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Apps for Social Skills and Autism Interview by Time Timer(R)

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Thanks to Jessica Chase of Consonantly Speaking website and the Time Timer®  team for a great blog post: Apps for Social Skills and Autism.

Jessica mentioned The Social Express when asked to name her favorite social skills apps.

Here’s an excerpt from the Time Timer interview:

Time Timer: What is the goal of speech therapy? How can it help children across the Autism Spectrum? 

Jessica Chase: Speech-Language Therapy is all about helping people communicate by any means possible.  People on the Autism Spectrum are so diverse. Some have much difficulty communicating at all, while others are great verbal communicators but have difficulty with social communication skills. Some may be working on using eye contact, some may be focusing on using an Alternative Communication device, and others may be learning how to maintain conversation topics.

It really depends on the person’s communication needs, but speech-language therpay can greatly benefit people on the Autism Spectrum – and the sooner they start, the better. 

TT: Which are your favorite apps for building social skills?

JC: I recommend the Social Express, Conversation Builder, Emotional Detective, Social Adventures and any of the Wonkido apps.

I also like the Fun Decks: What Would You Do At School If, What Would You Do at Home If, How Would You Feel If and Practicing Pragmatics.

Jessica also recommends The Social Express for Speech Therapists.

You can read the complete interview at the Time Timer’s blog by clicking here

Time Timer is a cool company that offers many different visual timers.  Each timer displays a wonderful large red (colorful) dot.

The dot becomes smaller as the time counts down. Time Timers are available in in physical clock form or as an app.

From the website, Time Timers are recommended for special needs children and youth.

Recommended by Autism and ADHD experts, the Time Timer is totally intuitive. It comforts toddlers, builds independence in youth with learning disabilities…

They also suggest ideas for using Time Timers to help children with autism. Here are two tips from the company’s Tip Sheet for Special Needs:

Succeed at timed activities:  “Finish your dinner before the red runs out.”

Learn to anticipate transitions: “Here’s what ‘5 more minutes’really means.”

I think we may all need help with ‘What 5 more minutes really means’. Like maybe when I’m watching a football game and my wife has a chore for me to do…

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Autism Education Resource: SLPs Review Social Skills App

Autism Education Resources-The Social ExpressOver at Public School SLPs blog, Pam and Holly posted a great review of our autism education resource, The Social Express!

They like the movie-quality graphics. They also noted that this autism education resource is customizable for each student.

We’ve posted Pam and Holly’s review below.

App Review: The Social Express

The Social Express is more like watching a show on Disney than working on social skills on the iPad. I am so impressed with the work that went into making this app. Here’s what Holly and I love:

— awesome graphics that keep students engaged
— fully animated
— lessons that are real life scenarios
— customizable to your each of your students
— printable lessons
— research based

Thanks Pam and Holly for the review! You can find their excellent blog, Public School SLPs by clicking here.

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Social Skills App Review at Maryland Learning Links Blog

Social-Skills-Apps-Review-at-Maryland-Learning-LinksRebecca Penina Simon posted a great review of our social skills app on The Maryland Learning Links site. Rebecca is an educator and a mom.

Among the reasons she likes The Social Express is:

“Many children on the autism spectrum tend to be visual learners, so The Social Express utilizes Hollywood-quality animation to present content to the users.”

 

Her son also likes using The Social Express.  Here is Rebecca Penina Simon’s complete review:

 

Apps for Social Success

 

Social Skills, such as eye contact, communication, interactive attention span, and flexibility are important skills for all children. For children with special needs, these subtle skills are crucial for their social success.

Most parents of typically developing children take their child’s social skills development for granted. However, that ability to socialize and to create and sustain substantial interactive relationships with parents, siblings, peers, etc., can be a fundamental challenge for children on the autistic spectrum. While it is important to focus on all areas of a child’s development, I feel the first and most important skills to focus on is social development, the ability to socially interact. For oftentimes it is in this area that we are able to create the greatest possibility for change.

 

Children who have high functioning autism, Asperger’s and/or ADHD face many challenges socially. Although these children are likely mainstreamed with their typical peers, they often have a very difficult time creating and sustaining meaningful relationships with others around them. These children are often challenged by tasks such as recognizing others’ facial expressions, social cues, and most importantly, subtleties in body language that convey emotions and feelings.

 

The Social Express ™ was developed to address some of these developmental concerns. Created by a team at Social Express, this animated interactive software teaches children and young adults social and life skills. The app uses engaging scenarios to teach users how to think about and manage social situations so that they are better prepared to develop meaningful social relationships and succeed in life.

 

Many children on the autism spectrum tend to be visual learners, so The Social Express utilizes Hollywood-quality animation to present content to the users. These animations include a social story in which the user is asked to observe the characters in a specific situation as a problem arises. The user must then evaluate how one of the characters is feeling and decide upon a proper course of action to take to resolve the situation. Since not every situation has a black and white outcome, this app helps users to learn subtle nuances that are often hard for them to detect. The Social Express challenges the user to look at the entire social story and make the best choice.

 

The Social Express is one of the few social skills apps that my son enjoys using – so much so that he actually asks to use it. This app is a bit pricey but for good reason as there is no other social skills app like it. And a child being able to exhibit proper social skills and create meaningful relationships is priceless.

 

Thanks Rebecca for reviewing our social skills app!

You can follow Rebecca Penina Simon on Twitter for education and tech updates. Her handle is, @Edtechmorah


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