The BrainPOP app provides a mobile interface for accessing animated videos and related content that is also available at www.brainpop.com. The app features access to a limited number of free movies and requires a paid subscription to unlock more than 750 educational topics. BrainPOP animations are accurate, engaging, and fun to watch. Check with your school to see if they have a subscription that includes home use. If they do, you can use the school subscription to log in and access all available content.
On the surface, Notability appears to be a simpleapplication for storing and organizing notes. More powerful than the built-innotepad app, Notability provides the ability to create separate color-codednotebooks that can help students organize their work. Notability does more than just text, however.Users can jot down drawings and figures using their finger, or aniPad-compatible stylus. Web clipping allows the addition of hyperlinked contentfrom the Internet. There is even a built-in audio recorder to capture spokennotes.
Sharing content from Notability is easy but powerful. Notescan be shared by E-Mail, Dropbox, Google Drive, Twitter, and more. One of myfavorite features, however, is the ability to sync notebooks with several cloudservices including Drobox and Google Drive. This provides a means for backup ofdata, and also the ability to open and edit notebooks from a computer.
Notability is marketed by Ginger Labs and is available inthe iTunes App Store for $1.99.
We have tried a number of apps that provide activity schedules to support students on the autism spectrum. The First Then Visual Scheduler HD (FTVS HD) is by far one of the best and most flexible apps that we have found. Creating an activity schedule with FTVS HD is as easy but powerful. The app includes a diverse library of stock images and users also have the ability to Google image search and/or the built-in camera. Audio prompts and video models can also be included in each step of the schedule. Flexibility is a key feature of FTVS HD. Schedules can be displayed and used by students in several formats on the iPad including single image, two images at a time, scrollable checklist, and two drag and drop formats. This enables users to select and work in the format that they prefer.
Monkey Preschool Lunchbox is a fun and engaging game that focuses on a variety of skills. This app provides the opportunity for students to match and count objects, select pictures that begin with a specified letter, put a puzzle together, identify objects that are different from the rest, and receptively identify shapes and colors. 
stories come to life with Pictello. The easy-to-use interface allows students and teachers to create multimedia stories and presentations using pictures from the iPad photo library. Audio for Pictello can be produced using a text-to-speech engine, or recorded by the teacher or student. When working with students on the autism spectrum, Pictello is a great tool for creating multimedia social stories. 
Conversation Builder is a must-have application for every speech language pathologist (SLP) working with students on the Autism Spectrum. This app prompts students through each stage of an interactive conversation and records their spoken responses. At the end of each session, Conversation Builder plays back the entire conversation at a natural pace so that students can hear themselves successfully exchanging comments with their virtual peers.
Little Writer PRO is an en excellent pre-handwriting tool. This app teaches proper formation techniques for upper and lower case letters and numbers and shapes. It also provides exercises for users to trace individual letters to create simple words and offers corresponding sounds with the letters. Little Writer provides a starting point in the form of a picture and prompts the user to trace the letter, number, etc. following a pattern of other pictures. If the formation is incorrect or does not stay within guidelines, it will prompt the user to start over. When tracing is completed correctly, the app will provide positive verbal reinforcement. Little Writer is completely customizable and allows the user to select the order (random or sequential) or change the formation pattern of letters and numbers, and choose the difficulty level. This app serves as a great tool for motivation and keeps students engaged with its fun pictures and backgrounds. The music and sounds alone are a lot of fun!
As one of the first Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) applications made for Apple mobile devices, Proloquo2Go has been around long enough to work out bugs and develop a strong user base. It provides an easy to use “voice” for individuals who cannot otherwise speak. One very important feature of Proloquo2Go is its ability to work on iPod, iPad, and iPhone platforms. For users with fine motor or visual disabilities, the large screen of the iPad may be the best interface. For other users, the portability of an iPod Touch or iPhone can support independence in the real world. At $189 for a single user license, Proloquo2Go is one of the most expensive apps used in the field of special education. It is important to have a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) evaluate students to determine the suitability of this application versus many of the competing products.
Anyone who appreciates a good narrative or who would just like to assist their child in describing their experiences or making up a story will appreciate The Super Duper Story Maker Application. When creating a story with this app you can choose from over 800 images that are in various categories, such as people, places, animals, transportation and time. You can add personal photos from your camera roll to your story. Budding artists can add their own drawings. Now let’s add some dialogue or description either through writing, typing or recording. The app then turns your pages just like a book as you listen to and view your creation. I can have students work on vocabulary, sentence making, grammar, story elements and problem-solving while using this app and at the end I have something I can print or share by e-mail. 
The Clicker Docs application is an assistive word processor that can support students with a variety of disabilities. It uses word prediction technology to support students with correctly spelled and grammatically correct suggestions. Synthesized speech allows students to review their work by listening for auditory cues. Word banks can be set up to provide students with advanced vocabulary to support their writing. Finally, Clicker Docs integrates with DropBox to provide secure cloud storage and document sharing. 
