Today I'll be reviewing some of the iPad apps that I use with my son. He is currently 2 years old with severe hypotonia, seizure disorder, macrocephaly and CVI. Although I have to mention that we are not sure whether it’s due to CVI or severe Hypotonia and motor weakness that my son is unable to touch the screen. I try the hand over hand and hand under hand but nothing seems to encourage him to touch the screen. Yet we keep trying. If anybody else has any suggestions for us on this regard it would be really great!
Please Note: Some of the apps I’ve reviewed have movement, colors and brightness which may induce seizures in some children so please use your discretion in deciding which apps would be safe for your children. Also make sure you move the iPad away from the child while changing from one app to another because the sudden change in contrast or brightness will cause discomfort to their vision or may even induce seizures. And finally don't leave a child unattended with an iPad!
1. Peekaboo HD by Gotclues, Inc
Star Rewards * * * *
This is a typical barn animal’s app recommended my son's speech therapist. The animal make sound from behind a hay stack and on the touch of the screen the hay moves away and only the animal is focused on the screen. My son is attentive 6 out of 10 times. We use the hand over hand method to help him touch the screen to see the animals behind the hay stack.
2. iLove Fireworks Lite by Fireworks Games
Star Rewards * *
Well I still have this app and occasionally show it to my son. He is not so interested probably because the screen totally black and fireworks only occur when you touch the screen. And touching the screen it a little difficult without guidance for my son. I have to say that the fireworks that appear are not as bright as I expected, I believe that brightness could motivate my child a little more.
3. Art of Glow by Natenai Ariyatrakool
Star Rewards * * * * *
This is one of the best apps and my son's attention is 99%. You should definitely try it. The reason it is so good is that not only are the colors bright but there is constant motion in the images that we draw on the screen. As we know that children with CVI require movement in the object they see or we'll notice that the child we move his/her head or body while trying to look at things.
4. Pandora Radio by Pandora Media, Inc
Star Rewards * * *
Wondering why I'm mentioning some radio app here? Well because they have stations that play children's music. This app could be played in the background while trying to show some visual app to the child. I'll mention about playing Pandora on the apps that are otherwise only visual as I discus them further on in this list.
5. ChoiceBoard-Creator by Techno Chipmunk
Star Rewards - Not Rewarded Yet
This will be a great app only when the child is able to cognitively touch and choose what they prefer or want. As currently my son does not cognitively want something or express his feelings or even touch any object including the iPad screen I’m unable to reward this app. But I'm sure this will come handy someday so I have downloaded it. It’s easily customizable. we can take pictures of the choices using the iPad itself and we can manipulate the number of choices we want to present to the child. Can be used in place of a communication Board when necessary.
6. Tap-n-See Zoo Lite by Little Bear Sees
Star Rewards * * * *
Nicely designed app focusing on children with CVI. I use the Lite version with my son mostly when he is lying on his sides. He liked to watch the animals move on the screen, more so because it was a black background and the animals were red (the preferred color for children with CVI) When his hands or fingers accidently touch the screen the animals move towards the direction of the touch and if my son's extremities accidentally touch the animal itself then the animal enlarges in size and we hear a rewarding sound like the laughter of a child or applause. The rewarding sound was attractive for my son and motivated him to keep his hands and fingers closer to the iPad screen.
7. Piano Free with Songs by Better day Wireless Star Rewards * * * * *
My speech therapist recommended this app. And Sripathi liked it instantly. Because of the black and white contrast. There were several instances he touched the screen to play music. Not sure if he touched the screen anticipating hearing music or just trying to reach and touch the contrastingly looking screen. Sometimes I feel it’s the motivation of the rewarding sounds because I know he likes to look as black and white books (the one I show my son is called "Look Look! by Peter Linenthal") though he attentively watches every page of the book he is not motivated to touch them. Whatever be the reason I'm glad he is motivated to look and reach. Here is a video of my son using the piano app.
8. finger drums! by Indigo Penguin Limited
Star Rewards * * *
This is a very recent app that I’m trying to use with my son. I like the fact that the drums move and vibrate to the touch; they are again in contrasting black and white. I would say with consistency he would show the as much interest in this app like the piano app.
9. Cartwheel by Chris Allert
Star Rewards Not Rewarded Yet
This is an app that will go great with Pandora, preferably a station that plays classical music. I use Andre Rieu. Only thing I would have liked is if the colors were brighter or if the lines or images that appear could have been thicker. But I guess it would be a nice app to use when the room is dark and the child is in Active Alert state. 10. Ooze by Collective Cognition Star Rewards Not Rewarded Yet This is a nice app similar to "Art of Glow". But this is more like a lava lamp. The color keeps changing and oozing on the screen. Also you can drag the colors in different direction. This again is a great app in combination with one of Pandora's classical music stations.
