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Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me find iPad apps for my cousin

by Erica Sadun Sep 22nd 2011 at 4:00PM

Dear Aunt TUAW,

My cousin recently had emergency brain surgery. She's 10 years old, but she can't speak, and she doesn't have very good motor control. She is expected to recover fully, but in the meantime, she can't really do much.

She got an iPad from another relative, and I'm in charge of finding apps for her new toy. Do you or your nieces or nephews have any suggestions? She can read and write, and laugh at funny things still, but she might not be able to draw lines in Spy Mouse or react quickly like in Doodle Jump. Any suggestions would help!

Your loving nephew,

James

Dear James,

Auntie is sure lots and lots of her nieces and nephews are going to jump in in the comments with some terrific suggestions. To get things started, she turned to iOS developer Steven Troughton-Smith, who has worked on a language assistance project for the autistic. He has promised to get you set up with an ad-hoc version of Grace, which normally sells for €29.99 (about $40). Please contact Auntie through the normal TUAW tip form, and we'll put you in touch with him.

(Speaking of the tip form, it's sheer luck that Auntie found your comment. Please nephews and nieces, use the tip form to contact Auntie -- don't leave questions or requests in post comments.)

Grace is an app that allows people to build sentences from a vocabulary of cards; over 120 are preloaded. Troughton-Smith noted that you can add photos to the app with the camera or from the photo library to create your own items of vocabulary. "It's easy to use and fast, as we spent a lot of time making sure that the UI wouldn't frustrate kids who needed to use it to communicate."

You can read more about Grace here.

TUAW reader mdw also had some suggestions for your cousin. He writes, "Have a look at the hacking autism site. Although it is for children with autism, you'll find for example that BlockCad is freeware for children with limited motor skills. You might also find AAC apps useful."

We all wish your cousin a speedy recovery and hope that she continues to regain health over time. Got more suggestions for James? Leave them in the comments!

Hugs,

Auntie T.



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Dear Aunt TUAW, My cousin recently had emergency brain surgery. She's 10 years old, but she can't speak, and she doesn't have very...
 

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7 Comments

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lisamareedom

Hi Auntie, I'm delighted to hear you have suggested Grace App which is named after my autistic daughter Grace who uses it to build her own verbal communication.
James I hope your cousin has a speedy recovery and I would be happy to help out in anyway I can. Just contact me directly via the graceapp.com webpage. As the mother of autistic children I designed the App to suit their needs but I'm really really interested in supporting recovery from brain injury.
Grace App allows you to choose single cards to form a semantic sentence using a core vocabulary or pictures added via a camera or web search. If your cousin has restricted mobility in her fingers it may be difficult to press on a single card though- as we've found with kids with C.P.
For that I can recommend iComm - designed by Mia's Apps. You can slide pictures across the screen with a clenched hand. Also created by a parent, it is under a fiver $ and takes 5 minutes to set up and personalise.
Please don't hesitate to get in touch if there is anything else we can do. Best wishes, lisadom xx

September 25 2011 at 3:43 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
odaman2

This is James, the question asker. Thank you all for your kind wishes. I am about to go visit her, and I'll pass along all of your wonderful suggestions!

September 23 2011 at 4:27 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Vladislav Rakov

Really very helpful apps.I wish soon recovery as well. There is a web service snappii.com which allows to build apps spending very little time and no programming skills are needed at all.Im keen on it.

September 23 2011 at 4:04 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mike Barker

If you're looking for apps to aid with communication, I have a few suggestions. The definitely vary in price quite a bit however:

Proloquo2go:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/proloquo2go/id308368164?mt=8
I have the most experience with this one. It's a top-notch, state of the art AAC application. It allows for communication with symbols, and generates speech from text input into the program. This functionality would be a fantastic stopgap during her recovery.

Other less expensive options that I have less experience with are:
Look2Learn:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/look2learn-aac/id319600029?mt=8

AssistiveChat:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/assistive-chat/id379891874?mt=8

MyTalkTools:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mytalktools-mobile/id324286288?mt=8

And IntelliPad:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/intellipad/id435865000?mt=8

If you go the the education tab of the App store, then select Special Education to the right, you'll find a TON of apps that may be helpful.

The iPad in particular has been a godsend in terms of assistative technology for those with communication disabilities! Good Luck!

September 22 2011 at 6:03 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
TonyV

Also, maybe this could be a form of therapy though I am by NO means a doctor:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id431865386?mt=8

Simon Says.

Another fun one for kids:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/national-geographic-kids/id436482773?mt=8

National Geographic (really anything by them).

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/weirdbuttrue/id458424230?mt=8

National Geographic "Weird but True" facts.

September 22 2011 at 5:20 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
TonyV

Maybe one that Auntie had up recently on the site: Autodesk 123D Sculpt
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/123d-sculpt/id446119510?mt=8

It's free for a limited time and may be easy enough to use. Certainly doesn't require quick reaction timing or anything of that sort. I will admit that I don't have an iPad and unable to try this out. I wish her a speedy recovery.

September 22 2011 at 5:10 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Cameron

May sound obvious, but Adobe Ideas is always fun. Easy to use, free, and only your imagination is the limit!

September 22 2011 at 4:21 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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