iPads: An SLP's Perspective, Including More Apps

Two of the most beloved elements of Leo's life collided this weekend: I was asked to give a public talk for Via Services, the organization that runs Leo's camp Via West -- all about iPads. Turns out that the camp director had read the SF Weekly article about our boy and his iPad, and was inspired not only to try to integrate the devices into the camping programs, but to educate our community on just what iPads can do for kids and adults with special needs. And that is how I ended up standing in front of 150 people, telling them which apps Leo likes and why, what a life-quality change the iPad has brought about for our boy, and also about alternative iPad funding options.

Danielle Samson, a superbly talented local SLP and iPad enthusiast who was interviewed with me on Comcast Upside a few months ago, actually gave the bulk of the talk, and joked ahead of time that she's going to start printing tour t-shirts as her iPad and AAC expertise has been in such demand. I believe it; she was intelligent, encyclopedically informed, and entertaining. The audience remained attentive and engaged for almost three hours, with questions interspersed. Here are some of the points we talked about, both in the moment and with parents/professionals afterward:

• IPads aren't for everyone. It's important to do an AAC evaluation to see if the device is compatible with your child's needs and abilities. Danielle discussed the SETT framework.
• It's important to try out an iPad before buying one. If you don't know someone who has one, call an Apple store and ask when their slow times are, and bring your child by then. And it doesn't hurt to ask if the store will let you come in 15 minutes early, before other customers arrive.
• Anecdotal information about the wonders of iPads is great, but until we have research and evidence backing up iPads for education and as AAC devices, school districts are unlikely to fund them.
• Buying a 3G iPad doesn't commit you to the network -- it gives you the option to buy the subscription by month, which is a nice backup if you intend to do any traveling. The wifi still works, of course.
• Safety/Monitoring: Make sure you're familiar with the Restrictions options in your iPad's Settings, so you can hide YouTube and Safari if need be, and turn off the Delete Apps function -- I know Leo has certainly accidentally deleted an app or two (thankfully, I had them backed up on my computer).

We also discussed apps, of course. I told them about my two current recommendation lists:

• Leo's iPad Apps for Kids With Autism Starter Kit (the apps that are good for Leo)
• Ten Fantastic Apps for Kids With Autism (the apps Leo chooses)

Danielle also discussed the differences between the AAC apps ProloQuo2Go and Tap2Talk. Both have their own customizable features, but the first is a one-time $189 fee, whereas Tap2Talk is free, but then requires a $99/year subscription for any but the most basic functionality. Both are highly customizable, but in different ways.

We also both wished that there were more Language (as opposed to Communication apps), as well as more options in the Visual Schedule category.

After the talk, I was inspired by Danielle's apps recommendations and also did some digging of my own, and discovered some new apps that Leo likes:


US Puzzle Map ($2.99) Lets my puzzle-loving boy indulge in his love of puzzles while his Geography-loving mom looks on and beams. It also says the name of each state out loud when you touch it to drag it into place, so Leo can learn the states' names independently without having to read them. Play with state outlines in place, or without.

NeoPaul and NeoKate (Free) Natural sounding text-to-speech. You can save your efforts in a list, which I suspect Leo will like -- he's still working on reading, but he can associate a unique visual element with its content. We'll be able to come up with a stock list of phrases for him to use.

Speech With Milo: Verbs* ($2.99) Hurrah! A language app! Milo the cute animated mouse physically demonstrates the verbs in question when you tap on him, then you tap on him again, a sentence appears with the verb in context. All verbs and sentences are also read aloud. This will be very helpful for our boy.

SoundTouch ($2.99, Lite Version) Touch cartoons of animals, vehicles, instruments, etc. and see different real-life photos and sounds. Leo went nuts over this app, to the point where I couldn't get him to go to bed, and he carried it around the house with him, trying to play it as he walked (he's never done that before).

Arithmaroo ($1.99) Very excited to find Arithmaroo! It is the only app I've found that focuses on making the user associate numbers with amounts, which is where Leo needs help.


Dot to Dot Number Whiz ($1.99, Lite Version) Leo loves dot-to-dots. This one also guides him through by flashing the next dot, and reciting the numbers along the way to reinforce his counting skills.

Here's Leo playing Dot to Dot Number Whiz. Notice how he switches hands between turns! Ambidextrousness is not necessarily a great thing in kids with special needs, so I'll also be sending this video to his OT:



The Monster at the End of This Book ($4.99, though currently on sale for .99) Our entire family already loved this book -- now Leo can not only "read" it independently, and the animation is fantastic. The best interactive book I've seen on the iPad, so far.

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If you're a Bay Area local and were sorry to miss our iPad talk, Danielle and I will be presenting a shorter version at UCSF on March 10, at the two-day conference Developmental Disabilities: An Update for Health Professionals. The cost is $100 for parents and caregivers.


*I was given a free promo code for Speech With Milo, but that has no bearing on my opinion. It's a good app, and there aren't enough like it, not yet.

Michelle Garcia Winner Conference May 8 in Redwood City

This is a fundraiser for SEPTAR, the Special Education PTA that I helped found, as well as an opportunity to build real skills for interacting with people like my son:

SEPTAR and Belmont-Redwood Shores Special Ed PTA present:

Michelle Garcia Winner: Implementing Social Thinking Concepts and Vocabulary into our School and Home: A Day to Develop Team Creativity

Friday, May 8th, 9 AM - 4 PM
Community Activities Building (CAB)
1400 Roosevelt Ave.
Redwood City, CA 94061

NOTE: Tickets are discounted $85.00 through TODAY, April 15th; $100.00 after. Lunch and workshop materials are included in the ticket price. Participants will also have an opportunity to meet with local service providers.

Buy your tickets online:
https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/57237

Michelle Garcia Winner, MA, CCC-SLP, specializes in the treatment of individuals with social cognitive deficits: those with diagnoses such as autism, Asperger Syndrome and nonverbal learning disorder. She began teaching social thinking in 1995 to brighter students when she went to work for a high school district as the districts speech language pathologist. Social Thinking was born out of necessity as a way to reach those bright but socially clueless students that needed more information than just what social skill to use. They needed to know why they should bother to use that skill.

Michelle entered into private practice in 1998 (part-time) and then full time in 1999 due to community demand. Both parents and school districts wanted her to work with their students.

Her clinical services continued to evolve and expand, Michelle Garcia Winners Center for Social Thinking, Inc saw over 250 children (preschool through adults) in 2008 from the Silicon Valley area of California for weekly therapy sessions. Over the years, to meet demand she has hired and trained a number of educational/speech and language professionals in the art and science of teaching social thinking. Simultaneously she also began a company called Think Social Publishing, Inc to handle the growing demands of speaking internationally as well as self-publishing her own and now others books.

In 2008, Michelle also co-founded with Dr. Pamela Crooke, a non-profit dedicated to social thinking for the Silicon Valley Region of California, called Teach SOCIAL Silicon Valley. The word SOCIAL is an acronym for Social and organizational concepts in individuals across a lifespan.

As Michelle has observed the concept of Social Thinking take off across the United States and other countries, she also found she had less and less time for clinic management. She realized she was serving both a local and a national/international community that was growing quickly.

Michelle decided to close her Michelle G Winners Center for Social Thinking, inc. in August of 2008 and give the option to her trained therapists to open a social thinking clinic that they manage within the non-profit, TSSV. 100% of her employees agreed they wanted to start this new clinic, which officially began in Sept, 2008.

While Michelle is not on the regulating board of TSSV (given it would be a conflict of interest), she will continue to offer trainings to the clinical staff of TSSV through monthly grand round meetings. She will also serve on the advisory board.

Thus, from September 2008 onward Michelle will work for Think Social Publishing, Inc. DBA, Social Thinking along with colleagues Stephanie Madrigal and Dr. Pamela Crooke. Social Thinking will run a small (no-growth) social thinking clinic. This will allow these therapists to continue to work with clients, while also serving as a training facility to professionals who come to learn how to apply the core concepts of social thinking from around the world.

In doing this, Silicon Valley will continue to have and expand an excellent clinic in their community to not only help clients and their families but to also train educators from local schools. This also allows Michelle to continue to focus on developing and sharing new treatment ideas as the concept of social thinking expands and matures for parents and professionals to apply world-wide.

The heart of Michelles work is illuminating the often elusive and intangible world of social thinking, and developing practical strategies that can be easily used by parents, educators and service providers, across different environments, to teach social thinking and social skills.

A pioneer and visionary in her field, her work is being applied not only to persons with autism and related disabilities, but also more broadly to students in mainstream classrooms and to adults in vocational and professional settings in the U.S. and abroad. Her goal is to raise awareness among administrators, educators and parents about the critical role that social thinking and social skills play in every students life, not only in achieving academic success, but also for success in adulthood and life in general.

Michelle is internationally recognized as a thoughtful and prolific writer in the area of social thinking/social skills. She travels around the world speaking on a multitude of topics relating to social thinking, and repeatedly receives accolades for her educational, energetic and enthusiastic workshop presentations. She has been invited to train psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, parents, educators and government policy makers on the importance of social thinking.

Michelle has written several books on social cognitive deficits and social thinking, and has released training videos/DVDs for educators and parents.

In 2008, she was presented with an Award of Special Congressional Recognition for her pioneering work.

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This course meets the qualifications for 6.0 hours of continuing professional development credit for Speech-Language Pathologists as required by the California Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Board. SLPs can record their own hours using the ASHA Verification of Attendance form towards their ASHA CEUs. This will provide the equivalent of .6 CEU (PDP54).