Cool iPad App for Speech and Language Therapy! (Video demo via Eric Sailer and Jason Rinn)

Eric Sailers, a speech and language pathologist and assistive technology specialist, has developed ArtikPix, an articularion applicaton for the iPad, along with Jason Rinn.

The application is free, and there are options to purchase additional levels for use. Here is the video demo:



Eric Sailer's Blog:
Speech and Language Pathology Sharing

Jason Rinn's Website:
RinnApps: Mobile Apps for Educators and Parents

Social Stories: Link to the ultimate Social Stories resource (test) site!

It is Saturday, and I know that there are hundreds of teachers online, searching for social story resources for their students who have autism spectrum disorders or other disabilities that interfere with social interaction and communication skills.   

I am putting up a link to a mega-list of social story links. If you scroll down the massive page, you will find social stories and additional links.  I have not explored the site or evaluated any of the stories.  I plan to choose some of the best that I find, and link them from this blog

Readers are welcome to post links to good social stories and social stories resources in the comment section.  This is NOT the spot for commercially-made social stories, as those can be found elsewhere.

Here is the link.  From the title, it looks like it was a "test" page, so perhaps there is a cleaned-up version elsewhere.

http://www.autism-pdd.net/testdump/test14154.htm

Eric Sailers' Speech and Language Blog & Website: Exploring New Interactive Technologies

Eric Sailers, M.A., CCC-SLP, is a speech and language pathologist and assisted technology specialist in La Mesa, California. Eric has a great webiste, Speech and Language Pathology Sharing, and a very accessible, icon based navigation system on his website at Parkway Middle School.

Like me, Eric is a fan of Johnny Chung Lee. If you haven't heard of Johnny Chung Lee, you need to know that along the way to earning his Ph.D. in Human-Computer Interaction at Carnegie-Mellon, he explored various ways to hack the Wii and WiiMotes. His YouTube video, "Low-Cost Multi-touch Whiteboard Using the Wiimote" went viral, and over the past year, it recieved over two million hits.

(Johnny's work was the inspiration for one of my previous blog posts, "I wish I could be Johnny Chung Lee for a day!")

At any rate, here is Eric Sailers' "how-to" video that explains how to create a low-cost system appropriate for use in the schools:


The purpose of Eric's blog "...is to share speech-language materials. Some example materials will include computer books, communication boards, and social language videos."

His blog is well worth visiting if you work with students with special needs.

Cross Post: Microsoft's SenseCam Improves Memory

From the Microsoft Research SenseCam Website:

"SenseCam is a wearable digital camera that is designed to take photographs passively, without user intervention, while it is being worn. Unlike a regular digital camera or a cameraphone, SenseCam does not have a viewfinder or a display that can be used to frame photos. Instead, it is fitted with a wide-angle (fish-eye) lens that maximizes its field-of-view. This ensures that nearly everything in the wearer’s view is captured by the camera, which is important because a regular wearable camera would likely produce many uninteresting images."

Technology Review Article

Images from Microsoft Research:

SenseCam Viewer

The SenseCam application has the potential to be a resource for people who have developmental delays, traumatic brain injury, severe attention deficits, and autism spectrum disorders. It would be a great tool for special educators, occupational and speech/language therapists, and rehabilitation specialists.