6 Autism Apps for Kids and Parents

For parents of children with autism, it can sometimes be frustrating to figure out lines of communication. The condition is marked by difficulty with social interactions, communicating, and a tendency towards repetitive behaviors. These behaviors can have a huge impact on a child’s development. For those who suffer from a more severe form, it can be frustrating for them as well. The inability to communicate properly can lead to aggravation, anxiety, and outbursts. It is a lifelong condition, but people often do well with increased skills and abilities taught to them. It is a wide spectrum disorder, so some may need only a little help while others may need a lot. These children require a different approach when it comes to learning. Thankfully, though, there are resources.

This is a list of some of the top applications for children with autism. Parents can help their child learn in his/her own way with these creative apps that were designed with the challenges of autism in mind. A few were even designed directly by parents of a child with the disorder. Some of these applications are free to download, while others require a small fee to purchase them.

Dealing with an autistic child can at times lead to a lot of frustration simply trying to figure out what exactly they want to communicate. The child’s inability to properly communicate can often leave an individual feeling anxious, aggravated, and lead to outbursts of emotions. Smartphone applications are a great way to get the child involved and keep them excited about learning new things. It provides assistance in tracking the child’s progress on how much they have achieved in certain areas. Below are a few applications to help children suffering from autism. Some of these applications are free to download, but others need to be purchased.

• AutismiHelp: This app was created by parents of children suffering from autism. They also sought the involvement of a speech pathologist for it. The main focus of this app is to provide visual learning through pictures to express what is being taught to the child. In this series, there are ten different apps to be downloaded and all are free to get.
• A BuZoo Story: This has a collection of 14 different zoo animals which are collected and help to board a bus with the help of hand gestures. The app helps the child to recognize the animals, to spell out their names, and also to listen to the story of each animal. This app is useful for those with shaky hands. It costs $15 to download it.
• First-Then Visual Schedule: The main purpose of this app is to lower the anxiety as well as increase the independence of the child. The app is a visual as well as audio tool. With the help of images, one can use them to map out their routine schedules. There can be an additional checklist as well for marking off any tasks that get completed. One can purchase this app for $9.99.
• Autism Tracker Pro: This app is considered a one-stop service app for those families or parents who want to explore autism in greater depth. The app has multiple screens and each one is dedicated to focusing on certain areas, such as behavior, health, and mood. One can also track their child’s patterns with the help of graphs as well as other kinds of analytical tools. It is a very useful app for parents since they can also add their own screen to monitor behavior in their own way. The new version of this app can be purchased for $9.99.
• Learn with Rufus Emotions: This app is designed to make a child learn how to associate facial expressions with certain kinds of emotions. The games in this app can be customized to match the skill sets of the child. It is a fun way to keep the child engaged and get them learning as well. This app can be purchased for $4.99.
• Emotions and Feelings – Autism: This app helps a child control their emotions and feelings, which they may find difficult to process. There is a social story which uses visual support to identify the feelings or to question how they are feeling. It has nine buttons, each denoting a different emotion. This app can be purchased for $0.99.