visual [...]
You just invested in a shiny new iPad for you child with special needs. Next, you lay out some more money to purchase a few communication apps, install them and your child is off and running with a $500 piece of equipment. Minutes later you see the iPad less bounce its way down those beautiful wooden [...]
Back in 2005, Friendship Circle produced a batch of car magnets with our logo printed on them as a small, free swag for our community. What began as a random creative idea has since become our most widely recognized form of spreading awareness for children with special needs and Friendship Circle. To date we have [...]
1. Wandering Children With Autism There is no doubt about it. As the amount of children with autism grows, the stories of children with autism wandering expands as well. This is a crises that is happening in every state, city and community. Many tracking devices are now on the market and special needs organizations are working with law enforcement agencies [...]
Chanukah is around the corner and out come the Menorahs, dreidels and jelly donuts. Chanukah is a happy and joyous time when we commerate the victory of a small group of Jewish soldiers over the mighty Greek Army. (See the rest of the story at Chanukah.org). While the Chanukah preparations are under way make sure you prepare your child [...]
Every Sunday, we select the week’s big special needs stories and great blog posts from special needs bloggers. This week, we bring you nine news stories, five blog posts, and what you may have missed this week from the Friendship Circle blog. Forbes: Living Life With Autism II: Perspectives Alice Walton’s last article on living [...]
Recently 60 Minutes ran a feature called Apps for Autism. In the segment 60 Minutes Corespondent Lesley Stahl reports on the iPad and other tablet computer apps that are helping nonverbal people with autism communicate and learn. Check out the segment above and watch the web extras below. What do you think? Are iPads and Apps the [...]
Did the people at Apple know they were changing the dynamics of special education when they created the iPad? I don’t know for sure. I want to think that someone in the organization had this kind of application in mind – maybe a parent, a sibling or family member of someone with disabilities. In fact, I’m [...]
This post is part Nine and the final post of the Special Needs iPad & App Series. Almost from the day the iPad was launched there was an immediate buzz about the special needs apps that were available in the iPad app store. Apple quickly realized that the iPad was perfectly suited to enhancing the lives of [...]
This post is part Eight of the Special Needs iPad & App Series. Almost from the day the iPad was launched there was an immediate buzz about the special needs apps that were available in the iPad app store. Apple quickly realized that the iPad was perfectly suited to enhancing the lives of individuals with special needs [...]
