It never occurred to us that we could take our existing knowledge about the iPad and applications and write an informative blog post for readers. So, thanks @PaulCBrady for asking us for a list!
The picture to the left comes from a wonderful (and free) application for Halloween. Children may carve by hand, carve by facial feature, carve by various faces, or use stickers to decorate. When the decorating is complete, a picture may be saved to your photo files. So, given that it is so close to Halloween, we’ll start with Halloween applications.
Halloween Applications
- Carve a Pumpkin (to make the cute Jack-O-Lantern)
- Pumpkin Lite
- PumpknXplod
- Pumpkin Plus
- Skeleton (interactive and imitative)
- Halloween Coloring Book
- Carve It
- Halloween Heat
Interactive Food Games (Thank you Maverick Software)
- More Grillin
- More Cookies
- More Buffet
- Cupcakes
- More Pizza
- More Cowbell
- More Salad
- Little Match Ups Fruits
Interactive Echo Games
- Talking Gugi
- Talking Tom
- Talking Babies
- Talking Gina
- Talking John
- Talking Roby
- Talking Larry
Reading and Reading Readiness
- Smiley Sight Words
- Teach Me Toddler
- Teach Me Kindergarten
- Teach Me 1st Grade
- Super Why
- ABC Match Ups
- Intro to Letters (by Montessorium)
- Bob Books
- Elmo’s ABCs (amazing and worth every penny)
Interactive Books
- Misty Island (Thomas the Train complete with puzzles, coloring, and dot to dot)
- 5 Little Monkys
- Green Eggs and Ham
- Me and Mom Go to the City
- Toy Story (with reading and painting)
- On The Farm
- Ronki
Books
- Read me Stories (a library with one free book each day)
- Mee Genius (a library)
- Reading Bug
- Food Fight
- Christmas Tale
- The Ugly Duckling
- Three Pigs
- Sesame Books
- Elmo’s Birthday
Vocabulary Builders
- Kindergarten dot com Flash Cards (there are many! actions, alphabet, zoo, fruits, toys, instruments)
- Verbs with Milo
- First Words Deluxe
Math
- Bert’s Bag
- Intro to Math (by Montessorium)
- Free Multiplication Tables
- Grasshopper
- Ace Math Flash Cards
Interactive Games
- Bowling
- Mini Cooper Liquid Assests
- Monkey Flight (by Donut Games)
- Sunday Lawn (by Donut Games)
- Skee Ball
- Flashlight
- Spin the Coke Bottle
- Spinning Plates
Interactive Songs and Music
- Wheels on the Bus (Duck Duck Moose developers)
- Old MacDonald (Duck Duck Moose)
- Wheels on the Bus (Duck Duck Moose)
- Itsy Bitsy Spider (Duck Duck Moose)
- Kid’s Songs
- Virtuosa Piano
Art Tools
- Drawing Pad
- Draw Free
- Kid Paint
- Whiteboard
Puzzles
- Children’s Wooden Puzzles
- Wooden Puzzles (these are not all good but the good ones are great. Sadly, the developers did not advertise on their app so we can’t tell you the exact name or developer)
Data Collection (I don’t think any of these are worth the money)
- DT Data
- ABC Logbook
- ABC Data Pro
Applications for Autism
- Proloquo2go–we love it.
- Dexteria (developed by an OT and teaches fine motor skills)
- iPrompts (thanks for the reminder Kristen!). iPrompts may be used to make schedules, choice boards, and a countdown timer. We LOVE this one.
Websites with Application Reviews
- http://www.gadgetsdna.com/10-revolutionary-ipad-apps-to-help-autistic-children/5522/
- http://a4cwsn.com/
- http://www.autismkey.com/top-ipad-apps-for-children-with-autism/
- http://momswithapps.com/apps-for-special-needs/
- http://babieswithipads.blogspot.com/
- http://www.scribd.com/doc/24470331/iPhone-iPad-and-iPod-touch-Apps-for-Special-Education
- http://www.snapps4kids.com/
- http://www.autismspeaks.org/docs/apps_for_autism.pdf
- http://www.autismspeaks.org/family-services/resource-library/autism-apps
Parents of children with special needs will find the application called IEP Checklist very helpful.
We should clarify that we are not application developers and we have not been paid by any app developer to list their product. Missy is friends with Glenda, owner of Maverick software. Missy and Rebecca have both been given complimentary copies of Proloquo2go so that children may test out the software before making the purchase.
Finally, while these applications have been helpful for us in our therapy sessions, your child may no necessarily enjoy them. Before purchasing, read the ratings and comments. Check out the sample pages to make sure you know what you are purchasing.
Have fun with your applications. We sure do!
Applied Behavioral Strategies 
What a GREAT list! I love that it is sorted by category! Will definately being looking at and trying some of these apps. Would be nice to see the list sub-sorted by ability i.e., reading level, etc. Thanks so much!
Thank you! It is not much but hopefully it will help someone!
You know, I have to tell you, I really enjoy this blog and the insight from everyone who participates. I find it to be refreshing and very informative. I wish there were more blogs like it. Anyway, I felt it was about time I posted, I’ve spent most of my time here just lurking and reading, but today for some reason I just felt compelled to say this.
Thank you Russ. Hopefully, you can develop some applications that will make our list!
Thank you!! Is the Proloqo2go app the one you can take a picture of the item you want to incorporate for the child to use? ie. Using a picture of the pudding she eats to place as an icon for her to say, “I want pudding”?
The Proloquo2go app is the voice output communication software. It is the one we used to teach “I want pudding”.
I just realized that I did not include iPrompts in the list! I will go back and add it. iPrompts is used to make schedules, choices, and the countdown timer.
Take a look at the augieAAC app. It is designed for personalized content and has a visual schedule as well
Thanks for the recommendation!
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