7 Apps for Students with Special Needs Back to School Success!
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The Bridgingapps Team 
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7 Apps for Back to School Success!
Work smarter, not harder this school year. For students with special needs, transitioning back into a school routine can be challenging. Whether it is back to school shopping, homework, study help, daily organization or even wellness, we have got an app recommendation just for you. To help make life easier for your learner this year BridgingApps has created a list of our favorite must-have educational apps for back to school. These apps have been trialed with children of different abilities and reviewed by professional educators and therapists. Wishing you and your family a successful school year!
Dollars and Cents Lite
By Attainment Company
Attainment Company has produced several functional math programs over the years. Dollars & Cents Lite is a realistic money app that teaches money skills like Counting Coins, Spending Money and Making Change. All of the programs feature clear, realistic graphics and an easy-to-navigate interface. Counting Coins has four activities: Naming, Matching, Sorting, and Vending Machine. In Spending Money, students shop for items and pay for them with computer cash, using the exact amount or the next-dollar approach. This progressive money program has been helpful with teens and adults with developmental disabilities.
Price: FREE, with option of $59.99 for the full version
Available for iOS | FREE l Version
Available for Android | FREE l Version
Available for iOS | Full Version
Book Creator for iPad
By Tools for Schools Limited
A app that allows a child to create his or her own original eBooks. The layout and design are very clean, organized and user friendly. We use the app primarily for creating social stories and retelling events with our students of all ages with a variety of special needs. Video, music, and speech can also be recorded within each book to make it a customized and multimedia experience. Students are able to practice skills related to literacy and add personal touches that reflect their creativity.
Price: $3.99
Spellboard
By PalaSoftware Inc.
This is a handy app for helping kids of all ages, but especially in the elementary grades, learn, manage and have fun with spelling word lists. We have used this app with students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, Cerebral Palsy and Global Developmental Delay. Many children demonstrated much more interest in working on spelling words because they had control in helping to make the lists and recording voices or had a peer record their voice.
Price: $4.99
Headspace: Sleep & Meditation
By Headspace Inc.
Perfect for back to school chaos, the lifestyle app Headspace: Meditation is an innovative program designed to help individuals achieve a happier and healthier lifestyle through guided meditations. The app makes it easy for users of all ages and abilities to practice meditation anytime and anywhere. The mobile nature of the app means that everyone can have guided meditation literally at their fingertips, and users can practice mobile mindfulness even on-the-go.
Price: FREE | Offers In-App Purchases
Amazon Alexa
By AMZN Mobile LLC
Use Alexa to make the transition into the new school year a little easier. Before school starts you can create lists, order school supplies and set reminders using your Alexa device. And, once school has started, kids can use Alexa to set their own wake up alarm, check the weather and even get help with homework. Alexa also has educational games.
Price: FREE | Offers In-App Purchases
Microsoft OneNote
By Microsoft Corporation
Microsoft OneNote is an excellent organizational app for parents and students. Especially handy for parents of multiple children, the app is a digital notebook that allows you to organize all your notes, drawings, photos and lists. You can easily share notebooks or individual notes. Multiple users can edit and work on projects in OneNote. The app allows the user to set up individual notebooks and you can organize searchable notes within the notebook.
Price: FREE | Offers In-App Purchases
Quizlet: AI-powered Flashcards
By Quizlet Inc.
A simple notecard app that can help a range of learners practice skills. Features like text to speech, adaptive training, customization and multiple languages make it a user-friendly study tool that allows students to study anything, anywhere. With a database of more than 13 million flashcards, students can gain access to flashcards on a wide variety of topics.
Price: FREE | Offers In-App Purchases
If you are interested in searching for more apps, creating your own list of apps and sharing them, please go to BridgingApps.org. BridgingApps, a program of Easter Seals Greater Houston, is a community of parents, therapists, doctors and teachers who share information about using mobile devices with people who have special needs.
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This post originally appeared on our July/August 2018 Magazine
