Enhance Your Break: Unlock Tech Assistance for Families

It is hard to believe that it is almost summer again already! If you are like many of us who are caregivers not only for children and/or teens with disabilities, but also for aging parents and/or grandparents, you are very likely ready for some much-needed downtime.

We get it. The wonderful thing about summertime is that you can do with it what you want.

Some families like to pack up the car and visit as many new places as possible or just have a lazy summer visit with far away family and friends while others like to stay home and enjoy the break from school routines and homework.

Whatever you like to do, we have an app that may suit your plans, read on for some summertime tech helpers!

Apps for Exploring and Learning at Home

Whether you decide to travel or not, one of our favorite apps to explore and learn is explore.org.

It is a free app that has something for all ages, ability levels, and interests related to nature.

The developers of explore.org created this app because they wanted everyone to “fall in love with the world again”. There are hundreds of livestream feeds to choose from, all organized by animal or topic.

Enjoy watching sharks, whales, dolphins, bears catching salmon swimming upstream, or otters playing in a river, or even just peaceful sunsets or the Aurora Borealis all from the comfort of your own home.

Travel Apps that Make Trip Planning Fun

If you are traveling, try out an app like Roadtrippers- Trip Planner or Autio: Road Trip & Travel App to make getting there a fun learning experience.

Roadtrippers- Trip Planner can help you find great food and interesting sites along your travel route, while Autio: Road Trip & Travel App can add a little learning to your trip by providing location-based audio stories.

If your family enjoys exploring nature or maybe even camping, the National Park Service app can help you make the most of your visit to over 420 national parks with interactive maps, self-guided tours, and other essential information like how accessible the park areas and activities are!

Helpful Tools to Find Suitable Rest Stops and Quiet Places During Road Trips

Lastly, to help everyone stay comfortable during a road trip,tools to help find the best places to stop for a break. Take a look at Flush Toilet Finder & Map for a simple way to find the best rated toilets or WheelMate to find stops along your route with accessible restrooms and parking.

If you or someone you are traveling with has auditory sensitivity or you just want to find a place to stop where everyone can have a conversation without noise interference, check out SoundPrint, Find a Quiet Place.

SoundPrint is a tool with a built-in noise meter that allows users to measure the loudness of a venue and then submit that info into a shared database.  We hope your summer break is full of things that you and your family enjoy!

explore.org

Free

BridgingApps Review  

Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/explore-org/id534289239?uo=4

Google Play Store:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.actolap.explore

Web App: https://explore.org/livecams  

Roadtrippers- Trip Planer

Free • Offers In-App Purchases

BridgingApps Review

Apple App Store:  https://apps.apple.com/us/app/roadtrippers-trip-planner/id944060491?uo=4 

Google Play Store:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.roadtrippers&hl=en_US&gl=US

Autio: Road Trip & Travel App

Free • Offers In-App Purchases

BridgingApps Review 

Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/autio-road-trip-travel-app/id1300494609?uo=4  

Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=autio.audio.travel.guide.stories    

National Park Service

Free

BridgingApps Review 

Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/national-park-service/id1549226484?uo=4 

Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gov.nps.mobileapp

Web App: https://www.nps.gov/index.htm 

Flush Toilet Finder & Map

Free 

BridgingApps Review 

Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flush-toilet-finder-map/id955254528?uo=4

Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=toilet.samruston.com.toilet

WheelMate

Free 

BridgingApps Review 

Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/wheelmate/id515277627?uo=4

SoundPrint, Find A Quiet Place

Free

BridgingApps Review

Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/soundprint-find-a-quiet-place/id971189322?uo=4   

Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.soundprint

Check out BridgingApps App Search Tool to search for apps, create lists and even share them. 

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.

Amy Fuchs is the Program Manager at BridgingApps and a former special education teacher. Amy Barry is the Digital Marketing Lead at BridgingApps and is the mother of five children.

Cristen Reat is co-founder of BridgingApps and a mother who found success when using a mobile device with her younger son who has multiple disabilities. We share a passion for using mobile technology to enhance the lives of people of all ages with disabilities. 

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More Helpful Articles

• Tech Tools Crushing the Summer Slide
• Is ESY (Extended School Year) for My Child?
• Keep Your Child Learning and Thriving This Summer – Simple Tips That Work
• 5 Amazing Adventures: Breaking Barriers for People With Disabilities
• Peaceful, Easy Sensory Solutions To Summertime Transitions
• How to Plan a Safe and Fun Summer (Part 2)
• How Can Parents Prepare for an IEP Meeting? (Part 1)
• Encourage Traveling for All Without Limits
• Travel with Ease: A Stress-Free Guide to Managing Special Dietary Needs
• How to Wrap up the School Year and Survive Summer Plus Downloadable Survival Notecards

This post originally appeared on our May/June 2024 Magazine