Looking for apps to help your child with special needs? These parents took up the challenge to come up with their own solutions. They've taken what worked for them and marketed it to help other parents. Could you follow in their footsteps?
Bee Visual
Image courtesy of Bee Visual
Proprietors/Parents: Michele and Jeff Walker
Business Description: "'Our business creates visual supports that are affordable, easy to use, and cover behaviors parents/caregivers need help with the most,' explains Michele Walker, who has an M.S. in Applied Educational Psychology. Bee Visual's primary product, the Choiceworks Visual Support System, is made up of a Feelings Board, Schedule Board, Waiting Board, and 40 Visual Magnets to place on them to promote self-control, sequencing, and choice making. The company has also developed a Choiceworks app for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad." Read more
Data Makes the Difference
Photo courtesy of Data Makes the Difference
Proprietors/Parents: Steve and Liz Maher
Business Description: "DMTD creates mobile applications, primarily for iPod Touches, iPad, and iPhones to assist in the treatment of children with autism by automating many of the data collection and data analysis tasks employed as part of an applied behavior analysis autism treatment program," Steve Maher explains. At the time of this interview in March 2011, the company offered two apps, Behavior Tracker Pro and Skill Tracker Pro. Read more
A Deeper View
A Deeper View
Proprietor/Parent: Michael Darden
Business Description: "A Deeper View provides a collaborative tool on the Internet, accessible from any Internet-connected device, that allows observable behaviors to be tracked in real time with the touch of buttons on the screen," Darden explains. "The application allows for ongoing progress monitoring for each learner, identifying best practices for instruction and maintaining the individual Mastery criteria for each learner. Curriculum is maintained in a dynamic database connected to each learner, and much like a medical chart, the year after year progress of the learners preferences and behaviors are longitudinally tracked over time." ... Read more
HandHold Adaptive
Image courtesy of HandHold Adaptive
Proprietor/Parents: Dan and Carey Tedesco
Business Description: "HandHold Adaptive broadly aims to bridge the digital divide we believe exists between modern handheld technology and the special needs world," the Tedescos explain. "We adapt mass market portable devices, like iPhones, iPods, and Blackberry phones, to serve those with special needs and their caregivers. We have a suite of applications in our development pipeline, starting with iPrompts, which is a picture-based communication tool for the iPhone and iPod Touch." iPrompts allows parents to put customized picture schedules, social stories, timers, and choice prompts on those popular electronic devices. ... Read more
iBiomed
Screenshot courtesy of iBiomed
Proprietor/Parents: Florence and Kwame Iwegbue
Business Description: "iBiomed is a mobile software application developed for parents of special needs children, to help in managing the complexities involved with their care. Every aspect of the health care of a special needs child is provided in iBiomed," says Florence Iwegbue. According to the company's Facebook page, "IBiomed is handy for all Medical conditions, but is even more useful for complex illnesses such as: Autism, Asthma, Allergies, ADHD, Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, Diabetes, Alzheimer's, Fibromyalga, Migraines, Depression, Bipolar, Schizophrenia, OCD and many more." ... Read more
Spectrum Visions
Photo courtesy of Spectrum Visions
Proprietor/Parent: Yumi Kubo
Business Description: "We help individuals with special needs with technology," Kubo explains. "Our mission is to enhance learning and human expression for individuals with special needs, development delays, autism, and PDD through information technology." The Voice4u web page describes it as "a revolutionary AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) application that helps individuals to express their feeling, thought, actions and things they need. It is a perfect solution for learning and communication for autistic individuals and people around them." ... Read more
urTalker
Photo courtesy of Ryan and Jody Farris
Proprietors/Parents: Ryan and Jody Farris
Business Description: "urTalk is a business 'focused on apps that support communication for nonverbal individuals,' says Ryan. The company's website gives this description of its first app: 'urTalker is a very affordable augmentative alternative communication device (aac) that works on iTouch, iPad, and iPhone devices. urTalker and urTalker Pro provide the disability community aac device options to expensive devices and allow anyone to configure the product any way they need. urTalker and urTalker Pro come with over 200 images pre-loaded and the ability to add as many as needed. urTalker is a great assistive technology device for children and adults with speech issues including Autism, CP or cerebral palsy, down syndrome, and other developmental disabilities.'" ... Read more
The Victoria Chart Company
Image courtesy of the Victoria Chart Company
Proprietor/Parent: Victoria Ballard
Business Description: "We produce a range of products dedicated to positive development in children and supporting those who care for them," Ballard says of her business. These include colorful reward charts tailored to different ages and situations, packaged with stickers and dry-erase pens for customizing them to your child's needs. The company has also come out with a reward-chart app for iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch and Android called Go Rewards. ... Read more
