The Family Center on Technology and Disability
Assistive Technology Works
Applying Floortime to Technology: How My Child with Autism Learned to Use the ...
This article is written by a mother who developed an approach to teach her autistic daughter how to use an iPad. She wanted to improve her daughter's fine motor skills and prepare her for effective learning in preschool. The mother describes the process she used to create interest in using the iPad and then helped her child develop appropriate skills. She writes that she first tried to introduce the iPad ...
Published: 2013 by Tammy Graham , Reviewed: May 22, 2013
Doorway Online
Doorway Online is a collection of free learning activities originally developed with funding from the Scottish Borders Council in 2009. Since that time the activities have increased in scope to include Literacy, Math, Typing and Memory activities. The site includes accessible educational activities that learners will find easy to use independently. Each exercise has a range of accessibility and difficulty options. Accessibility is found through keyboard, mouse, touchscreen or scanning ...
Published: 2012 by Doorway Online , Reviewed: November 13, 2012
Dexteria
Dexteria is a set of hand exercises that helps users improve their fine motor skills and strengthens handwriting readiness for children and adults. Dexteria includes the activities "Write It" (handwriting), "Pinch It" (for pincer) and "Tap It" (for finger isolation). Although they are billed as "therapeutic exercise programs", each activity is fun and engaging. See this app in action at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqvtvBn3hzU. The application includes an automatic tracking and reporting feature ...
Published: 2012 by BinaryLabs , Reviewed: November 13, 2012
Camera Mouse
The Camera Mouse program was developed by Professor James Gips (Boston College) and Professor Margrit Betke (formerly of Boston College and now with Boston University) to allow people with disabilities to operate the computer with their head movements. It was developed and then marketed commercially. When its commercial startup company failed, the program was taken back by Boston College, improved and now is available as a free download from this ...
Published: 2012 by Boston College , Reviewed: May 23, 2013
Your Therapy Source
This blog for pediatric occupational and physical therapists has been in existence since 2009. It is one of several resources provided by “Your Therapy Source Inc., an online resource for special needs and pediatric therapy professionals.” There are an incredible amount of resources available from this site including new information and free handout resources obtainable when you click http://www.yourtherapysource.com/freestuff. You can also sign up for a free enewsletter. Some of ...
Published: 2012 by Your Therapy Source , Reviewed: May 10, 2012
OT's with Apps
This blog, created by Carol Leynse Harpold, MS, AdEd, OTR/L, ATP, has a lot of great information about apps for the practicing Occupational Therapist. A recent entry to the blog identified apps that might be useful for individuals with mental health problems, a population often neglected in the AT support area. 'Breathe to Relax' is an example of a free app in that category. It seems that the site is ...
Published: 2012 by Carol Leynse Harpold, MS, AdEd, OTR/L, ATP , Reviewed: April 04, 2012
OT Tools for Public Schools
This blog, started in 2008, was created by a school-based occupational therapist. There are a lot of interesting projects at this site to spark one's imagination. Most are low-tech crafts and things that can be made with readily available materials. There are lots of holiday related projects to check out. The blog also introduces some cool web-based options such as Pinterest.com, a website where one can “pin” photos related to ...
Published: 2011 by Karen W. Scott , Reviewed: January 25, 2012
Stretch Break
Stretch Break is a program that may be downloaded onto a computer. It helps remind users to take stretch breaks at specific intervals. It shows what stretches to do and provides on screen visual prompts for the form and length of each stretch. The program was developed by health care professionals and is supported by research. (We note, however, that the research was conducted by the company, not an external ...
Published: 2011 by Para Technologies , Reviewed: April 19, 2011
Toodledo: A to-do list to organize your tasks
This is a free web-based application that can help individuals who struggle with time management in being organized. One can set up tasks, identify goals, and then assign tasks to the goals. Goals can be prioritized in order of importance and reminders and alarms can be sent to user's email, or as text messages to cell or smart phones. Toodledo can be downloaded as an app that costs $2.99 for ...
Published: 2010 by Toodledo , Reviewed: September 01, 2011
Kindergarten.com
Kindergarten.com is a website designed to support children with developmental disorders that affect language and socialization, children who are frequently non-verbal. Using psychological research, this site works to build motivation to make the connection between the value of a word and the word itself. The tools are designed to be used with the iPhone or iTouch and apps that are purchased and downloaded from iTunes. They are organized by category: ...
Published: 2010 by Kindergarten.com , Reviewed: August 30, 2010
Learning to Move and Click a Mouse
This is one area of a website set up by school-based occupational therapist Judy Phelps. In this area you are linked to a TON of activities that help to develop mouse skills. There are online books, coloring activities and more. There are games and puzzles and at some of the sites, users can choose to use a mouse or a switch for input. The Papunet Game site had some really ...
Published: 2008 by Judy Phelps , Reviewed: September 08, 2010
TalkingTabs: The Best Way To Learn To Play
TalkingTabs is a company developed to provide an opportunity to learn to play the guitar through an all-audio approach. Musical instructions were developed to enable those without sight, or who have difficulty with the written notation systems. The instructions are given on a CD, with verbal explanations for where hands are placed, and how they are moved to create the desired sounds on the strings. The website provides a list ...
Published: 2006 by TalkingTabs, LLC , Reviewed: August 19, 2007
Eye Can Learn
This site includes a range of activities designed as a fun way to sharpen learning-related visual skills that are necessary for success in school. Terms that those in the special education field, particularly Occupational Therapists, may be familiar with, are explained in simple detail and many activities are available for each topic area. Visual skills as well as eye-hand exercises are included. This site could be very handy as so ...
Published: 2005 by Eye Can Learn , Reviewed: February 09, 2007
Occupational Therapy: Skills for the Job of Living
This article gives a concise overview of the benefits of combining assistive technology (AT) and occupational therapy (OT). The article provides an overview of assistive technology and how an occupational therapist would use it to assess a client. It discusses how therapists find the appropriate AT to assist their clients during therapy and in their daily lives. The website is a good overall source of information about occupational therapy, including ...
Published: 2004 by Jan Miller Polgar , Reviewed: December 30, 2008