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If you need a last-minute gift for a kid with autism, and that kid has an iDevice (iPad or iPod touch), consider hitting the iTunes store and gifting that child an app or two. Then, consider choosing apps that focus on fun as much as or even instead of communication and learning. Apps that encourage kids to use the iPad the way they want to, to play like the children they are. (Apps that just happen to all cost less than $3.)
Don't get me wrong, the 2010 hoopla about iPads helping kids with autism learn and communicate makes me happy, especially as people outside the autism community get to see our our kids through the lens of success rather than pity. I've written before about what a big deal the iPad is for my son Leo, for whom autism means challenges with learning -- and with entertaining himself.
But here we are, more than six months after Leo got the iPad he still asks to use every day. My son has spent a lot of time with a lot of apps. It's clear that while he appreciates functional, supportive apps like Stories2Learn and iWriteWords, he chooses apps that entertain him. So, here's my list of eight apps that Leo thinks are fantastically fun, plus two excellent educational apps that we play together. (If you really want a list of general autism app recommendations, see Leo's iPad Apps for Kids With Autism Starter Kit.)
My First Tangrams ($1.99): Leo loves tangrams IRL, so we tried this app to see if he'd like a digital version. Yes, he does! A lot. That picture above? That's our boy smiling giddily as he whips through a session of My First Tangrams. He's good at it, as you can see in the video below. I thought he might have trouble with the app's slightly tricky navigation and categorization, but no. I showed him how to find his favorite mode one time -- and the next time he picked up the iPad, he chose My First Tangrams, then went straight to his favorite section.
Tappy Tunes ($1.99, iPad users need iOS 4.0): Leo has always loved Tappy Tunes, which lets him tap out his favorite songs in the rhythm of his choosing -- but lately he's been stepping up the play. He used to need us to help him navigate the text-based song menus, but now he uses his excellent visual memory to remember what "This Old Man" and "Pop Goes the Weasel" look like -- and uses the app completely independently. He also requests that we sing along to his "playing," as our accompanist. So he's playing, but he's also pre-reading, and interacting with us along the way. So many pluses.
Hand Drums ($1.99): Drums are a logical step for the touch-based iPad interface, so Hand Drums is not the only drumming app available, but it is the one Leo likes. The drums are big and realistic-looking, with no other distracting graphics while play mode is active. Leo needs our help to change the drum sound/type and to cue up background songs from iTunes for him to play along.
Splish Splash Inn* ($.99:) A simple, cute counting app. Leo journeys to an undersea inn, and taps on one of ten numbered doors -- each of which is then visited by an eponymous number of sea creatures counted out in voiceover. Leo is still working on 1:1 correspondence -- on identifying numbers as amounts -- so while he thinks he is playing, Splish Splash Inn is helping to reinforce his pre-math skills. The app includes Spanish and French modes, which Leo finds fascinating. I certainly don't mind hearing my son giggling along to "neuf hippocampes" or "seis tiburones."
Monkey Preschool Lunchbox ($.99) A collection of the type of learning activities that Leo happens to prefer -- concentration, matching, sorting, color identification, first-letter correspondence -- with a silly performing monkey and virtual sticker reinforcers at the end of each session. I didn't think Leo cared about getting to put stickers on his virtual reward board, but oh my, does he ever.
Thomas [the Tank Engine] Game Pack ($2.99): Hello stereotypes -- Leo has autism and is a Thomas the Tank Engine fan. He may not play with his set of 50+ engines every day, but he
