Except, of course, for the gazillions of apps you can fill them with.
So when the time came to pick which apps to download I was at a loss as to what to choose first. I knew the boys would like Angry Birds because they have always enjoyed playing it on my iPhone so that was an easy choice but what about apps that would help enhance their language and sociability? Which ones would be best to help them with their IEP goals?
Thankfully I knew I could turn to my Twitter pal Shannon Des Roches Rosa of Squidalicious with my questions. Over a year ago her son Leo won an iPad in a raffle contest and she created an awesome spreadsheet detailing dozens of apps in various genres for parents like myself wanting to know which are the best of the best for children with autism.
Her list did not disappoint!
So, to expand upon her list I thought I'd share with you some of the Trouble Brother's favorite iPad apps:
Talking Tom 2 (FREE!)
Tom is an incredibly annoying cat who will repeat everything your child says in a silly voice. This app is great for promoting verbalization children. My boys especially like petting him so he makes a sweet purring noise.
Well, that and the fart sounds.
National Geographic World Atlas HD ($1.99)
Noah loves maps and if he could have a real globe he would gladly spin it and name the states, countries, and oceans for hours. Lucky for us the iPad had an inexpensive app that was perfect for my little world explorer.
iTubeList (FREE)
One of the first things I did when the boys got their iPads was to disable the YouTube app. If you've ever done a search for "Dora the Explorer" in YouTube you'll know why. Apparently there are hundreds of sick people out there who like to take a perfectly innocent children's program and fill it with foul language, violence, and inappropriate music.
Thankfully the iTubeList app allows parents to locate child-friendly material from YouTube and organize it by genre or keywords such as silly songs or cartoons. Then your child can watch those episodes and ONLY those that you have pre-approved.
Garage Band ($4.99)
This app was created especially for kids like my son, Sam. Sam is a huge fan of music and especially drumming. When he was 12 months old we went for his well baby checkup and the pediatrician commented on how he was drumming in near perfect rhythm with the crayon she had given him to color with.
However, given that we live in a condominium and don't lavish the idea of our neighbors showing up at our door carrying pitchforks we have never bought him a drum set.
Which is exactly why Garage Band is a GODSEND! The following is a description of the app from their website. They can describe it so much better than I ever could!
GarageBand turns your iPad into a collection of Touch Instruments and a full-featured recording studio — so you can make music anywhere you go. Use Multi-Touch gestures to play pianos, organs, guitars, drums, and basses on your iPad. They sound and play like their counterparts, but let you do things you could never do on a real instrument.
iWriteWords ($2.99)
Handwriting is every mother's kryptonite. It seems our kids are either born with the gift of good penmanship or they aren't. And if they aren't its like pulling teeth to teach them and it ends up being very little fun for anyone involved.
This is why iWriteWords is so awesome. It makes teaching handwriting fun!
Drawing Pad ($1.99)
Do you have a little artist in your house? Or perhaps you have a little crayon yielding terrorist who has turned their bedroom walls into works of "art"? If so, this app is going to save your sanity as well as the need to repaint on a yearly basis.
Sesame Street Monster Maker ($3.99)
Sam LOVES this app. Even though it is meant for younger children and is overpriced (in my opinion) I love that it makes him so dang happy. His favorite part is that each season the app updates with new backgrounds, new props, etc. that reflect that season.
Ruckus Media Group ($3.99 each)
Ruckus is one company that has hit gold when it comes to churning out quality educational apps for children. Ruckus began with classic children's stories (such as The Velveteen Rabbit) narrated by famous actors and actresses. My favorite feature was the option to record the stories in my own voice given my boys were more likely to tune in to the story if it was read in Mommy's voice.
Today Ruckus has expanded its company to include a number of educational apps, including: Spot the Dot by children's author David A. Carter and Rainforest Survival Challenge which turns your child into an amazon conservationist as they help animals and plants thrive in their habitats.
Word Wagon by Duck Duck Moose ($1.99)
This is another app that was recommended to me by Shannon and my boys have really enjoyed it. Word Wagon teaches your child letters, phonics, and spelling and awards them with correct answers with stars that are placed in the sky to solve a constellation puzzle.
As of right now we only own the Word Wagon app but after looking at the other apps offered by Duck Duck Moose I do believe we will be expanding our collection in the coming weeks.
I'd love to know what apps are you and your kid's tried and true favorites. Please leave me a comment sharing your favorites!
Who knows? I might have to do a second iPad app update in a few months!
