TOP PICKS | 19 TOOLS
Best Apps for Kids with Autism
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Emotional Regulation
Touch and Learn - Emotions
Free app helps kids identify emotions, recognize body language
Bottom line: Bridges the gap between feeling or witnessing emotions and using words to describe them.
Breathing Bubbles
Students release worries and embrace joys with anxiety-fighting tool
Bottom line: A must-have tool for your classroom management toolbox.
Grades: 1–5
Price: Free
The Mood Meter
Well-designed tool encourages kids to reflect on and manage emotions
Bottom line: Appealing, thought-provoking tool builds emotional intelligence.
Language and Communication
Skill Champ
Foundational-skills-practice tool supports specific learning needs
Bottom line: Well-designed tool for targeted foundational skills practice.
Autism Core Skills School Edition: Academic, Communication, and Social Skills Plus Data
Robust app combines high-quality lessons with handy quantitative data
Bottom line: Academic and social lessons are worth the purchase price for the amount of depth and data produced.
LanguageBuilderDeluxe
Audio, visual prompts help boost kids' communication skills
Bottom line: LanguageBuilderDeluxe is a useful tool for teaching and learning language skills, especially if adults are nearby to adjust app settings and provide feedback.
QuestionIt
Wh- questions taught in concrete ways for kids with language delays
Bottom line: A solid, if basic, approach to teaching question words and concepts to students with significant language issues.
Proloquo2Go - Symbol-based AAC
Brilliant tool helps kids with speech difficulties communicate
Bottom line: The price is hefty, but Proloquo2Go carries its weight by providing students and teachers an effective, one-of-a-kind communication tool.
TapToTalk
Unique way for kids with limited verbal skills to express themselves
Bottom line: Expensive but worthy investment can pay off in helping non-verbal kids learn to communicate thousands of things.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free The app is free, but only loaded with very basic albums for sample content. There are three levels: Home, Pro, and Agency. The basic home version is $99.95 a year or $179.95 for a "forever" pass with more word/image albums and to be able to customize TapToTalk by designing your own albums. Pro allows you to design two TapToTalks and is $249.95; additional TapToTalks are $179.95 each. Agency, for schools with several professionals serving several children, is $429.95 for three TapToTalks; additional ones are $179.95.
Pictello
Fabulous tool can help kids create social stories
Bottom line: Pictello is a great way for kids to create social stories that can help them find their unique voice and prepare for internal and external struggles.
Routines and Schedules
FTVS HD - First Then Visual Schedule HD
Useful multisensory tool teaches self-direction and follow-through
Bottom line: This simple but powerful tool engages kids in independently following a schedule.
Time Timer
Easily conceptualize, manage, and visualize time
Bottom line: Goes above and beyond standard timers to include handy customization and visual cues.
Choiceworks Calendar
Empowering calendar tool alleviates transition anxiety
Bottom line: Great structure, lots of visual choices, and ease of use make this tool a worthwhile investment.
Social Skills
Kid in Story Book Maker
Easy-to-make personalized stories can help boost social skills
Bottom line: A must-have story creation tool for teachers in special-needs settings.
Social Stories
Quick and simple behavior-reinforcement tool for kids with autism
Bottom line: Teachers will find this an efficient way to engage their students in understanding and creating social stories.
Social Stories Creator Educators
Create multimedia stories that help with social skills
Bottom line: Solid and very simple app for kids with social challenges.
Social Adventures
Expert-approved activities nurture students' social skills
Bottom line: A treasure chest of social-skills-building activities created by speech and language pros that are worth the high price and need for facilitation.
ConversationBuilder
Themed scripts help kids practice successful social exchanges
Bottom line: For speech-language pathologists, this is a must-have tool for helping kids learn conversation skills.
The Social Express II
Fabulous multimedia lessons boost social-awareness skills
Bottom line: Compelling webisodes help students learn to cope with real-life situations.
