Last week I wrote a featured article on different ways you can participate in National Autism Awareness Month. (If you didn’t get a chance to check it out, be sure to do so!) Today’s post is written to further celebrate autism awareness by providing a detailed list of 3 Apple/Android apps that may benefit individuals with autism.
3 Apple/Android Apps for Autism
1. Emergency Chat
Have you ever felt completely overwhelmed by everything around you and just needed the world to pause for a moment? This happens all too often for many individuals with anxiety, and especially those on the autism spectrum.
The developer of the app, Emergency Chat, created the app “to help himself and people like him with panic attacks.” Individuals with autism may often feel overwhelmed in social situations and respond in different ways: “People have different ways of responding to stress, such as panic attacks, loss of speech, or an inability to move.”
Emergency Chat is useful in “any situation where speech is impossible but communication is necessary.” In sum, it is a messaging app that allows you to communicate with individuals nearby when you just can’t speak. To use, you just simply hand your phone to someone, and the app will tell them how to best assist you.
The developer, Jeroen De Busser, describes the interface:
It has a base text that explains to the person you gave your phone to that you can’t use speech and want to use this app to communicate. Both the title and text can be adjusted in the settings to be whatever you want the person you give your phone to to know.
To learn more about Emergency Chat, check it out on iTunes or Google Play!
2. Avaz Pro – AAC App
There are so many AAC apps available to help individuals with autism communicate, but in my research for today’s blog, the Avaz Pro AAC App stood out the most.
Avaz Pro is a full-featured AAC app developed specifically for children who are nonverbal or who have difficulty speaking. It was designed with “the vision of making every voice heard!”
Features of Avaz Pro:
- Includes graded, consistent, and research-based vocabulary that’s fast and efficient
- Avaz is the only AAC app that allows you to print out your child’s vocabulary as a book, which you can carry with you everywhere.
- Takes only seconds to add words to Avaz Pro. “It’s so simple you can teach all the child’s caregivers to do it!”
- The only AAC app that reinforces word selection with animation, so your child is able to recall and learn better.
- Ability to link Avaz to Dropbox so you can keep child’s vocabulary safe and synced across the devices the child uses.
Avaz Pro is available to download on Google Play and iTunes. It is currently on sale to celebrate Autism Awareness Month!
3. Cause and Effect Sensory Light Box
As I wrote about before, Touch Autism is a website that features many apps and app reviews–all to benefit individuals with autism and their caregivers. One of the more recent reviews covers the Cause and Effect Sensory Light Box app.
The Cause and Effect Sensory Light Box app was originally developed for individuals with visual impairments, autism, and other varied developmental disabilities as a relaxation means. It’s also commonly being used by parents of babies or toddlers as it encourages exploration of touch gestures.
Features of Cause and Effect Sensory Light Box App:
- No advertisements or in-app purchases!
- May benefit children with autism, anxiety, sensory processing disorders and more.
- 24 sensory scenes to choose from, including:
- Bubbles
- Leaves
- Dots
- Rain
- Snowflakes
- Fountain
- Flowers
- and more!
- Customizable settings
- Switch compatible (visit the developer’s website to learn more on switch connectivity)