The following are our learning center’s ever growing pick of Android platform apps for the blended education of special learners. Please contact us if you find any Android market apps that are helpful with your special learner !
A reminder we give to parents and teachers of children on the Autism spectrum is that it is a developmental disorder, which means these kids are developmentally behind other kids but THEY ARE DEVELOPING ( seen or unseen) ! We use apps for all levels of reading skills with the full expectation that, with one-on-one intervention. they will “grow” with time and engaged repetition. ASD is not the only childhood disorder that affects the way the children learn, and these apps are very supportive to many of our students.
Alphabet for Kids by Fun4Kids offers 6 different skill games for strengthening letter and word recognition. I regularly use just these two: the Mole Game and the Quiz.
Animal ABC by Aruhat Technologies PVT. LTD. allows the student to match brightly colored letters with beautiful photographs of animals whose name begins with the chosen letter.
Animal Numbers by Electron Magic is a simple counting program that provides a beautifully visual concept of counting objects.
ASL American Sign Language by TeachersParadise is a visual dictionary of common signings easy enough for children to do.
AutismXpress Pro by StudioEmotion . This app helps some older kids to interpret emotions and understand what different facial expressions may represent in brightly colored cartoons. This app costs $1 .96 and is worth it if your child likes it !
Baby Sign and Learn Lite by Baby Sign and Learn is a signing aid that is demonstrated by cartoon babies and their voices.
Baby Sign Language Dictionary by My Smart Hands is a great reminder for teachers as a classroom “instant” reminder of common Signs. We find sign language very effective in communicating with children with autism. The full app is $4.93 but is well worth the price as an instant memory aid.
Balloon Maker by TegTap is adaptable to several classroom uses; it is a multi-user app that gives instant feedback when blowing and working with the balloons. One of our Moms said that this app was very valuable to her and her autistic son for its ability to relax him and possibly avoid a meltdown as they discussed an upcoming unpleasant event.
Bookster by Imagine Learning offers a readable ebook in poetic form that “feels” very symmetrical. The voice reading is that of a child, but you can add your own reading voice for the stories. Very nice app.
Bord by Pixie is a chalkboard simulator. It can be used to drill skills free-hand or to provide the child with some creative art time. I like how simple it is to use.
Brilliant Spelling LITE by Effective Objects is a preview app for the reasonably priced full version. In this app you can enter your own spelling lists and choose your own tutor’s name. The tutor reads the word and the accompanying sentence before the student is required to type in the word. Very nice program with beautiful background photos.
Bubbles by Squishy Things, Inc. is a fun way for developing fine motor control for young students as they tap and pop the moving bubbles. There is a free mode and a challenge mode.
Clock Time for Kids by Teachersparadise.com is a simple black and white collection of flash cards that scroll horizontally. I am very pleased with this simple yet inexhaustible supply of clocks for drilling!
Cloud Tables by Lumpty Learning is a multiplication game that shows progress as the student competes against themselves. It allows the practice of Tables 2-12 in a multiple choice format.
Countem by Applenty Systems is a great counting game. Its format differs a little from another of our favorite counting games, Animal Numbers. Nevertheless, it provides more foundation for this visual/spatial concept.
Common Core by MasteryConnect Inc. is a wonderful quick reference app for teachers/tutors.
Dolch Sight Words by Gary Gause is a very nice deck of kindergarten, first, and second grade level Dolch sight words.
Early Counting by Shanesh. Although this app is labeled specifically for Autism, I’m still undecided how practical the Shanesh apps are with their long introductions. I’ve “lost” some children during this intro time.
Fashion Math by Jon Hoffman is a multiple choice math game for girls that allows the player to gain credits by right answers that can be used to buy clothes to dress the virtual dolls. It is simple yet effective.
iStoryBooks are a wonderful collection of classic children’s stories that can be downloaded and saved to your SD card.
KhAndroid by Ideal Group is a great disability-friendly app for access into the Khan Academy and all of Salman Khan’s tutorials.
Kids ABC Phonics by Intellijoy. This is one of my favorite apps. We paid for the $3.99 version and it is worth every penny. The free version gives you a great idea of how engaging this app works. It is a collection of foundational reading skills; All three of their skills games are favorites mine: “Build Blocks”, “Pop Bubbles”, and “Make Words”.
Kids Animal ABC Alphabet Sounds by Aruhat Technologies has one photo and accompanying animal sound that coordinate with each letter. It is very engaging for some students.
Kids Connect the Dots by intellijoy is a terrific exercise for children in following directions, counting, and coordination. For more able students, the line can be swyped for greater speed. Dot-to-Dot Numbers can be sequential, even, or odd.
Kids Kardz by Aubrey Torres match text names of animals, vegetables, and fruits with really beautiful photographs. It provides three crystal clear photos for each letter. It is a large, very nice program.
Kids Learn to Read by Intellijoy is a wonderfully effective app for reading readiness. Our learning disabled grand daughter calls this program “awesome”, and I agree !
Kids Basics: Patterns by Fun4Kids is a preview version that offers three levels of difficulty. Very nice.
Kids Math by Nicolas Catania
Kids Shapes by Intellijoy thoroughly teaches then offers reviews (quiz) section for all shapes. Very nice.
Kids Socks Plus is a simple, fun way to strengthen matching and memory skills. I particularly like the “count” and “match” games because the colors and size of numbers makes the practice more appealing.
Kindergarten Kids Math Lite by Infinut offers counting, sequences, addition, and subtraction.
Learning Letters and Learning Numbers by Pankratz.Tk (Rene Pankratz) are two separate apps that work with the same multiple choice format. They have the child identify by touch the right choice spoken by a narrator.
Letter Tracing by FunLittleApps is a very engaging finger tracing practice app for upper and lower case letters and numbers. It has a moving train or squares that trace proper letter formation and encourages the child to follow the right sequence of lines.
Match Me-Autism Series by Shanesh /WebTeam Corporation is a memory/logic game. Although is it slow to load and initially appears overwhelming, with just a little patience certain children can click into the challenge and gain quick success. This company says their apps are for children with autism, but some of my children on the spectrum are overstimulated by all the color and simultaneous movement of Shanesh’s apps.
Math for Kids by KidsAndroid
Math Practice by Bee Studio
Math Wizard Lite by JaggarWareLLC is a very customizable addition and multiplicaion program that gives feedback after each completed program.
MemoryBlock by Category 5 Games Very fun for an ADHD child 1st grade through 3rd grade student.
Mobi Flash Cards by Gary Gause is an addition and subtraction flash card deck that can be easily added to or changed.
Money Counter (Peter Pig’s) by Visa Inc. is a great way to customize money counting exercises. This game requires a measure of fine motor development that is very helpful for some children.
My Baby Fireworks by DokDoApps is an app to relax and/or reward students . Requires small motor skills.
Number Sequence by Shanesh is a colorful cartoon flash app. A narrator reads you two numbers and the student needs to choose the third sequential number from multiple picks. It is a great exercise for more advanced students.
Numbers Match Free by Squishy Things Inc. This is one of my favorite apps that strengthens the association between numbers and their meanings. My kids can do this for long periods- it is a good balance of challenging yet engaging. It also challenges those kids with fine motor skill development.
Pairs for Girls by AncoraPlus is an attention/matching game for young girls.
Playroom Free by Alchemyware offers many exercises to support the gain of academic skills. The layout is very enticing to a child, allowing them initially to pick if they are a girl or boy. One of my favorite games in this great app is to find the greatest number out of three choices.
Preschool All Words 3 Lite by Fun4Kids is a collection of many exercises, all in multiple choice “tap” format. It is Very nice, and I believe the word “preschool” in the title comes from the collection of words being from the Dolch pre-primer and primer lists.
Sight Words by Five Pumpkins is a kindergarten level very nice deck of flash cards. It is easily editable with different colored words on each “page”.
Sight Words Learn Dolch by Acez Software LLC is another app with options not available in the above program.
StoryChimes by Siena Entertainment LLC. A great collection of ebooks for young readers with engaging activities. The child can read the story themselves and turn the pages when they are ready, or if they choose to be read to, each word is highlighted as it is read.
TaptoTalk by Assistyx LLC is a free app that “gives non-verbal a voice”. It is a free augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) program that some kids love. It allows you to add your own pictures and sounds in speaks in both English and Spanish.
Times Tables Flash Card Game by Frank Yung creates a pleasant environment as the child is drilled in whatever multiplication table that is chosen. I particularly like the “Fun Cards” option because it is a mulitple choice format of the tables.
Toddler Cars by RussPuppy is an effective way to encourage kids to speak out the name of the vehicle.
Toddler World Lite by Explore in Android has only one exercise that I use: the “Colors Quiz”. This quiz is so pleasantly done- I wrote to them in hope that they would include quizzes for their other included learning games.
Vocal Slides by LycansLab are visual/audio flash cards that you can fully customize. Very helpful to catch children’s attention of their own familiar people and things.
Word-a-licious by Brainster challenges speech in a very interactive way by requiring the child to make choices of familiar, appealing objects. Very nice app but for most of my kids the opening screen is too shrill and needs to be moved away from as quickly as possible.
WordMagic by Anusen.com/android.html. This is well worth the $1.50 price to teach words and spellings. I LOVE this app because of its flexibility to choose which letter of the word is missing, whether it be the first letter, a middle letter, or the last letter of the word. Very cheerful graphics and child-like voices cheering on the right answers.
123sABCs Cursive Letters by teachersparadise.com follows the Zaner-Bloser Cursive style of teaching in this very nice handwriting practice app for upper and lower case letters, numbers, and shapes.
Teachers and Parents: You won’t want to miss downloading the app, “Common Core” by Mastery Connect. This is a great site, and their app is an essential “at your fingertips” reference aid supporting the national common core standards of curriculum.
Please enjoy this YouTube video from CBS 60 Minutes confirming the ability for PC tablet apps (or Apple iPads) to engage some students:
