ACT FAST!!! Temporary $0.99 AAC app

There is an AAC app that is temporarily priced.. Sono Flex AAC app from Tobii only $.99 today (tomorrow goes up to $100!)

Access their website


Find it here in the appstore.

What others are saying...

For those who want a perspective on what people are saying about the iPad for our kids with special needs, here are a few blogposts/articles to check out:

From Maternal Instincts... One more thing dated Oct 6, 2011

From Autism Puzzle Mom... iPad dated April 26, 2011

From Blogher ... The iPad: a Near-Miracle for My Son With Autism dated June 15, 2010
From the author of the blog squidalicious which you have to check out!

From Evette Munz via CNN ... Steve Jobs helped my autistic son speak dated October 6, 2011

From Muslimah Next Door ... Thanks Steve Jobs from an Autism Mom dated October 6, 2011

From Spectrummy Mummy ... Legacy dated October 6, 2011

From A Diary of a Mom ... A ding in the universe/An unlikely love letter dated October 6, 2011/January 10, 2010

From Love that Max ... A thank you to Steve Jobs from a special needs mom dated October 6, 2011

From My Autistic Muslim Child ... Amin's iPad dated July 19, 2011

From Kristina C at care2.com ... Thank You, Steve Jobs: iPads and Autism dated October 5, 2011

From Solodialogue ... Thanks, in passing. October 6, 2011

RIP Steve Jobs

He may have inadvertently changed the world in a way he never knew or expected. RIP

The iPad and Visual Impairments

iPad research promising for children with cortical visual impairment

Moxie is working with Muriel Saunders, an assistant research professor at KU's Life Span Institute.

LAWRENCE — A researcher at the University of Kansas believes the iPad could vastly improve the lives and prospects of children living with cortical visual impairment, a severe neurological disorder resulting from brain damage that prevents children from interpreting visual information.

“We tested 15 children and were absolutely shocked,” said Muriel Saunders, assistant research professor at KU’s Life Span Institute. “Every single child was enthralled with the iPad. Children that typically didn’t look at people, didn’t respond with objects or responded in a very repetitious fashion, were absolutely glued to the iPad. It was an amazing experience.”

Saunders, who works with children with CVI to help them develop language skills, said that traditionally such children work with therapists and parents using a light box, akin to the light box a doctor uses to see an X-ray. This is because children with CVI have an easier time seeing lights and objects in high contrast.

“Someone with a severe CVI will spend a lot of time looking at lights,” Saunders said. “They might just sit and look at a light inside the house, or typically they look out the window into the bright sunlight. They might look briefly at something passing by, but they don’t look at faces, and they don’t look at objects. So they appear to be blind.”

With its bright screen, the iPad replicates a light box — but its interactivity, sound and color are a great deal more engaging to the children with CVI.

After a research assistant working with Saunders asked to use an iPad with the children as a possible light-box substitute, Saunders saw the powerful draw the device had for the children.

“We were using some very simple infant applications,” said Saunders. “One was called ‘Baby Finger,’ where you just touch the screen, and sounds and images and colored shapes appear on the white background. So, in many ways, it was similar to a light box except for instead of black and white, there were bright colors. We also looked at a Dr. Seuss book.”

Parents of children with CVI had been the first to notice the iPad’s potential as a therapy tool for their kids. Word of the device’s promise has begun to spread on Internet chat rooms and social media. But no formal research documenting the iPad’s power to help children with CVI has been conducted yet.

Saunders hopes to change that and now is writing a grant proposal to the National Institutes of Health to conduct a thorough study.

“Using the iPad, not only can they interact with a screen, but we can teach them through a series of steps to control things on that screen,” the KU researcher said. “There are so many apps already available; we don’t have to go out and make our own apps. There are apps available to make a communication board. There are apps available that have different levels of difficulty. Parents of children with CVI are already learning that the iPad works well. There are blogs that say, ‘Look at this one’ or, ‘Look at that one! My child is responding to this app.’”

Early intervention in the lives of children living with CVI is not just crucial to their development; it also could help them to gain better vision as they grow. Saunders said the iPad could be a crucial part of this life-changing therapy.

“With the proper intervention techniques, the amazing thing is that the child’s brain grows the brain cells needed in the cerebral cortex,” she said. “It grows the brain cells necessary to begin understanding what their eye is seeing. So they develop the ability to interpret images, sometimes just partially, sometimes fully.”

Saunders is conducting the initial tests of the iPad in cooperation with the Junior Blind of America in Los Angeles.

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The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. University Relations is the central public relations office for KU's Lawrence campus.

kunews@ku.edu | (785) 864-3256 | 1314 Jayhawk Blvd., Lawrence, KS 66045

Amazon will release tablet Sept 28th

Amazon is expected to release it's tablet (or should I say tablets) Wednesday, and analysts believe this could be the tablet that is an actual challenge to Apple's hot commodity. Little is known about the tablet, but reputable publications like the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Report are reporting that this could be the one that cuts into the stronghold that Apple has had on this market.

The tablet is expected to be a multi-touch tablet running an Android platform and will have an Amazon app store. One rumor hints that it will not have a camera, but another says there could be free 3G. Price is expected to draw attention - some say (or should I say hope?) that it will be under $300. Other rumors contend that only a 7 inch model will come out tomorrow and a 10 inch next year. So much to anticipate for something not expected to be available until November!

If the 10" pad does indeed get released tomorrow, there will be media attention for sure. As formidable an opponent this tablet may be in the general market, the verdict will likely remain out for our interests. App availability and accessibility options on the OS are likely going to be limited as compared to the iPad for our special kids. We will keep an eye out and report and as always, we would love to hear your opinions.

Attention Organizations: Apple's App Store Volume Purchase Program

SUMMARY: This program allows for reduced prices on some apps and ease of management for educational institutions.

For those educators and education organizations and agencies you may be interested in Apple's App Store Volume Purchase Program. This program allows educational institutions to purchase iOS apps (NOTE: No books or music - we're talking apps here!) in volume and distribute the apps to their users. This allows educational institutions to purchase multiple copies of the same application at once, and it also gives developers the opportunity to discount software when purchased in bulk. (Up to 50% discounts on 20 or more licenses for the same app- developers set this discount)

Institutions can now buy mobile applications by purchasing a "Volume Voucher" from the Apple Store for Education. The vouchers can be bought in denominations ranging from $100 to $10,000. The program will also allow purchase orders (POs)as well as other payment options thereby removing the "gift card" or credit card hurdle for many school systems. In addition, the program will recognize the tax status of the institution and bill accordingly. Previously these institutions paid the tax and were later reimbursed.

Once the volume vouchers are received, they are given to the Program Facilitator, which is an account that allows individuals, such as a school principal or a teacher, to redeem vouchers through the program.

Purchasing software through the App Store Volume Purchase Program will result in the facilitator being sent an e-mail with app-specific codes, one code per license. End-users, such as students or staff with an iOS device (iPad or iPod), can then redeem the codes in the same manner in which users redeem a gift card on the App Store.

The Volume Purchase Program also includes an optional, separate agreement that allows institutions to use one or more iTunes accounts to sync multiple iOS devices. Using this, an institution can set up devices with generic iTunes accounts and control what apps are available on a device.

Several apps in our preferred apps list for autism are part of this program. To see what apps available - please check here. For more information on this program, check out apple's education website.

Fisher Price Releases Apps

Fisher Price has released a series of apps, including animal sounds, body parts, and counting animals, that are currently FREE. For those with early learners, these could be a fine addition to your app base. Check them out, and as always - let us know what you think!

Fisher Price app website.