It would seem that the list of iPad apps keeps growing and growing, and the list of apps for assistive technology is no exception. The following is a list of the favorite iPad apps of Joan L. Green, a speech-language pathologist in Potomac, Maryland and author of “The Ultimate Guide to Assistive Technology in Special Education,” who shared these and others with The Washington Post. (These apps tend to be on the more expensive side, or at least not free, because they are more customizable to fit a child’s needs. Despite their cost, they are still less expensive than pieces of equipment that serve the same purpose.)
Speech
ArtikPix-Ful 1: combines flashcards and other activities to help children with speech delays practice making sounds correctly. Expressive solutions, $29.99.
Articulation Station Pro: allows kids with speech delays to practice making sounds in words, sentences and stories. Little Bee Speech, $49.99.
Language
VAST Autism 1-Core: helps students with autism or other disorders, such as apraxia, learn to speak SpeakinMotion, $4.99.
First Phrases HD: helps toddlers or children with speech delays learn to put words together into phrases. Hamaguchi Apps for Speech, Language and Auditory Developemnt, $9.99.
Reading
Bob Books #1-Reading Magic HD: a phonics-based game to help young children learn how to read. Learning Touch, $7.99.
Rainbow Sentences: helps students learn good grammar by color-coding the parts of sentences. Mobile Education Tools, $7.99.
Rhyming Words: rhyming activities to help build early reading skills. GrasshopperApps.com, free.
Writing and Spelling
Cimo Spelling: a game that uses a list of 255 high-frequency and sight words to help children in kindergarten through third grade develop basic spelling and reading skills. PlaySmart-Kids, $2.99.
FirstWords Deluxe: helps teach toddlers letter and word recognition. Learning Touch, $4.99.
iWrite Words: reinforces correct letter formation and spelling. Gdiplus, $2.99.
Organization and Note Taking
Abilipad: a notepad app that allows users to customize the keyboard. It also has a text-to-speech function. Cheryl Bregman, $19.99.
Audionote Notepad and Voice Recorder: app can synchronize typed notes with recorded audio for students who struggle with fine motor skills or organization. Luminant Software, $4.99.
Notability-Take Notes and Annotate PDFs with Dropbox: combines handwriting, typing and voice recording for note-taking. Ginger Labs, 99 cents.
Communication
TouchChat: helps students of all ages who have trouble speaking with their own voices. Silver Kite, $149.99.
Custom Boards: allows users of all ages to create custom communication boards, schedules and activities from a library of more than 11,000 symbols. Smarty Ears, $39.99.