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Speak It! is an application for iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad which lets you enter text via the regular keyboard and then speak the words via the built-in speaker, or save them to an audio file to email to others.

AdastraSoft's goal is to provide a set of innovative, user-friendly mobile application solutions to assist those who have various special communication and education needs to realize their full potential. We design our products with community-centric model in mind: Your ideas and suggestions will help shape the content and presentation of our software.  We welcome you to explore our site, and hope you would become a contributing member of our software community.

As the Technology Coach for Educational Vision Services, the program in the NYC Department of Education that serves students in our school system with visual impairments, I have been looking for a way to provide students with low-vision access to large print using the iPad. Our students are registered with Bookshare.org but it has been a stumbling block converting the DAISY formatted books into the epub format that can be read on the iPad. While there are numerous options for our students who are auditory or Braille readers, there has been a large disconnect in taking advantage of technology for our students who require large print and alternate contrast for visual reading.

They include iPads and iPods, smartphones and laptops. They already cost far less than more specialized technology and their price is dropping still further. But their potential to help change the course of U.S. K-12 education is limitless and their educational impact could soon include nearly every American child, including those with disabilities, according to noted education researcher and author Milton Chen, who calls these increasingly ubiquitous devices, “weapons of mass instruction.”

The goal of iAdvocate is to share and develop specific strategies with parents for working collaboratively with a school team to improve their children’s education. iAdvocate uses problem-based learning strategies, simulations, and provides contextual access resources to build parental advocacy skills and knowledge. iAdvocate provides parents with both information and most importantly, strategies in regards to their educational rights and getting their child’s needs met. The goal of iAdvocate is to share and develop specific strategies with parents for working collaboratively with a school team to improve their children’s education and to provide the most inclusive and meaningful educational environment for students with disabilities.

SNApps4Kids is a community of parents, therapists, doctors, and teachers who share information on how we are using the iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and Android devices with children who have special needs.  We have found these mobile devices to provide accessibility for children who may have been previously disengaged from the world because of challenging language, motor, or other developmental delays.  Given the rising number of apps on the market and the diverse skills of children with special needs, parents have found each other to be one of the best resources for choosing apps to enhance everyday life for our children.  While our group is primarily parent-driven, our efforts are naturally collaborative with the people who help our children develop particular skills — therapists and educators.

The Mountaintop couple developed an application for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch that helps track behavior in autistic children. Called Behavior Tracker Pro, it was approved this summer by Apple as an "app" and was placed on the iTunes Web site, where it can be downloaded for $9.99. It has been downloaded more than 400 times, and the pace of downloads is increasing.

Researchers at Essex University have developed a free mobile app that turns an iPhone or iPod into a hearing aid. The BioAid app is said to replicate the complexities of the human ear, unlike standard hearing aids that amplify all sounds.

AppleVis is a website by and for blind and vision-impaired users of Apple devices, primarily iOS device users but including some resources for Mac OS X users. The focus is on VoiceOver users but there are some resources for other blind users who use zooming to access devices too.

Braille Institute is proud to introduce ViA (Visually Impaired Apps), a fully accessible app for iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad.  ViA has been designed to help identify apps that are useful for adults and children who are blind or have low vision, including those with additional disabilities.  Users can easily sort through the 500,000+ apps in the App Store and locate those that were built specifically for, or provide functionality to, the user with a visual impairment.

Library of Congress Braille and Talking-Book Program Releases Book Download App through Apple People who are blind, visually impaired or have a physical disability may now download audio and braille books to their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, if they are registered with the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) in the Library of Congress.

Apple is highlighting a growing number of apps catering to individuals with special needs with a featured special education section in its App Store. The section titled “Special Education” launched late last week and includes 72 applications for the iPhone and 13 applications for the iPad in 10 categories ranging from communication to emotional development and life skills, according to Trudy Muller, an Apple spokeswoman.

Click here to download the application (PDF) (Applications due by December 31, 2010) What are the eligibility requirements? The individual you are applying for must have a diagnosis on the autism spectrum (as identified in diagnosis report). Reside in the United States of America . Be non-verbal or minimally verbal (as identified in speech pathology report). Be in financial need: Gross income not to exceed $35,000 single income family or $50,000 two-income family (as identified by documentation). Have access to a computer and an iTunes account (some programs must be downloaded on a computer and transferred to the iPad due to size). A professional on your team (i.e., speech pathologist, doctor, teacher) must be willing to take responsibility of the gift card that downloads the applications. For more information, please visit the foundation's website: www.hollyrod.org

The Instructional Innovations Unit is excited to provide an incredible online resource for all Montana educators. This professional development data base within the OPI website contains hundreds of video clips, lessons, and resources that can be downloaded onto your computer and iPod.  This resource is a direct result of the Montana Reading First project.  However, it also contains content for teachers Pre-K through high school.  Knowing that statewide professional development is extremely difficult because of the rural nature of our state, the Montana Reading First project director, Debbie Hunsaker, planned and initiated this resource called ‘Knowledge Box’. Throughout the implementation of the Reading First project, national and local presenters were filmed and the content was edited into short video clips, resources, and lessons. To access this resource go to the OPI website www.opi.mt.gov and click on Instructional Innovations under Programs. http://opi.mt.gov/Streamer/Instructional_Innovations/index.php#gpm1_5 For more information, contact BJ Granbery, 444-4420

Voice4u, is a revolutionary AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) application that helps individuals to express their feeling, thought, actions and things they need. It is a perfect solution for learning and communication for autistic individuals and people around them. Also highly recommended for SLPs, teachers, parents, children and adults with developmental disabilities, stroke, or traumatic brain injury.

Now kids can enjoy their favorite books from your iPhone! Forget the playstations, game consoles and DVDs, our mobile picture books will entertain and educate your child in the car, plane, train and more.

What: This conference will provide information and hands-on training in the latest technology being used to enhance communication and social skills for individuals living with autism. This conference is for everyone who loves and works with children and adults with autism every day. This year we will highlight Communication and iOS devices - iPads, iPods and iPhones. Today’s technological advances offer highly interactive tools that can be used to help build communication skills. During our event you will learn how to choose applications appropriate for your needs, whether you are a parent, educator or practitioner. Through demonstration and actual hands-on training you will be introduced to a variety of applications that use interactive text, illustrations, painting, animation, voice recording, stories, songs and speech/language based activities that may be helpful in developing communication abilities of children and adults on the Autism spectrum. Practitioners can use these devices to help people with cognitive-behavioral needs through applications that target social skills and executive functioning like planning, organization, attention and memory.  We will also benefit from meeting and hearing from people of all ages who are navigating through life on the spectrum. Their stories will inspire, educate and bring us closer as a group as we take action to improve the lives of individuals with autism. This conference is for everyone who loves and works with children and adults with autism every day. Join us as we continue our work for Montana families living with autism. When: July 27 & 28, 2011 8:00am - 5:00pm (both days) Where: MSUB Main Campus - Library Room 148 Billings, MT Register: Call 406-896-5890 to register for this event; visit http://www.msubillings.edu/autism/ for more information.

In combination with your iPhone’s built-in camera, ZoomReader lets you magnify and read printed text by first taking a picture of an object like a book or menu, then converts the image into text using state-of-the-art Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. ZoomReader will then read the text back to you using a natural-sounding voice.