Teaching Students with Autism Community The program provides free monthly webinars and "live chats," free lesson plans, and online discussion forums to help teachers connect and collaborate on the best practices for supporting students with autism. All of the webinars are recorded and archived in the community, so you can watch at any time
Think in Pictures In this TED talk filmed in February 2010, Temple Grandin, diagnosed with autism as a child, talks about how her mind works—sharing her ability to “think in pictures,” which helps her to solve problems that neurotypical brains might miss. She makes the case that the world needs people on the autism spectrum: visual thinkers, pattern thinkers, verbal thinkers and all kinds of smart geeky kids. Join the more than 3 million people who have viewed the video of Temple Grandin’s talk. Subtitles are available in 36 languages. Also view the interactive transcript as well as Temple Grandin’s recommended reading list. Click Here to Visit Website
Free Autism Curriculum Kit Stages Learning Materials is offering a free Autism Curriculum Kit to support families and schools during COVID-19 school closures.
News2youis a newspaper for students with autism and other disabilities that's available on the web. News2you incorporates the symbol system SymbolStix (also used in Proloquo2Go), along with voice narration.
Cindy Autistic Support This website offers numerous learning resources to help students with autistic spectrum disorders. The materials specifically address “the development of language and communication skills, social skills, self-help & academic skills. An emphasis is placed on maintaining appropriate behavior and developing independent skills through the use of structure.”
Autism Support Network This is another great platform where teachers and parents can access resources, guides and coping strategies to use with autistic learners.
TED Talk on Autism This list of TED talks features some amazing first-person accounts from those living with autism.
iPad Apps for Autistic Students This is a very good resource of apps specifically curated for autistic learners. This is a spreadsheet created by a parent, an autistic adult and an SLP and features a very big collection of iPad apps for autism.
Autism Speaks “Autism Speaks has grown into the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization, dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism; increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders; and advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their
Visual Strategy TemplatesDownloadable visual and text charts for routines, behavior communication and more. Downloading the board games did not work for me, but all the other charts were fine.
Do2Learn helps teachers find a way to improve the academic achievement as well as the behavior and social skills of students with special needs. The website features games, songs, craft projects, seasonal arts and much more. Educators can access literacy tools, behavior management plans, a teacher toolbox and other materials created by experts in the area of special education. The resources have been developed specifically for students with Attention Deficit Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder and other disabilities that inhibit their skills of self-regulation, communication, socialization and learning. Click Here to Visit Website
ZacBrowser - Web Browser designed by a grandfather for his grandson who is on the
Autism Spectrum. Appropriate for young children or those with
developmental disabilities. video introduction
Hiyah Software -Free educational software for children who have autism or unable to use a mouse from 18 months to 4 years.
FotoFarmHD uses Google image search filtered for kids. Since many of our students with autism use photos for communication programs and visual schedules, this provides a quick and easy way to find appropriate ones. I like the way it often gives you images with a clean white background, which cuts down on distracting elements.
HelpKidzLearn- This web site is full of FREE accessible (switches, touch screen, mouse) online games, activities, & stories from Inclusive Technology.
Jacob's Lessons - A free interactive educational website, for children with autism. Lessons include matching, sequencing, opposites, reading, activities to teach the use of the mouse and more.
Speech Journal by Mobile Education Store creates books that allow you to pair recorded voices with an image. Don’t let the name fool you, it’s not just for speech therapists. You or your student can create social stories, talking photo albums, illustrated multi-step tasks for job skills training and more. You can use the iPad camera to take a photo from within the app or use pictures from the photo album.
The KidTools Support System - "The KidTools Support System (KTSS) is a federally-funded project to provide performance support software for children, ages 7-13, who have learning disabilities and/or emotional and behavioral problems. The KTSS software includes a library of tools provided as easy-to-use templates for children to personalize and use independently in school and home settings. The KidTools program includes template tools to assist children in self-management, problem solving, and making plans and contracts. KidSkills includes organizational and planning tools and a variety of learning strategies."
StoryMaker - story creation tool. One of the options is to create a story about making friends. Could be used for a social story.
Comic Strip Conversations - Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have trouble interpreting social situations and understanding speech as quickly as most social interactions require. A comic strip conversation is a conversation between two or more people using simple illustrations in a comic strip format. They show children how to behave in a socially acceptable manner and conform to social standards. The effectiveness can be enhanced by incorporating a child's favorite cartoon character into the illustration. Comic Strip Creator | Make Belief | Toondoo
Tinsnips- is a special education resource that strives to share a variety of specialized teaching tools, techniques, worksheets, and activities with teachers of students who have autistic spectrum disorders and related developmental disabilities. Many of these activities may be appropriate for Pre-K and Kindergarten children.
_
Autism Games Autism: Emotions GameAdjust separate parts of a face to represent common emotions. Autism: Feelings GameHelps kids "read" faces to distinguish emotions and feelings My Game Site- This site has a plethora of games, simulations and create your games sites. I may be valuable for high functioning children
Language Skills Apps for Kids with Special NeedsThese engaging, thoughtful, and accessible apps help kids with speech challenges build foundational language skills and alternative means of expression. There are image-based communication platforms, news sites tuned specifically to those with special needs and learning difficulties,
Language Builder based on their industry-leading picture card set. Used by BCBAs, SLPs, teachers, and parents, the full app includes six highly customizable ABA-based activities. A free version of the app provides full access to two of the six activities: Identical and Similar Matching.
Assistive Technology for Reading in the Classroom Many students live with challenges that limit their reading Apps and websites available to help not just people with dyslexia, but students who have physical limitations like sight issues or blindness. These tools can also be useful to students who just need some extra assistance to aid reading fluency or comprehension.
Apps and Websites for Special Education ProgramsWhile some of these tools weren't designed specifically for kids with special needs and disabilities as well as learning and thinking differences, they've been recommended by educators and experts who work with these populations. You'll find apps that address foundational skills, boost social and emotional skills, and help kids with autism follow a schedule. There are also sites that help teachers differentiate learning and access resources for developing language and math literacy.
SoundingBoard is an accessibility tool that helps kids and adults who are unable to speak (or who have limited speech) to communicate. The design isn't as polished as the very similar app, TapToTalk, but the fact that SoundingBoard is free and offers the ability to create custom picture card sets makes it a good value. Customization is key with this app, so adults and educators should be prepared to put in some time creating picture card sets (called "boards") for kids.
Moody Monster Moody Monster Manor is a place to learn about dealing with emotions through engaging and interactive games
SpeechPrompts - This iPhone & iPad app provides a variety of speech therapy exercises to help those with autism spectrum disorders.
Bitsboard uses beautiful photos, has 1,000 lessons and gives the ability to create your own new boards. There are Flashcards that have a word and picture. Students can play mini-games by touching the correct photo or matching up images to the correct word. Word and sentence builder have the child drag and drop letters or words into the correct sequence. It’s easy to create new boards that can be tailored to their curriculum. Grasshopper Apps offers numerous free and inexpensive early learning apps that offer flexibility and customization that is so important for our students. Kindergarten.com has nineteen excellent ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) flashcard apps that are worth exploring too.
iComm Communication can create a barrier for children with conditions such as Cerebral Palsy or Autism. Often, getting the simplest of needs across creates frustration and difficulty for both parents and children when talking is tough. iComm comes pre-loaded with a number of stock pictures and recorded descriptions of colors, shapes, letters and body parts. However, the true advantage of this app is the ability to upload your own photos and voice recordings.
iPad for All is designed to share resources with educators, occupational, physical and speech therapists, special needs students, and persons with disabilities iPad for All shares apps, user tips, accessibility features, accessories, and helpful resources.
Give Speech Foundationrecently launched a free iPad app designed to assist students who have Autism and other speech and communication impairments. The Free Speech app provides a set of images and icons representing common household objects and activities.When a student clicks on an icon the word or phrase is read aloud.
Go Go Games is a set of iPad games designed to help children that have Autism Spectrum Disorders practice recognizing the features and patterns of objects. While these games were designed for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders any young child would enjoy them.
AutismExpress The ‘Autism Xpress’has been created to help promote greater awareness about autism spectrum disorders. It is designed to encourage people with autism to recognizes and express their emotions through its fun and easy to use interface.
Autism Apps Wiki - Resources include functional and social skills, sensory and motor development, language and communication, behavior management, and math concepts. AutismSocial Skills Sampler HD Free - This company the Conover Company has a wide variety of “Life Skill” videos This particular one Is designed to teach and reinforce basic social skills critical for independent living.
EPIC WIN $2.99 It’s a streamlined to-do list, to quickly note down all your everyday tasks, but with a role-playing spin. So rather than just ticking off your chores and reminders, completing each one earns you XP to improve and develop your character.
IDIOM Dictionary$1.99 Can be used in all areas of curriculum but this concept is particularly difficult for children on the Spectrum.
Everyday Skills $39.99 provides self-directed learning sessions for 40 important skills necessary for living independently and accessing the community based on proven content developed by the Attainment Company.
iReward $3.99 When stars have been earned, your child can pick from the default list of suggested rewards, or you can setup your own custom rewards especially tailored for each of your children.
iPrompts XL $49.99 alllows you to create picture schedules, a countdown timer, choice prompts. It comes with an image library which includes hundreds of useful illustrations and digital pictures across many categories.
ABC Data 4.99 Created to assist professionals and students in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), ABC Data is an unobtrusive data collection tool for counting behaviors and recording session duration.
Practicing Pragmatics $5.99 - Student looks at an illustration and either reads the prompt or touches the screen to listen to the prompt. The student then gives a verbal response. After each answer, tap the green (correct) or red (incorrect) button to score the student’s verbal response.