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Name the E-Newsletter Contest!
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We are looking for a name for this new publication. Please e-mail your suggestions to task@taskca.org. Thanks!
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Upcoming Assistive Technology Workshops
Apps for Older Students
Wednesday, November 11
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
TASK Anaheim
Call (714) 533-8275 for more information or to register for this workshop.
Reading and Writing Tips and Tricks
Thursday, November 12
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
TASK Anaheim
Call (714) 533-8275 for more information or to register for this workshop.
Apps for Older Students
Thursday, November 19
9:30 am - 12:30 pm
Westside Family Resource and Empowerment Center
Culver City
Call (310) 258-4243 for more information or to register for this workshop.
Reading and Writing Tips and Tricks
Wednesday, December 9
9:30 am - 12:30 pm
Westside Family Resource and Empowerment Center
Culver City
Call (310) 258-4243 for more information or to register for this workshop.
TASK Membership
Please consider joining TASK as a member! Members receive the following benefits:
- Free TECH Labs
- Bimonthly 28-page TASK newsletters
- Membership is tax-deductible
Membership is as low as $35.00 per year, per family. We need your support to continue to provide a central resource center for legal rights and responsibilities information and to continue providing TECH Center services. You can join online; visit the Membership page on our website for more information.
TASK Needs Board Members
Are you the parent of a child with special needs? Has TASK helped you in the past? Perhaps you are a professional that has worked with TASK advocates or attended one of our many workshops? TASK is currently recruiting members for our Board of Directors. Make a difference by helping to guide our organization into the future. Please note that board positions are on a volunteer basis. Board members must be willing to participate in our monthly board meetings via toll-free conference call. Call Brenda Smith, our Deputy Director, at (714) 533-8275 for more information about this exciting opportunity or to request a board packet.
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Fall is officially here, although you would not know it by our weather here in sunny Southern California! This month, I have quite an assortment of lovely assistive technologies.
First of all, I would like to extend a HUGE THANK YOU to Therapy Box for donating ALL of their wonderful apps to TASK's TECH Center. We are proud to be a preview center for this amazing company. Their apps include:
Inku
Rhyme judgment is a key skill for early reading and speech development. Help Dubdub and his friends board the rhyming bus! Designed by a speech therapist and brought to life in a fun game designed for early readers. Uniquely illustrated with a choice of either a London or New York skyline, this app is sure to engage early readers and their parents alike!
ChatAble
Create and use symbol based grids...or use photos to make visual scene displays. Or take both and create a hybrid page. The possibilities are endless with ChatAble. ChatAble is an easy to use communication aid app for people with communication difficulties who benefit from symbol and photo support. Parents, teachers and therapists can create page sets in minutes with an intuitive set up. The customization options are extensive to enable people with a range of physical, cognitive and language abilities the opportunity to use the app to communicate at home, school or with their family and friends.
Predictable: Text-Based Communication App
Multi-award winning app for people with speech disabilities who need a sleek, simple and smart way to communicate! Predictable allows a person to type a message using the intelligent word prediction, which learns their pattern of use, making prediction even faster. Use Nuance voices, record your own voice saying familiar phrases or use your voice-banked ModelTalker voice. NOTE: This app is available in multiple languages, including Spanish.
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New and Notable Info on Apps:
New App: Seasame Street and Autism, by Sesame Street (FREE!)
9 Apps and Tools that Build Better Working Memory
Reading Apps that Help People Who Are Blind Enjoy Books and News
VisionAware posted yet another super-informative assistive technology blog about reading apps on their website October 8, 2015. The piece, written by Steve Kelley, CVRT, VisionAware contributor, titled, "Five Great Reading Apps for Booklovers Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired," gives an overview of the various features offered by five iOS device-compatible reading apps (four of which are free apps). The five apps detailed include the NFB Newsline app, Voice Dream Reader, iBlink Radio, AIRS-LA, and Bard Mobile. To learn more about these apps, visit the post at VisionAware.
New Free iBook: Handsfree: Mastering Switch Control on iOS
Luis Perez and Christopher Hills have released an iBook about switch control. Switch Control is a powerful accessibility feature that is built into iOS and OS X to allow users who are unable to use a touch screen hands-free access beyond simple taps. With Switch Control, users with motor difficulties can perform most multi-touch gestures, control many of the media playback features of their devices and more. This book is an international collaboration between Christopher Hills, an accessibility consultant and expert Switch Control user from Australia, and Luis Perez, an inclusive learning consultant based in the U.S. With step by step directions supported by closed captioned videos that explore each Switch Control feature in detail, these two fellows will have you well on your way to becoming a true Switch Master. The book covers the latest Switch Control features introduced in iOS 9. You can download a copy of the book for free.
Everyone probably best knows Siri as female and American, but what you may not realize is that you can actually change Siri to a male voice and even give it a different accent or language. Normally when you activate Siri, it will respond in an American, female voice, which many iPhone and iPad users may have long assumed is the only way "she" works. You can, however, change Siri so it responds in a male voice, with either an Australian or British accent, and even another language. Read the article on How-To-Geek to learn how.
Pictello meets Tar Heel Reader
Ever heard of Tar Heel Reader? It's a wonderful collection of free books on a wide range of topics, founded by the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies. From now on, you can import and enhance Tar Heel Reader stories in Pictello. No need to update your Pictello, and it's free! Read more about it on the AssistiveWare website.
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Online Finds:
Get Peanutized!
2015 Attainment Catalog
The 2015 Attainment Catalog is now available to browse online or to download. Attainment Company is a wonderful resource for social and life skills curriculum, apps, software and much more!
12 Computer Programs, Websites and Apps for Making Social Stories
For many children with special needs social stories are very helpful for staying on task and ensuring that the child is prepared for future events and activities. Social stories can:
- Improve a child's behavior when there are changes in routines
- Encourage a child to complete less-preferred tasks
- Reinforce or teach abstract concepts, such as time (e.g. next, later), actions and prepositions (e.g. open, put in)
- Break down multi-step tasks into smaller, more manageable parts
- Increase your child's independence by improving his ability to complete parts of his routine with less hints or prompting
Making social stories for your child with special needs can be a time-consuming task. This article from Friendship Circle features 12 sites that will help you make effective social stories.
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