BellaOnline Forums Family Special Needs Children iPhone Apps and Childhood Disabilities

I saw an app this week that seems to have really terrific possibilities for families of children with special needs. If you have your child on a picture schedule, and have previously had to tote around notebooks or Velcro-coated scraps of paper to make it work, check this out: iPrompts, an app designed by the family of a child with autism, puts those schedules on your iPhone or iPod Touch, along with a visual countdown timer, choice prompts, and a library of images to use.
You can buy it from the iTunes store for $74.99.
On the HandHeld Adaptive site, you can view an video tutorial of how iPrompts works. (Terri provides links in her article).
If you've tried it, report back in the comments. And if you haven't, dream with me about what wild new tools we'd really like to see. Maybe the iPrompts folks can work on that Social Speech Translator next.

May 28th, 2009 From USA Today:
Newly developed software is helping kids like JW Clark (left) communicate through an Apple iPhone or iPod Touch. JW has autism and does not speak.
JW uses Proloquo2Go, a downloadable application that lets him touch icons to voice basic comments or questions through the device�s tiny speakers. Apple touts another handful of communications applications on iTunes, including one that offers sign language assistance.
The cost for JW�s hardware and software is around $500 ...

Do you have ideas that would translate well to 'apps' for iPhones for families of children with disabilities?
Two of the top selling books are iPhone Application Development For Dummies(scowl), by Neal Goldstein and iPhone: The Missing Manual: Covers the iPhone 3G, by David Pogue (browse at your local bookstore, public library or online retailer for more info).

Augmentative communication devices can open up the world for kids who have trouble speaking, but they can empty out the pocketbooks of parents who try to pay for them, or the patience of those who try to get school districts to foot the bill. Even when the devices can be obtained, there's no assurance that kids won't be embarrassed to be seen as different for talking through a big box, or tire of toting the thing around.

Do you have ideas that would translate well to 'apps' for iPhones or the iPod Touch for families of children with communication challenges?
Two of the top selling books are iPhone Application Development For Dummies(scowl), by Neal Goldstein and iPhone: The Missing Manual: Covers the iPhone 3G, by David Pogue (browse at your local bookstore, public library or online retailer for more info).

Terri Mauro reports that the parents of a child with autism have developed an iPhone application for scheduling called iPrompts:

Re: iPhone and iPod Touch Apps - Proloquo2Go and iPrompts

Reports of iPhone and iPod Touch apps especially developed for children and adults with developmental disabilities or alternative communication options have inspired parents to start thinking about what might benefit their son or daughter with special needs.

New iPhone Apps for kids and teens with communication challenges and other special needs can also be used with the iPod Touch earlier models as well as the new 32 GB version.

These are amazing technological gadgets that are popular enough that support staff, therapists and teachers as well as everyone else will be interested in learning more about them ~ something often lacking in traditional communication devices and other disability related technology.

An Accessible iPhone?
... Announced yesterday at Apple's World Wide Developers Conference in San Francisco, the iPhone 3GS will be available in the UK and US on the 19th of June. It promises a whole raft of new accessibility features, including Apple's VoiceOver screen-reading software, a magnification solution called Zoom and a white on black colour contrast option.
Although it has a couple of buttons, the new iPhone 3GS still works primarily using a touch-screen. Apple sees this as a positive thing for the screen-reader user, and has created special gestures to be used in VoiceOver mode ...

... in-app purchases, peer-to-peer connection via Bluetooth, communication with hardware accessories, alerts using Apple Push Notification service, and more. This new software update is available for current iPod touch models starting June 17 for $9.95...

New iPhone Apps (Proloquo2Go, iPrompts, and others) for kids and teens with communication challenges or other challenges can also be used with iPod Touch earlier models as well as the new 32 GB version.
These are amazing technological gadgets that are popular enough that support staff, therapists and teachers as well as everyone else will be interested in learning more about them ~ something often lacking in traditional communication devices and other disability related technology.
In a parent review of the Proloquo2go app on the down-syn list, I discovered a simple, basic one that is available known as iConverse - soon to be updated as requests come in for more flexibility and options.

WaveSense Diabetes App for iPhone and iPod Touch - Now Available on iTunes
Now there's an iPhone and iPod Touch app for diabetes ... the WaveSense Diabetes Manager, an electronic diabetes logbook software application that runs on the two Apple products ... available for download at no charge. More information on the app is available at www.wavesense.info/iphone.

Do you have ideas that would translate well to 'apps' for iPhones for families of children with disabilities?
Browse at your local bookstore, public library or online retailer for books like:
iPhone Application Development by Neal Goldstein and iPhone: The Missing Manual: Covers the iPhone 3G, by David Pogue.

Terri Mauro reports that the parents of a child with autism have developed an iPhone application for scheduling called iPrompts

Pam W
SE of Seattle

... Under government insurance requirements, the maker of the PC, which ran ordinary Microsoft Windows software, had to block any nonspeech functions, like sending e-mail or browsing the Web. ... ... Medicare and private health insurers decline to cover cheap devices like iPhones and netbook PCs that can help the speech-impaired, despite their usefulness and lower cost. ... ... The logic: Insurance is supposed to cover medical devices, and smartphones or PCs can be used for nonmedical purposes, like playing video games or Web browsing. �We would not cover the iPhones and netbooks with speech-generating software capabilities because they are useful in the absence of an illness or injury,� said Peter Ashkenaz, a spokesman for the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Private insurers tend to follow the government�s lead in matters of coverage. ...
...advances in computing and easy-to use speech software have opened doors to use cheap mainstream alternatives. Indeed, the price drops have made it possible for A.L.S. assistance groups to buy dozens of netbooks, install specialized software like Proloquo2Go and lend them to clients.
Betsy Caporale, a speech language pathologist in Danville, Calif., has tested various devices and software with children who have Down syndrome and autism.
�The iPhone has been a runaway success with these kids,� she said. �It takes them about 10 minutes to learn how to use the iPhone, and there is this cool factor for them.�
Ms. Lynn, from Poughkeepsie, would like to see insurers loosen their rules to accommodate general-purpose devices and give people like her more financial flexibility. ...
Perhaps the government could set a certain dollar limit and then let patients find the products that fit their needs, Ms. Lynn suggested. �I really would like to see Medicare do away with the dedicated-device rule and the one-device limit,� she said by e-mail. ...

Do you have ideas that would translate well to 'apps' for iPhones for families of children with disabilities?
...Terri Mauro reports that the parents of a child with autism have developed an iPhone application for scheduling called iPrompts

Now there is an iPhone/iPod app for diabetes management:

Mobile App detects seizures
WhereBusinessdotcom: Mobile App detects seizures
Epdetect is an accelerometer-based mobile phone app that uses advanced signal processing to detect epileptic seizures. The app runs on most mobile phones that support SMS messaging, movement detection and GPS position location. Epdetect monitors the movement of the person while the phone is in their pocket or worn on a belt.
The software differentiates the movements associated with epilepsy from normal movement. When a seizure is detected, it will warn the person that it is about to send an SMS message to a carer.
The SMS message contains time, GPS co-ordinates (if the phone has GPS) and a short message, allowing the carer to raise the alarm and take remedial action or call an ambulance.
In the case of a false alarm, the person is able to cancel the SMS alert. The cancel button must be pressed for five seconds, to eliminate accidental cancellation of the alert during the seizure.
When the person recovers, they can press a button to cancel the alarm, which will initiate an end-of- emergency SMS message.
The use of mobile LBS apps in healthcare and emergency response will be one of the many topics under discussion at The Where Business' People Tracking & Location conference in December

Now there is an iPhone/iPod app for diabetes management:
WaveSense Diabetes App for iPhone and iPod Touch - Now Available on iTunes ... the WaveSense Diabetes Manager, an electronic diabetes logbook software application that runs on the two Apple products ... available for download at no charge.
Do you have ideas that would translate well to 'apps' for iPhones for families of children with disabilities?
...Terri Mauro reports that the parents of a child with autism have developed an iPhone application for scheduling called iPrompts

Insurers Shun Multitasking Speech Devices
NY Times 9/15/09 by Ashlee Vance
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/technology/15speech.html
[quote]... Under government insurance requirements, the maker of the PC, which ran ordinary Microsoft Windows software, had to block any nonspeech functions, like sending e-mail or browsing the Web. ... ... Medicare and private health insurers decline to cover cheap devices like iPhones and netbook PCs that can help the speech-impaired, despite their usefulness and lower cost. ... ... The logic: Insurance is supposed to cover medical devices, and smartphones or PCs can be used for nonmedical purposes, like playing video games or Web browsing. �We would not cover the iPhones and netbooks with speech-generating software capabilities because they are useful in the absence of an illness or injury,� said Peter Ashkenaz, a spokesman for the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Private insurers tend to follow the government�s lead in matters of coverage. ...
...advances in computing and easy-to use speech software have opened doors to use cheap mainstream alternatives. Indeed, the price drops have made it possible for A.L.S. assistance groups to buy dozens of netbooks, install specialized software like Proloquo2Go and lend them to clients.
Betsy Caporale, a speech language pathologist in Danville, Calif., has tested various devices and software with children who have Down syndrome and autism.
�The iPhone has been a runaway success with these kids,� she said. �It takes them about 10 minutes to learn how to use the iPhone, and there is this cool factor for them.�
Ms. Lynn, from Poughkeepsie, would like to see insurers loosen their rules to accommodate general-purpose devices and give people like her more financial flexibility. ...
Perhaps the government could set a certain dollar limit and then let patients find the products that fit their needs, Ms. Lynn suggested. �I really would like to see Medicare do away with the dedicated-device rule and the one-device limit,� she said by e-mail. ...