Christmas iPad, Digital Books Open New World of Learning

Did you give your child an iPad for Christmas? Will they be using it for school work? Are you struggling with where to find educational books online that aren't wildly expensive? Our good friend Valerie Chernek has provided us with an amazing resource for those looking for free textbooks for their children to read on the iPad. Read all about digital learning and where to find high quality e-books for free in our latest blog!

http://www.cpfamilynetwork.org/blogs/ipad-opens-new-world-of-learning

The Best Apps for Children with Cerebral Palsy

Did your child receive an iPad for Christmas? We have compiled a list of APPS you made find helpful. Let us know if there are any others the community should know about in the comments!
http://www.cpfamilynetwork.org/blogs/the-best-apps-for-children-with-cerebral-palsy

Cerebral Palsy Family Network Photo Contest Winner

Photo Contest Winner: Life with Halyn

By Jamie Strickland
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This is Halyn Jean Strickland, of Roanoke Rapids, NC, and her daddy, enjoying a relaxing day at the beach. Our story begins on November 10, 2006. Halyn was born on this date at only 26 weeks gestation. She remained in the NICU from that day until February 8, 2007. She had a grade 3 IVH at birth, and she also has hydrocephalus. At 1 yr. old, she had a VP shunt inserted in her head to drain any excess cerebral spinal fluid from her head, into her abdominal cavity. She was diagnosed with spastic CP at 2 yrs. old. The CP affects her lower extremities for the most part, and slightly affects her right arm/hand as well.

From the day she came home from the hospital until her third birthday, she was fortunate to receive help from an Early Intervention Program in our area. This group helped with finding Halyn great physical, occupational, vision, and speech therapy programs. Since turning 3, she has enrolled in a special needs pre-k and kindergarten, where she continues to receive physical and vision therapy at her school.
We also incorporate physical therapy at home into her playtime. She enjoys when we lay on our backs and pretend to be in a bicycle race. This helps strengthen her legs and stretches her hamstrings. I also do my own version of hippo-therapy, by getting down on all fours and having Halyn straddle and sit on my back as I go back and forth across our living room imitating a horse. Since Halyn’s CP affects mainly her legs, her grandfather came up with an idea where the two of us would hold a broomstick in our hand and have Halyn hold on in the middle of the broomstick and carefully walk along with us. This allows Halyn to try to walk with her hands held midway of her body, rather than having her arms up in the air by holding our hands. Believe it or not, this actually does seem to help and it helps our backs too, being that we don’t have to lean over and walk along with her as she holds our hands.

Another thing that we have recently discussed was Botox treatments. We have had a consultation, but the doctor didn’t want to go forward with them at the moment and has put her on a medicine called Baclofen. She has been taking it for about 6 months now, and in my opinion, it hasn’t really helped a lot, and I am searching for another doctor that would recommend the Botox.
In addition, Halyn has a gait trainer and a wheelchair. She also wear AFO’s (leg braces), and soft knee braces, called snoopies, that keep her legs straightened out during sleep. I have also sought out others that are going through the same thing for ideas that can help improve the quality of her life, like the Cerebral Palsy Family Network. I enjoy reading the posts from others and have become friends with many.

What Works For CP Kids Photo & Video Contest!

Have you entered our “What Works For CP Kids” photo/video contest?  We are giving away 2 iPads with apps! http://www.cpfamilynetwork.org/stories/cp-family-network-ipad-giveaway-photo-contest-rules

http://youtu.be/JChidj_Z54I

iPhone & iPad: IOS 6 Disability Features Overview

September 19, 2012
By Luis Perez 

Apple has been working on making the upcoming iOS 6 more accessible to those with hearing, vision, learning, and mobility disorders.
At WWDC Apple introduced Guided Access, which helps those with learning disabilities remain focused on tasks by restricting touch input on selected screen areas. A parent or instructor can also disable the home button, preventing the user from leaving an app. For people with autism or learning disorders this feature will be very welcome, making the iPad a perfect tool for focused learning.

VoiceOver, which aids users with low-vision or blindness, will be improved as well. It will now integrate with AssistiveTouch, Zoom and most impressively, Maps. When coupled with the upcoming turn-by-turn navigation, this new accessibility may remove the need for many current apps that specialize in navigation for people with vision loss. Also those with the new iPad will have the improved Siri digital assistant, who will be partnering with apps that will keep users up to date on sports, movies, and more.
For those with hearing loss, Apple announced on their Web site that they are “working with top manufacturers to introduce hearing aids that will deliver a power-efficient, high-quality digital audio experience.” These hearing aids are being designed for use exclusively with the iPhone 4S. However, we hope to see them also work on the iPad by release date as it would be great for the elderly who often suffer from vision loss.
Overall, Apple has a great record of creating ways that allow everyone to use their iDevices. In iOS 6 they have raised the bar even further. We cannot wait to test out the newest features first hand and report to you. Do you think Apple could do more or have any other suggestions to help those with disabilities?

Here is a more detailed look into the new features.

• Guided Access: for children with autism, this feature will make it easier to stay on task. Guided Access enables a single app mode where the home button can be disabled, so an app is not closed by mistake. In addition, this feature will make it possible to disable touch in certain areas of an app’s interface (navigation, settings button, etc.). This feature could be used to remove some distractions, and to simplify the interface and make an app easier to learn and use for people with cognitive disabilities. Disabling an area of the interface is pretty easy: draw around it with a finger and it will figure out which controls you mean. I loved how Scott Forstall pointed out the other applications of this technology for museums and other education settings (testing), a great example of how inclusive design is for more than just people with disabilities.
• VoiceOver integrated with AssistiveTouch: many people have multiple disabilities, and having this integration between two already excellent accessibility features will make it easier for these individuals to work with their computers by providing an option that addresses multiple needs at once. I work with a wounded veteran who is missing most of one hand, has limited use of the other, and is completely blind. I can’t wait to try out these features together with him.
• VoiceOver integrated with Zoom: people with low vision have had to choose between Zoom and VoiceOver. With IOS 6, we won’t have to make that choice. We will have two features to help us make the most of the vision we have: zoom to magnify and VoiceOver to hear content read aloud and rest our vision.
• VoiceOver integrated with Maps: The VoiceOver integration with Maps should provide another tool for providing even greater  independence for people who are blind, by making it easier for us to navigate our environment.
• Siri’s ability to launch apps: this feature makes Siri even more useful for VoiceOver users, who now have two ways to open an app, using touch or with their voice.
• Custom vibration patterns for alerts: brings the same feature that has been available on the iPhone for phone calls to other alerts. Great for keeping people with hearing disabilities informed of what’s happening on their devices (Twitter and Facebook notifications, etc.).
• FaceTime over 3G: this will make video chat even more available to people with hearing disabilities.
• New Made for iPhone hearing aids: Apple will work with hearing aid manufacturers to introduce new hearing aids with high-quality audio and long battery life.
• Dictionary improvements: for those of us who work with English language learners, IOS 6 will support Spanish, French and German dictionaries. There will also be an option to create a personal dictionary in iCloud to store your own vocabulary words.
• Word highlights in speak selection: the ability to highlight the words as they are spoken aloud by text to speech benefits many  students with learning disabilities. Speak selection (introduced in IOS 5) now has the same capabilities as many third party apps in IOS 6.

These are the big features that were announced, but there were some small touches that are just as important. One of these is the deep integration of Facebook into IOS. Facebook is one of those apps I love and hate at the same time. I love the amount of social integration it provides for me and other people with disabilities, but I hate how often the interface changes and how difficult it is to figure it out with VoiceOver each time an update takes place. My hope is that Apple’s excellent support for accessibility in built-in apps will extend to the new Facebook integration, providing a more accessible alternative to the Facebook app which will continue to support our social inclusion into mainstream society. You can even use Siri to post a Facebook update.

Aside from the new features I mentioned above, I believe the most important accessibility feature shown today is not a built-in feature or an app, but the entire app ecosystem. It is that app ecosystem that has resulted in apps such as AriadneGPS and Toca Boca, both featured in today’s keynote. The built-in features, while great,  can only go so far in meeting the diverse needs of people with disabilities, so apps are essential to ensure that accessibility is implemented in a way that is flexible and customized as much as possible to each person. My hope is that Apple’s focus on accessibility apps today will encourage even more developers to focus on this market.

Another great accessibility feature that often gets ignored is the ease with which IOS can be updated to take advantage of new features such as Guided Access and the new VoiceOver integration. As Scott Forstall showed on chart during the keynote, only about 7% of Android users have upgraded to version 4.0, compared to 80% for IOS 5. What that means is that almost every IOS user out there is taking advantage of AssistiveTouch and Speak Selection, but only a very small group of Android users are taking advantage of the accessibility features in the latest version of Android.

Big props to Apple for all the work they have done to include accessibility in their products, but more importantly for continuing to show people with disabilities in a positive light. I loved seeing a blind person in the last keynote video for Siri. At this keynote, Apple showed another  blind person “taking on an adventure” by navigating the woods near his house independently. As a person with a visual disability myself, I found that inspiring. I salute the team at Apple for continuing to make people with disabilities more visible to the mainstream tech world, and for continuing to support innovation through inclusive design (both internally and through its developer community).

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iPod & iPad May Ease Transition Into Workforce For Those With Disabilties

September 6th, 2012
By Shaun Heasley
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As more people with autism and other disabilities enter the work world, a new case study suggests that arming them with specially-programmed iPods may go a long way toward achieving independence on the job.

Researchers looking for new and innovative ways to help those with disabilities adapt to the demands of employment used the Apple iPod Touch as an assistive device with three adults with the developmental disorder. The results of the small case study — published this week in the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation — were quite promising, they said.

For “Jeffrey,” 21, who struggled with transitioning from one task to the next as a custodian at Hardee’s, a series of alarms on the iPod helped keep him on schedule. The notes function of the device was also used to provide a checklist of responsibilities and remind him of calming techniques.

After just one week, Jeffrey was adept at using the iPod independently, researchers said, and no longer needed constant prompting from his job coach. He also stopped displaying behaviors like spinning, humming and stomping. A year later, researchers say that Jeffrey is still successfully using his iPod and is considered a reliable employee.

“This is an exciting time for anyone in the fields of education, physical rehabilitation, and vocational support, where we are seeing a long-awaited merging of consumer products and assistive technologies for all,” said Tony Gentry of Virginia Commonwealth University who led the research.

For the study, each person with autism was assigned a job coach and an occupational therapist who programmed their iPod to meet the specific employee’s needs. Researchers focused on the iPod Touch because it was the most suitable pocket-sized device on the market when the study was designed. The names of the participants were changed for the purposes of the report in order to protect their privacy.

In the case of “Grace,” a 60-year-old with autism, mild cerebral palsy and epilepsy, introducing the iPod Touch allowed her to independently and safely navigate her way to and from work. Before she had her iPod, Grace would often step into the street to look for the bus if it was late. Now, specially-programmed reminders and an instructional video prompt her to call the transportation company instead. Grace was also helped by having music at the ready to calm herself while she waits for her ride, the study said.

The third person to try the iPod Touch was “Lily,” a 20-year-old with autism and Down syndrome who is unable to read or tell time. Before receiving the iPod, she often became frustrated at her housekeeping job at a Virginia hospital when prompted by her job coach and was known to throw things, stomp, cry or call her mother.

Lily’s iPod was programmed with a series of apps to provide verbal alerts to prompt her throughout the day and customized picture books to help her cope with various scenarios she might encounter. Another app was also used to track her progress toward earning rewards for good behavior. By using the device, Lily soon needed her job coach to spend significantly less time with her, researchers said.

The participants are part of a larger four-year randomized trial. Though it’s not possible to draw firm conclusions from the case study since it involved such a small sample, researchers say that given the promising results so far, they are hopeful that they’ll soon be able to assess how beneficial iPods and similar devices are for workers with autism.

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Airline iPad Policy Sparks Disability Dispute

August 22, 2012
From MICHELLE DIAMENT

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American Airlines is taking heat for requiring a teen who is nonverbal to stow the iPad she relies on to communicate during a recent flight.

Carly Fleischmann, a 17-year-old with autism from Toronto, lambasted American Airlines on her Facebook page earlier this week for limiting access to the iPad she uses to speak.

On her way home from Los Angeles last Friday, Fleischmann said that a flight attendant told her to put away the tablet for takeoff and landing and was unwilling to bend even after Fleischmann’s aide explained that it was a communication device.

“She stated to me that it was the policy of the airlines that I couldn’t have my iPad and that with all her years of flying that she’s never seen or heard anybody using an iPad to communicate before,” wrote Fleischmann, who said that her communication needs have always been accommodated by the crew on previous flights.

“My iPad to me is like a voice. Can you imagine being on the airplane and (being) asked not to talk for over 25 minutes,” she wrote, adding that she was ultimately allowed to keep her iPad out after the captain of the plane intervened but the device had to be placed “in front of my seat out of my reach.”

Fleischmann, whose intellectual capabilities went unknown until age 11 when she began to type, is well-known with her story having been featured on ABC News, CNN and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” among others. She has a strong social media presence with over 42,000 fans on Facebook and some 26,000 Twitter followers and they were quick to respond, flooding American Airlines’ Facebook page to demand answers.

Airline officials responded directly to many of the postings indicating that they have reached out to Fleischmann privately, but that the flight attendant acted in compliance with the airline’s policy and federal rules.

“Our flight attendants are responsible for following U.S. Department of Transportation regulations on the accommodation of customers with disabilities,” airline spokesman Ed Martelle said in a statement to Disability Scoop. “American’s electronic device policy is designed to be in full compliance with the DOT. Likewise, federal safety rules require the stowage of personal items during takeoff and landing and prohibit the use of electronic devices at the same periods. We regret any discomfort Carly felt or difficulty this may cause customers.”

Federal rules and American Airlines’ policy on the use of electronics make exceptions for certain medical devices including hearing aids and pacemakers but do not specifically mention assistive and augmentative communication devices.

Late Wednesday, Fleischmann said she was working to get a meeting with representatives of American Airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration to discuss the matter.

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Disability & Technology: Using an Ipad to Communicate

As technology improves, it has greatly influenced the disabled community. For those that don't have the ability to communicate, using an APP on an IPad can be the bridge that was missing for so many years.  With touchscreens only needing the simplest of motor skills to operate, it has opened up a whole new world to those who previously had no way of communicating. Check out this story of one little boy and how his IPad has changed his and his families lives.

http://www.cpfamilynetwork.org/in-the-news/disability-technology-using-an-ipad-to-communicate

DIY Ipad Stylus for those with Cerebral Palsy

One of our community members shared this awesome DIY Ipad Stylus tutorial.  Cerebral Palsy can severely impair motor skills and often leave a person unable to control their limbs in precise manners.  With the recent use of touchscreen devices for education, entertainment, and communication it has become imperative that these motor skills limitations are overcome.  This is really an awesome modification to simple household items, that has allowed a person with a disability to actually be able to use a touchscreen device with precision and ease.  Do any of you have similar methods of bridging the motor skills gap?

http://arearrangedlife.com/2012/08/16/adapted-stylus-straight-from-the-kitchen-sink/

Special Kids’ Worlds Open Through Mobile Apps

By John Hartford

Mobile communications technology for use by children with disabilities is exploding. New applications for children with movement, speech, hearing and visual challenges seem to appear daily on the market.  As a result of these new technologies, new worlds are opening for these children.   These devices and apps are providing children who experience movement and communication challenges with incredible tools for academics, communication and socialization

Most of these applications run on iPads or iPhones, although they also are available for other tablets and smart phones. Some encourage wrist and finger movements to help develop small motor skills; others make it possible for young children with speech challenges to communicate through the use of pictures.  Word and picture-to-sound applications give voice to older children and open up social interaction. Already in use by many schools and therapists, applications to assist children in cognitive skills building abound.

Most of these applications are fairly inexpensive. But you’ll need a device like an iPad, which costs about $500 new, to get started. While sifting through the many available applications can be frustrating, especially if you’re a “newbie” to the technology scene, there are a number of helpful websites that offer reviews and video demonstrations to help you choose. Here are some of the best:

Momswithapps – This first-rate site run by moms includes a section on apps for special needs. The moms work with software developers to fine-tune their products and encourage parents to give them feedback to make products better.

Apple Special Education – The special education section of Apple’s website lists 72 applications for the iPhone and 13 applications for the iPad in 10 categories ranging from communication to emotional development and life skills

About.com Apps for People with Special Needs – This site offers reviews from parents and users of applications for iPads and iPhones.

Apps for Children with Special Needs – This site provides videos of many applications, allowing parents to see how they work before buying. It also offers an extensive list of free applications.

Babies with iPads – Focuses on infants and toddlers with developmental delays and how technology can help build basic skills. A recent article lists a therapist’s top 10 applications for children with cortical vision impairment.

The Friendship Circle – Offers a wealth of resources for special needs community, including a list of applications for Android devices.

Of course one of the best ways to choose an application is to ask your child’s therapists and teachers what they recommend.  But no matter what you choose, today’s mobile software applications are making it possible for children with cerebral palsy to interact with their world better than ever before.

For more information please visit:
http://www.cpfamilynetwork.org/

Kids and Seniors Warmly Welcome CP Families to Easter Seals

We recently gave the Easter Seals Inter-Generational Center in Silver Spring, MD, a $2,500 grant to help make improvements to their facility. The CP Family Network’s grant will be used to replace cribs in the nursery, allowing the Center’s hard-working staff to focus their money and attention on the wonderful programs they offer to children and adults with special needs.

The CP Family Network supports Easter Seals in its mission to ensure that all people with disabilities or special needs and their families have equal opportunities to live, learn, work and play in their communities. We look forward to seeing how our donation impacts the lives of the special needs children they serve. To see photos of the donation and the Silver Spring facility, watch this video and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Here is the video!

http://youtu.be/Q2VTzhdUlH4