BEST Apps for Autism-2015

It's a new year, and with that new year we want to provide the most up-to-date resources and support possible to assist our readers in search of practical help for challenged readers and learners of all ages. Many of those readers are parents, teachers and counselors of children, teens and adults on the autism spectrum.

As you can imagine, it takes a very special individuals to serve the autism community and its families. Patience and compassion can go a long way to soothe the fatigue of a parent who has experienced just too many meltdowns. Encouragement and gentle motivation are other gifts needed to help teachers make a real difference each day in the lives of the children in their classrooms who are on the spectrum. Determination and fortitude are front and center in the social workers who try repeatedly to place adults with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) in appropriate employment situations and/or housing arrangements.

We tip our hats to ALL of them and would like to provide some assistance from our end of of the community. After all, if one is not part of the solution, then there is a possibility that one is part of the problem. So, this week our part is to provide a new crop of resources for the new year---resources in the form of apps and app lists for persons of all ages on the autism spectrum. Since it was back in 2013 when we created our last list of these autism apps, we thought it was the right time for a new list to be presented to our readers.

This past week, we gathered together a collection of autism apps here that we hope will provide some much-needed support for the individuals and their families in the autism community. We also hope that parents, teachers and counselors, who have very little time, will find this list convenient with many of these specialized apps ALL in one place. From organizational apps to social and educational apps, you'll find them all here---here in 2015!

Happy Reading---AND Happy New Year one more time!

BEST Apps for Autism

Autism Apps---current list provided by Autism Speaks
Apps are listed in alphabetical order. You can sort apps by rating by clicking the "Rating" link above that column. You can rate apps by first clicking on the app name to visit the app detail page. Then, below the description of the app, click on the number of stars for your rating of the app.
http://www.autismspeaks.org/autism-apps?page=2

Look At Me---New App to Boost Social Skills of Autistic Kids (Released by Samsung)
This new app aims to train autistic children to maintain eye contact and convey basic emotions.
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99TL3hGPw5I
Article & VIDEO: http://techcrunch.com/2014/12/22/samsung-lookatme/

13 Best Autism Apps for the iPad
by Michael A. Prospero, LAPTOP Reviews Editor
(NOTE: To access the 13 app titles, click on the yellow arrow buttons in the article's graphics.)
http://blog.laptopmag.com/best-autism-apps-ipad

Android Apps Autism Parenting Magazine 2015
The latest list of Android apps for autism from Autism Parenting Magazine.
http://2015android.com/Android_Autism-Parenting-Magazine_2015.html

Social Skills and Autism Apps List (1/13/15)
original list by Jessica Chase, MA, CCC-SLP
This list contains apps for life skills, conversation starters, conversation maintenance, idioms, non-verbal communication, eye contact, emotions and many more.
http://parentingautismindia.blogspot.com/2015/01/social-skills-and-autism-apps-list.html

9 Great Apps For Kids With Autism---by Patricia-Anne Tom (9/18/14)
Experienced readers with kids on the autism spectrum share nine apps that have helped improve how their kids interact with others.
http://www.popsugar.com/moms/Best-Apps-Autistic-Kids-31793054#photo-31793054

Reading Focus Cards Desktop App (Patent 8,360,779) (for Macs & Windows PCs)
from Brennan Innovators, LLC
This DESKTOP app is the digital version of the physical Reading Focus Cards (Patent 7,565,759), solutions for struggling readers. This app for Windows PCs and Macs provides practical READING SUPPORT for children and adults with ADHD, dyslexia, autism and other conditions that can affect reading success. It promotes more FOCUS, FLUENCY and VISUAL COMFORT for online reading of almost ALL digital media (webpages, PDF files, Word docs, Excel spreadsheets & more.) In addition, the Reading Focus Card app is compatible with and supports touch-screen technology. The application can be moved on the screen over text by the fingers, mouse or arrow keys as needed.
1. For Macs (desktops & notebooks):
Visit the Mac App Store at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/read-and-focus/id920617853?mt=12 or search for the app called Reading Focus Cards.
2. For Windows PCs (desktops & laptops):
Visit Gumroad at https://gumroad.com/l/ReadingFocusCards OR visit the Microsoft Windows Store and search for the app called Reading Focus Cards. (No URLs are ever provided for apps in the Windows Store.)

Autism Apps---by Special Needs App Review (Some FREE apps)
Autism Apps is simply a comprehensive list of apps that are being used with and by people diagnosed with autism, Down syndrome and other special needs. It also includes links to any available information that can be found for each app. The Apps are also separated into over 30 categories, and the descriptions are all searchable, so any type of app is easy to find and download.
http://www.friendshipcircle.org/apps/browse/autism-apps/

Top 10 Apps and Software for Autism---by Autism Today
These apps and software became widely known throughout the world not only because of their features but also their abilities to manage autism behavior.
http://www.autismtoday.com/top-10-apps-and-software-for-autism/

For more information on customizable low-tech & digital reading tools for all kinds of challenged readers, please visit:
www.FocusandRead.com Tools for struggling readers of all ages!
www.BrennanInnovators.com Info & support for struggling readers
314-892-3897

Image courtesy of:
Autism Mix at http://www.autismmix.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/fabric.jpg
Brennan Innovators, LLC at www.focusandread.com