We’ve been talking so much about using the Ipad to teach individuals with autism and other special needs and it looks like Apple has been paying attention. There is now a Special Education category in the AppStore. The section titled “Special Education” launched recently and includes 72 applications for the iPhone and 13 applications for the iPad in 10 categories ranging from communication to emotional development and life skills. Have any of you tried these apps? What do you think of them?
Tag Archives: teaching tools
Children helping children!
I am always moved to learn about inventive developments in the fields of education and intervention for children with autism. But how often do you hear about interventions being designed for children BY children? Well that is exactly what Zak Kukoff did when he developed Autism Ambassadors. Zak, a typically developing 15-year old, created a curriculum that “will engage typical children and children with ASD’s in a mutually beneficial relationship.” There is research that supports the efficacy of using peer models to facilitate observational learning with children with autism but how often have you seen examples where it has been successfully implemented? We would love for you to share your stories regarding peer modeling or your experience with Autism Ambassadors!
Video Modeling by Mary Beth Palo of Watch Me Learn
Mary Beth is a dear friend of ours. Many of you know her as the amazing mother who used video modeling to help her son learn to speak. From there came the Watch Me Learn Video Series which has received near unanimous praise. Here are her thoughts on Video Modeling and how Watch Me Learn came to be.
“I was fortunate enough to see Temple Grandin speak years ago…. before she became a star….. I went to the presentation on a whim – I guess to get out of the house (pathetic right?) Being the mother of an autistic child leads you to do things that a “normal” person wouldn’t be caught dead doing! At the time, I believe that she only had one book published; Thinking in Pictures.
In that book and in her presentation she referred to her thought process as going back in her mind, retrieving a video tape from her mind’s library and then playing the proper video to think/see…. This hit me like a 2×4 across the head….
I am mostly an auditory thinker….. so I guess it didn’t dawn on me that this could be so impactful on educating. Couple this information with 2 years of therapy for my son with no progress, and a light bulb went off in my head. Pure desperation led me to video modeling. After my first attempt at VM, as a result my son was speaking within 2 ½ weeks. Well, needless to say, video became my life and my son just kept learning and learning. Video was our main teacher and our therapy hours were used for generalizing the skills he learned on video.
Video modeling can be used in sooooo many ways – self modeling, peer modeling, etc… and it can be used to teach sooooo many skills – from simple receptive language, imitation skills to complex social skills. Research supports video modeling as an evidence-based teaching method and it has been recognized by the CEC(Council for Exceptional Children) as a valid means of teaching. The research exists and more will be coming.
Now, when I teach my son, I always have visuals. Of course, he was most successful with video, but after years of strictly video, we have been able to branch out into other visual inputs. The learning is always faster with visual inputs ….. even in 6th grade when we are using cookie dough and chocolate chips to make a visual model of the atom nucleus – who would have thought?
Why does it work? Well, I don’t have the scientific answer to that – as I have yet to find a study researching the brain activity while watching VM. Watching children for years and knowing how and what they react to, it is easy to see the reason why VM works. Children love tv, children love other children, children have an inherent desire to be social and VM provides not only repetition but also removes outside distractions enabling a child to concentrate on one thing.
Today, there are many VM products on the market. These products allow you an easy way to experiment with VM and a great learning opportunity for your children. VM can also be done in the home, school, therapy and out in public. You need to decide what is best for you and the child.
I am the proud mother of Brett Palo – a 12 year old boy who is now mainstreamed in 6th grade. Without VM, he would not be there. As a result of his success with VM and a zillion phone calls from other desperate mothers, Watch Me Learn Videos were created. Watch Me Learn’s goal is to teach children in their natural environment – at home, in school and most importantly through play! A child’s job is to play – let them do their job and learn at the same time! They will learn without even knowing it!
Dublin Schools Using iPad As Educational Tool
This is an interesting article about a school district in Ohio that is using Ipads with students with developmental disabilities. We were particularly struck by the way they’re using it to appeal to students by engaging all of their senses and providing reinforcement.
The MotivAider
The MotivAider is consistently one of our top sellers here at Different Roads to Learning. It’s a versatile and helpful tool that can be used for anything from prompting a child to engage in play to toilet training. The MotivAider vibrates at timed intervals to prompt an individual to engage in a specific behavior. This is an interesting article about how it is specifically used with children with ADD. Have any of you used the MotivAider as a way to teach or change certain behaviors? How have you used it and for what? We’d love to hear your experiences.
Weekly Rethink Autism Tip: Generalize Skills from the Classroom to Everyday Life
This week’s free autism tip covers an important topic that helps enable your child to adapt to his/her daily surroundings. One of Rethink Autism’s special education professionals guides you through teaching your child how to apply what he/she has learned in a classroom setting to necessary skills utilized in everyday life. This tip is an effective tool to help your child develop these transferable skills.
iPad and Autism?
As a home-based Early Intervention provider traveling to various locations throughout New York City each day, I find my iPhone to be invaluable. It is quite possibly the best “business” expense of my career. It lurks in my bag as a secret weapon of motivation and reinforcement where once a gaggle of heavy and semi-effective toys resided.
With the huge presence that technology has in our lives today it is only inevitable that some gadgets make their way into therapeutic endeavors. While there are negative effects to being plugged in all of the time, it’s hard for me to ignore those moments where technology allows a child to learn something that had been previously difficult or the amazing instances of joint attention that can be facilitated by using these apps. Without a doubt, I’m sold on the fact that the new gadgets with touch screens will continue to be an invaluable tool moving forward in my work with children. However, I can’t silence the little contradictory voice in my head telling me that teaching happens in real life, not on a screen.
Therefore, I use my iPhone in therapy sessions with children sparingly. I am the one setting limits on usage and modeling durations of time that are reasonable and appropriate. Approximately 90% of the apps I use are educational and present great opportunities for the generalization of skills taught using DTT or NET methods. I have also downloaded social skills training videos that have facilitated preparation for things like going to get a haircut. Even though that tiny voice still lurks in the back of my head, the more I read and hear, I am beginning to think that the consensus of people in this community is mainly positive.
I am most excited about programs such as Proloquo2Go, which use the iPad as a more portable and user-friendly augmentative communication device. Not unlike the endless list of apps, the uses are never-ending as well, as outlined in a great article in the SF weekly from August 11, 2010. The iPad and various apps are helping therapists and parents teach children how to draw, write, communicate, read, spell, count, and increase independence through visual schedules.
Using technology hasn’t compromised what or how much I am able to teach. It has enhanced my sessions. How do you feel about it?
“It’s not me, it’s the Timer.”
The timer is one of everyone’s favorite tools for structuring time and activities for children with autism. It can be incorporated into all parts of daily living.
It was once explained to me that a parent could blame the timer for everything that has to do with transitions.
“It’s not me, it’s the Timer.”
“I know you want to stay in the playground but the timer said it’s time to go home.” Or perhaps, “The timer thinks you might have to go to the potty again.” My favorite at Christmas is, “The timer will tell you when you can open another present.” At our house, the timer was the higher authority. The timer is a fair arbitrator. It didn’t respond to whining or behaviors and it very coolly and serenely had to be obeyed.
It works! You just have to remember to put it in place and use it before you enter the big struggle of wills.
It’s just a simple kitchen timer….BUT we needed one that could count down and count up, it had to have a magnet so it could be easily found on the refrigerator and a clip/stand so one of us could wear it or place it close to us at the table if we were working.
Along the way, we found the Time Timer, invented by a mom of mainstream kids who needed a visual for transitions to stop her kids from asking, “Are we there yet?” The Time Timer is a visual depiction of time elapsing. Kids on the spectrum have a tangible way to see time passing as the red dial disappears.
There are all kinds of timers, and implementing them into any aspect of the day can significantly help in cutting back problem behaviors and anxiety over what is happening next.
– Julie Azuma