The BEST Apps for AD/HD and Other Distractions

In the aftermath of the holiday gift-giving of so many tech devices, we have been receiving more calls and email requests than usual over the past month for educational and organizational apps, particularly those for AD/HD.

In response to these requests, we have gathered here a collection of app lists helpful for the AD/HD community with credits to Mr. Mark Kawate, ADDitude Magazine, and the editors of the Reader’s Digest, respectively. We hope these organizational and educational resources will provide you or someone you know challenged with AD/HD the needed assistance to make each day just a little bit better.

We would like to hear from our readers, too. If you know of another great AD/HD app not included in the lists below, please tell us and our readers in the comment boxes below. We will certainly appreciate your input!

Our readers are also telling us that their Reading Focus Cards work very well when used with their e-tablets (for iPads, etc.---the longer Reading Focus Card) and e-readers (for the Kindle, Nook, etc.---the smaller Reading Focus Card). This is an excellent way to get more focus on 1 or 2 lines of text on a webpage AND block out more surrounding text. We recommend that when doing this, the reader also use a scratch-proof, film shield to protect the tech device’s screen.

So, without further ado, here are 4 lists of the BEST apps we know of at this writing for children and/or adults challenged with the symptoms of AD/HD:

http://www.appsforadhd.com/appsforadhd/5bestiosapps.html The 5 Best iPhone/iPad Apps for ADHD-by Mark Kawate

http://www.appsforadhd.com/appsforadhd/top6free.html The Top 6 FREE iPhone/iPad Apps for ADHD-by Mark Kawate

http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/8698.html To-Do List Apps for ADHD Kids and Adults from ADDitudeMag.com

http://www.rd.com/health/adhd-and-ipads-5-apps-to-make-life-easier/ ADHD and iPads: 5 Apps to Make Life Easier by Reader's Digest Editors

www.smartyearsapps.com A family of apps for ALL learners (courtesy of Ms. Rosie Simms---thank you!)

For more information, please visit:

www.FocusandRead.com For focusing tools that work!
www.BrennanInnovators.com For info, resources, and support
314-892-3897 For phone support and consultation

AD/HD Resources for Your Child and You

What do you do when you've just received a diagnosis of ADD or ADHD for your child? Is it an automatic indication that your child will not experience success in school? Does it mean that your youngster will have fewer opportunities in life? Not at all! There is much that you can do to ensure that your child challenged with AD/HD can become as successful as any of his classmates. However, he will need your consistent support and resources you can help to offer him.

First of all, try to focus on the strengths of your child challenged with ADD. Children and adults with ADD or ADHD (AD/HD) will ALWAYS have strengths (notice the plural here!) If the ADD energies can be channeled with appropriate strategies, they will further deliver on those strengths. It's all about having either a "glass half-full or half-empty" ADDitude.

Secondly, there are strategies and resources available that can actually be very helpful as well as organizations that can be very supportive. Here is our most current list of great resources for AD/HD:

Resources for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD):

• http://www.chadd.org/ For parents of children and adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) ---National Resource Center on AD/HD with info, resources, and support

• http://www.additudemag.com/ Website of ADDitude Magazine, premier publication about AD/HD

• http://www.russellbarkley.org/adhd-research.htm Official website of Professor Russell Barkley, providing fact sheets, resources and other information relating to AD/HD

• http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/children_who_cant_pay_attention/attention_deficit_hyperactivity_disorder Downloadable article with facts, resources, & other info on AD/HD for families

• http://www.ldanatl.org/ Learning Disabilities Association of America---National organization providing info, resources and support for LDs

Advocacy Resources (for All Special Needs):

• http://www.wrightslaw.com/ Wrightslaw: Special Education Law and Advocacy

• http://aacap.org/page.ww?name=Services+in+School+for+Children+with+Special+Needs:+What+Parents+Need+to+Know§ion=Facts+for+Families Services (in school) for children with special needs (from the American Academy of Pediatrics)

For more information, please visit:

www.FocusandRead.com For focusing tools that work!
www.BrennanInnovators.com For info, resources, and support
314-892-3897 For phone support and consultation

Resources for Low Vision, Stroke Recovery, and TBIs

We wanted to follow up on here on last week’s article about help for low vision, stroke recovery and traumatic brain injury. It only makes sense to provide additional resources from the internet and organizations that can provide additional support to persons with these challenges AND their caregivers as well.

Please find the following resources, many of which are FREE. We hope they will help you, your child, or someone for whom you care:

Low Vision Resources

1. A variety of products, resources, and organizations are available to help people who have low vision. www.glaucoma.org/treatment/low-vision-resources.php

2. Information on rehabilitation, low vision aids, coping strategies, and other resources are provided here. http://www.lowvision.org/

3. A rich collection of resources on the World Wide Web is available to those who wish to know more about visual impairments and about resources and accommodations for students with visual impairments. (from the University of Washington) http://www.washington.edu/doit/Faculty/Strategies/Disability/Vision/low_vision_resources.html

Stroke Recovery Resources

1. The American Stroke Association offers support and information for stroke patients, caregivers and their families. http://www.strokeassociation.org/STROKEORG/

2. Stroke-recovery resources such as a FREE online caregiver handbook, speech and language therapy information and software, and other information are accessible here. http://www.bungalowsoftware.com/rehab/#Stroke_

3. FREE booklet, entitled "Recovering After a Stroke," is designed to help stroke survivors and their families get the most out of post-stroke (all from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/stroke/stroke_rehabilitation.htm

TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) Resources

1. Useful resources on the web, including discussion groups, email lists, and numerous web pages. Resources are organized by category (TBI, therapist info, rehab institutes, etc.) http://www.bungalowsoftware.com/rehab/#TBI

2. Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation and Resources: TBI Resource Guide available by subscribing to our free monthly electronic newsletter and other resources. http://www.neuroskills.com/

3. Brain Injury REHAB & RECOVERY Related Links and Resources http://www.discoverhiddensecrets.com/TBIresources.html

For more information, please visit:

www.FocusandRead.com For focusing tools that work!
www.BrennanInnovators.com For info, resources, and support
314-892-3897 For phone support and consultation

Clip art courtesy of: http://www.123rf.com/stock-photo/brain_clipart.html

Reading Help for Low Vision, Stroke Recovery, and TBI Challenges

It is customary for us at Brennan Innovators to receive numerous inquiries and consultation requests each week from parents and teachers of children with various kinds of learning differences (i.e. AD/HD, dyslexia, autism, etc.) However, during the past few weeks, we have been receiving more requests from struggling readers with other physical conditions or recently-acquired challenges .

Adults with low vision issues have been asking about our Reading Focus Cards (U.S. Patent 7,565,759) for tracking and fluency help with macular degeneration and other vision issues. In addition, persons recovering from stroke or traumatic brain injury and their care givers have been calling to ask about our tools for their reading challenges, as well. It has been very gratifying to offer them a very inexpensive aid to increase their potential to read with more success.

With some of these physical conditions described above, it is often difficult for an affected reader to see where the next line of text is actually located in order to begin to read it. Also, the white background on a page of text can work against an already-struggling reader, causing visual stress and making it even more difficult to read. However, when a colored filter such as a highlighting yellow lens or overlay is added to change the page background, the text appears more pronounced or emphasized. This aids a compromised reader to focus and track more effectively, which can lessen frustration and anxiety, and may very well provide the needed focus, concentration, and better comprehension so as to ultimately experience the ability to read once again.

The Reading Focus Cards can provide these features and more for a challenged reader of any age with reading issues such as stroke, brain injury, or challenges relating to low vision. Of course, the focusing tool is not meant in any way to take the place of appropriate medical attention, but it can assist in the rehabilitation period when evaluation and diagnosis have been completed, and recovery has begun.

For more information and to view a video about this reading solution called the Reading Focus Cards, please visit:

www.FocusandRead.com For focusing tools that work!
www.BrennanInnovators.com For info, resources, and support
314-892-3897 For phone support and consultation

Need Apps for Special Needs? Great!

The holiday season is winding down, and the new year is about to begin. The presents have been put away, returned, or exchanged. However, if you were fortunate enough to receive an iPad or the like for Christmas, have you begun to take full advantage of it? Are you needing more information and resources to make that happen? Let's see if we can help you here.

First of all, we have been receiving quite a number of calls from parents and teachers telling us that they are using our Reading Focus Cards with their new iPads and Kindles. Of course, we are recommending a protective film for the tech devices' screens with this application.

Secondly, if you are a parent or a teacher of a child with special needs, you are in luck today. I have been busy this past week researching the BEST apps for your new tech devices---specifically, apps for children and teens with special needs.

To follow here, you will find the apps that will be worth your time to investigate. Most of them have been chosen by professionals in the field of special needs. I only bring them directly to you here. Please let me know of your experiences with any one or more of them. It will be very valuable to receive your input! This is my humble gift to you for the new year. Happy New Year 2012 to all my readers here and the children you help!

Best 5 iPad Apps for Dyslexia (posted by Drs. Fernette and Brock Eide--July 26, 2011) http://dyslexicadvantage.com/profiles/blogs/ipad-apps-dyslexia

Top Word-Processor App (iPad writing tool) http://www.funeducationalapps.com/2011/11/textkraft-english-top-smart-text-processor-for-ipad.html

Apps Index from A to Z--for Children with Special Needs (+ reviews and demos from Dr. Gary Brown) http://a4cwsn.com/apps/apps-a-z/

List of Top 10 Apps for Children of ALL Abilities (for iPads, iPhones, and others from Ms. Meg Wilson) http://edreach.us/2011/11/23/giving-thanks-for-apps-that-assist/

For more information:
www.FocusandRead.com For focusing tools that work!
www.BrennanInnovators.com For info, resources, and support
314-892-3897
Clip art courtesy of: http://freewareme.com/725-apple-ipad-photos-and-images.html

Even More Resources for Struggling Readers with Dyslexia--Part 2

As promised, we wanted to provide you with additional resources for those readers who struggle with dyslexia. We hope you will also find these to be helpful as well as those listed in our last article here!

1. http://www.learning-inside-out.com/dyslexia-statistics.html Are you a parent of a child struggling with learning strategies for reading, writing, math, test taking – or school in general? Or are you looking for methods to help yourself in some area of learning? This site will help.

2. http://www.senteacher.org/Condition/11/dyslexia.xhtml SEN weblinks and resources for dyslexia

3. http://www.ncld.org/at-school/general-topics/accommodations/accommodating-students-with-dyslexia How to accommodate students challenged with dyslexia (From the National Center for Learning Disabilities)

4. http://www.ncld.org/ld-basics/success-stories/anne-ford-allegra-ford-scholars/winning-battles-dyslexia A story to inspire---Porsha Buck's story follows her struggles with dyslexia and her goal from an early age to become a doctor. Porsha was the 2007 Runner-Up for the Anne Ford Scholarship and a great example of a learning-disabled student who accepted challenges with the confidence she could always overcome them.

5. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=new-font-helps-dyslexics-read Dutch researcher designs distinct characters into "Dyslexie" to make it more difficult for dyslexics to rotate, swap and mirror letters and numbers. (October 26, 2011)

For more information:
www.FocusandRead.com For focusing tools that work!
www.BrennanInnovators.com For info, resources, and support
314-892-3897

Photo courtesy of: http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/home-and-garden/home/article_1bea7419-12fb-54e0-ba1a-7c542dc87a08.html

More Resources for Struggling Readers with Dyslexia --Part 1

Our recent articles on the topic of dyslexia have been generating much interest during the past several weeks. In addition to publication of these articles, there may be another reason for this surge in interest on the subject. Here are some current statistics (from the U.S.) that may partly explain this increased interest level:

Dyslexia Statistics

• Dyslexia is the most common cause of reading, writing and spelling difficulties.

• Of people with poor reading skills, 70-80% are likely dyslexic.

• One in five students (approx. 15-20% of the population) has a language-based learning disability. Dyslexia is probably the most common of the language based learning disabilities.

• Nearly the same percentage of males and females have dyslexia.

• Nearly the same percentage of people from different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds have dyslexia.

• Percentages of children at risk for reading failure are much higher in high poverty, language-minority populations who attend ineffective schools.

• The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)* found that approximately 38% of fourth grade students have "below basic" reading skills. These students are below the 40th percentile (performing below the other 60% of their peers) and are at greater than 50% chance of failing the high-stakes, year-end school achievement tests.

• About three quarters of the children who show primary difficulties with basic reading skill early in reading development can be helped to overcome those difficulties to a large extent. Not all of these children have dyslexia (see symptoms of dyslexia in children).

• Less than 1/3 of the children with reading disabilities are receiving school services for their reading disability.

• The causes for reading difficulty may be neurobiological (caused by differences in the structure and function of the brain), experiential (the student could not learn because of his behavior or inability to pay attention), instructional (the teacher did not provide adequate instruction), or a combination of these factors.

• At present, there is no genetic or neurological test to diagnose or predict whose problems are primarily neuro-biological or which problems are experiential or instructional (dyslexia is a neuro-biological condition).

• About 5% of the population will have enduring, severe reading disabilities that are very difficult to treat given our current knowledge.

Source: * The NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) is a measure used across most of the United States courtesy of http://www.learning-inside-out.com/dyslexia-statistics.html

Do these statistics concern you? They certainly should. So, we thought this would be a particularly good time to provide even more resources and related support links for our many readers affected by dyslexia.

Dyslexia Resources

1. http://www.pbs.org/parents/readinglanguage/articles/dyslexia/resources.html Research in recent years has contributed to our knowledge about dyslexia. As a result, there is now a wealth of information about dyslexia designed specifically for parents. Explore these Web Sites, Books for Parents, Books for Children, Videos, Organizations, and Other Resources to learn more about reading difficulties. Also check out the Glossary of Terms to learn more about the language of dyslexia. (From PBS Parents)

2. http://www.dyslexiacenter.org/ The Dyslexia Awareness and Resource Center is available to help both students and adults who have dyslexia and AD/HD, as well as their parents, teachers and professionals, who work with them.

3. http://www.readingresource.net/ This website is dedicated to helping children learn to read and for anyone who cares about reading or helping those with dyslexia and reading difficulties.

4. http://www.dyslexia-parent.com/ Free information about dyslexia, free Dyslexia Magazine for Parents, a free Dyslexia Advice Line, and dyslexia testing information

5. http://www.dyslexia-parent.com/resources.html The dyslexia resources page for the site above here.

6. http://www.dyslexia-teacher.com/dyslexia_resources_2.html One more page of resources from the same site as the 2 pages listed above here. (includes a Dyslexia Test, Dyslexia Parents Resource, Dyslexia Adults Link, etc.)

Next week: More Resources for Struggling Readers with Dyslexia --Part 2

For more information:
www.FocusandRead.com For focusing tools that work!
www.BrennanInnovators.com For info, resources, and support
314-892-3897