Special Needs Software

Recently on Mumsclub I bumped into Carol from Special Needs Software - a fab site that I thought some of my readers might like too.

Carol has a 3 year old son with severe learning difficulties and sensory issues, which make it really difficult for him to engage with toys and activities. Once a week, he attends a Child Development Centre for specialist therapy, where they have discovered that he responds really well to their touch screen computer. In fact, he enjoys it so much that it is the one activity they choose to calm him down if ever he becomes upset!

After finding this out she thought it would be a great idea to get a touch screen monitor for home use and as she is a web developer by trade, she decided to put her skills to good use by creating simple games for him to play using his new touch screen computer. Carol is still at the very early stages of developing the games, but she has found that her son enjoys playing with them even when the interaction is quite limited! So, she created the website to share the games with other touch screen users – many of the games are still in development, but are still playable to some extent!

Examples include:

Rockets

If you’re using a mouse, the rocket will follow the mouse pointer around the game. Click anywhere to hear a rocket sound! For touch screen use, touch the screen and the rocket will head to that spot, accompanied by a rocket sound!

Paint the Screen

Click on or touch one of the coloured squares to change the screen colour. You’ll also reveal a hidden picture and accompanying sound! For older children, why not try using this as a memory game (e.g. after going through all the colours & pictures, ask if they can remember where the digger is).

Ladybirds
This is a really simple cause & effect game, where there are two on-screen objects (ladybirds initially) which are stationary. By touching the ladybird, you can make it run up and off the screen. When both ladybirds are off the screen, another two objects appear (there are also ladybirds, spiders, frogs and rockets). This is also good for turn taking, as there are two of each object. Your child could touch one then you (or another child) could touch the other, and so on.

Thomas that Tank Engine Emotions Game

I've just seen a link to a new game based on Thomas the Tank Engine to help children learn emotions so I thought I'd share it. The computer based (free) Emotions Game helps children to identify emotions ranging from happy, sad, angry, surprised or scared has been produced following a strategic partnership between Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect) and the popular children’s character Thomas & Friends, owners HIT Entertainment and Australian agent, Haven Licensing, to help increase awareness about autism. The game features five trains in their shed and the child is asked to 'click on the (emotion) train', when they click on the right train the others go back into the shed with the doors closed and you get a round of applause.


In the UK, a survey of parents of children with autism, commissioned by The National Autistic Society (NAS) and HIT Entertainment, demonstrated that many children with autism have a particular love for Thomas the Tank Engine which may be due to the clear facial expressions that make the characters easy to identify. In recognition of this all the royalties from the book How Do you Feel, Thomas? go to the NAS. This book is a lovely way for children to learn about emotions - pull the tab or turn the wheel to find out What makes Thomas the Tank Engine happy? What makes Harold excited?


If you are interested in teaching emotions take a look at the emotions resources at Littlesheep Learning or read our other blog posts.