PECS Phase III, SpeechTree, See Me Go Potty
By Shane Nurnberg on Oct 20, 2012 | In Apps | 1 feedback »
I just completed reviews of the three apps named in the subject line of this post; PECS Phase III, SpeechTree, and See Me Go Potty.
Each of them are worthy, but you'll want to read the specifics here:
If you think you've seen every AAC app on the Apple Store, you better look at SpeechTree.
Over the past couple days I've sent emails to developers and offered to review some apps including Articulation Station Pro, Visual Impact Pro, Social Adventures, Dolphin Assisted Therapy, LAMP Words For Life (a $300 AAC app), and Cause and Effect Sensory. We shall see in the coming days how many of them respond and are confident enough to put their apps on the chopping block of scrutiny.
Buying Positive App Reviews?
By Shane Nurnberg on Sep 5, 2012 | In Apps | Send feedback »
This was posted a few days ago by an app developer on their Facebook page and website:
"We have 10 codes for [app name] to giveaway. Here is how to win them: Write a NEW review on iTunes for a PAID [developer name] app and post here which app you reviewed. As soon as the review goes live - which may take up to 1 hour - we will pick the first 10 people who wrote a review. Good luck!"
That's called buying positive reviews or fishing for reviews. And it's one reason that you cannot and should not trust reviews you read on the App Store. Ploys like that are misleading and dishonest and it's not the way a reputable developer should operate. Notice they didn't explicitly tell anyone to write a positive review. But you can bet they aren't giving anything to somebody who publicly trashes their app.
Admittedly, there are places other than Autism Epicenter where you can go to find app reviews.
Guided Access to Make a Huge Splash
By Shane Nurnberg on Jun 13, 2012 | In Apps | 3 feedbacks »
It may not matter to 99% of iPad users but it will indeed make a giant splash, and leave some serious ripples of joy in its wake, to those who use iPads with people who have disabilities like autism.
Just recently, earlier this week, Apple announced iOS 6 (iPhone Operating System). iOS is the firmware that runs all iPhones, iPads and iPod touches. If you use an iPad with an autistic child, or a kid that has any kind of developmental disability, you should be stoked about iOS 6. Why? Because Apple is about to make accessibility on its devices a lot more accessible!
They're dubbing it Guided Access. Apple says "Guided Access helps students with disabilities such as autism remain on task and focused on content.
April Speaking Tour
By Shane Nurnberg on May 1, 2012 | In Apps | Send feedback »
The month of April included a lot of traveling for the Nurnberg Family. And there's no problem with that! The first and the last weeks of the month we were in Southern California as I was speaking on iPads and Apps for children with disabilities in San Diego, El Centro, Oxnard, and then Santa Barbara. The audiences were large and it was a pleasure and an honor for me!
Often, when I talk about my son with a new group of people I get a bit emotional. That tends to be par for the course in my experience. And I was using many examples of how my son uses his own iPad even as I explained Assistive Touch and the importance of using restrictions in the settings area of the iPad.
