Review of Ipad free apps for Autism

Alright, since my son has started using an Ipad with his Nana, I have now seen a few and before I got lost in the Ipad world of Apps, I thought I would review them from the childs view point and the Parents view point.

First:

Model Me- Going places:
This little app is handy. As a child who has limited vocabulary, it engages them with little stories about various places they might visit. As a parent, it is kind of limited and the places they show might not be relevant to your local area. Tho, on the plus side it does encourage speech and explains in a way that is clear as to what the places is and does.
The Model me series is awesome tho, overall. They have youtube videos about behavior and things they should and shouldn't do. i encourage you all to check them out!


Second:
Tom the Talking Cat:
My son LOVES this thing! It does have some interactive aspects to it and the voice that repeats them seems to engage. Yet, as a parent it does encourage the repetitive behaviors or phrases that you might be discouraging. It does have other features that you have to purchase, if you so desire ( tho i have not yet). The voice is annoying.. VERY VERY annoying if you have to listen to it long enough. Yet, it is sure to become a hit! It does encourage pronunciation I have noticed. If my son does not Annunciation his words right, it will say it and he will fix his mistake and try to say it correctly the next time.

Third:
ArtikPix:
This is an app that a child can love because it repeats after them! It has engaging pictures and makes them think outside the box. As a parent you will get to see them laugh and smile as they learn how to pronounce new words! You will see what they learn as they learn it. It has different Categories to choose from. The cards are easy to read and understand ( even if they are not high tech as far as visual color or drawing goes). I find it is a great accessory to use as a follow up to any speech therapy that my son may be using at school.


Fourth:
abc PocketPhonics Lite: letter sounds & writing + first words:
This works great for my son. He can use his finger or a stylus to write or learn to write his alphabet or his numbers. He loves to see his work pop up on the screen as he does it. This app gives voice instructions on how to write. I must say, once he did it a few times, and did the letters correctly, he was finished with wanting to use this app. It wasn't that interesting for that long. Too much like school work I think.

Fifth:
Balloons: Tap and Learn
This game is great for interactiveness. It engages by using stars as a reward. My son didn't even know he was learning anything! He just loved the balloons and how cool the experience was! While I got to see him identify numbers, colors ect. They also have a math expansion kind of thing for older kids ( late kindergarden to grade 2 I would say), where they add, subtract and multiplication using the same concept.