TECH Tidbits from TASK
Team of Advocates for Special Kids' Assistive Technology E-Mail Newsletter 

May 2016
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Upcoming Assistive Technology Workshops
  
  

APPtastic Adventures: Fun and Educational Apps for Special Education
Wednesday, May 18
9:30 am - 11:30 am
South Central Los Angeles Regional Center
Family Resource Center
Los Angeles
Please call the Family Resource Center at (213) 743-3079 for more information or to register for this workshop.    


APPtastic Adventures: Fun and Educational Apps for Special Education
Wednesday, May 25
9:30 am - 12:30 am
TASK South Gate
Please call (562) 529-5599 for more information or to register for this workshop.  

  
APPsolute Fun: iDevice Apps for Early Learning
Thursday, June 2
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
TASK Anaheim
Please call (714) 533-8275 for more information or to register.  

  
AT 101
Tuesday, June 7
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Parents' Place
West Covina
Please call Parents' Place at (626) 919-1091for more information or to register.   


AT and the IEP
Tuesday, June 14
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
TASK Anaheim
Please call (714) 533-8275for more information or to register.

  
APPsolute Fun: iDevice Apps for Early Learning
Tuesday, June 21
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Orange County Office
Santa Ana
Please call Scarlet VonThenen at (714) 588-4404 for more information or to register. 


AT 101
Wednesday, June 22
9:30 am - 12:30 pm 
Westside Family Resource and Empowerment Center
Culver City
Please call Jennifer Hernandez at (310) 258-4243 for more information or to register.   


For more workshops, including our workshops on special education and parental rights and responsibilities under the law, please visit the full workshop schedule on the TASK website.  
  
  
  
TASK Membership  
  
  
Please consider joining TASK as a member! Members receive the following benefits: 
  • Free TECH Labs
  • Bimonthly 28-page TASK newsletters 
  • Membership is tax-deductible
Membership is as low as $35.00 per year, per family. We need your support to continue to provide a central resource center for legal rights and responsibilities information and to continue providing TECH Center services. You can join online; visit the Membership page on our website for more information. 
  
  
 
May is upon us and summer is heading our way! This month, I have some great information for you on upcoming innovative technologies and some interesting apps to help us all stay healthy. First, here is some information on our favorite TECH program, Camp TECHie!

Camp TECHie: Six Weeks of Social, Life, and Communication Skills activities presented by TASK
  
CAMP TECHIE is intended to help school-aged children (ages five through 18) of all abilities learn and reinforce social, life and communication skills through the use of various methods including specialized software, iPad applications, arts and crafts, games and group activities. 

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND THIS YEAR: COMMUNICATION CORNER, facilitated by Bernadette Kennard, Speech Language Pathologist.

CAMP TECHie takes place on Thursdays from 2:00 - 4:00 pm, beginning July 7th through August 11th, 2016 at our Anaheim location:

Team of Advocates for Special Kids
100 W. Cerritos Ave.
Anaheim, CA 92805
 
Registration begins May 31, 2016. Space is limited to 12 campers. Enrollment priority goes to returning campers, current TASK Members, then new members. ALL REGISTRATIONS MUST BE POSTMARKED BY JUNE 17th.
 
For more information, visit our Camp TECHie page or e-mail [email protected].
New and Exciting Technology News:
  
Facebook's Tool to Help the Blind "See" Images Just Launched for iOS
Facebook has launched a tool, Automatic Alternative Text, for blind and visually impaired people to "see" images on the site. For people using screen readers to identify what's displayed, AAT uses object recognition technology to generate descriptions of photos on Facebook. This tool, led by Facebook's accessibility team,  has been several months in the making . For more information, read the complete article on TechCrunch.

Perkins Wins Google.org Grant for Micronavigation App
Google.org has awarded Perkins a $750,000 grant to build an innovative mobile app that will help people who are blind access public transportation. The Perkins app, slated for release within a year, will help users locate specific locations, like bus stops, which are often difficult to find using traditional GPS. For the full story, read the complete announcement on the Perkins School for the Blind website.

GlassOuse: A Head And Mouth Controlled Mouse For People With Disabilities (Reprinted from the Assistive Technology Blog, written by Venkat Rio) 
For amputees, people with spinal cord injuries, stroke patients, and other who have bad motor skills, a mouse for computers or their fingers for tablets or phones are not the most feasible ways to operate their devices. GlassOuse, a new Bluetooth-operated eye and mouth controlled device, is meant for people who cannot use tracking devices in the traditional sense. The device is worn like eyeglasses and has a "button" attached to it. Moving the head moves the mouse on the screen and also allows scrolling, and biting the attached (antibacterial) button performs clicks on the screen. It is an extremely light device and weighs only 50 grams (less than 2 ounces). Read the rest of the article on the Ability Tools website or watch a video of this technology in action.
FREE Apps for Diabetes:

I GOT THIS: An Interactive Story
I GOT THIS, created by UC Berkeley's The Lawrence Hall of Science, is an interactive, first-person educational story that follows a young teenage girl who discovers that she has type 2 diabetes, one of the fastest growing diseases in the US and around the world. Told in a real-world setting, I GOT THIS focuses on the causes, symptoms, prevention, and social aspects of the life-changing disease. I GOT THIS was created with funding from the National Institutes of Health, in collaboration with the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, and using advice from curriculum developers at the Hall and Tufts University.
 
One of several "mySugr" apps, the mySugr Junior app uses humor and a "little diabetes monster" cartoon to actively engage children in the management of their own diabetes care by "Taming the monster." It stands out from many apps with its innovative approach as a communication tool between parents/caregivers and their child with diabetes (the app is on each person's device). A child logs their glucose, food, insulin data and even an optional photo, and the app provides feedback. These entries are sent as a message or e-mail to the parents for safe monitoring. A great way encourage self-management. There is even an option when recording data to snap a photo for clarity or fun. Other quality apps by the same developer include mySugr Logbook, a more "grown up" version mySugr Junior. Diabetes Importer by mySugr is another app that imports blood glucose monitor data directly into mySugr Logbook by "scanning" the screen of the monitor. There are also several diabetes education apps offered by mySugr.

Managing Type 1 Diabetes: A Guide for Kids and Their Families
This series consists of several interactive guides for kids with Type 1 diabetes and their families. Through animated graphics and easy-to-learn steps, children will learn important information about their condition. For the first time, they will have fun while learning how to monitor and manage their condition. Max is an eight-year-old kid with Type 1 diabetes who learns how to take care of his diabetes. With the help of 'Parrot', his curious friend, and 'Dr Phil Good', his healthcare specialist, he guides other children through his own personal experiences and wondrous adventures.

Diabetes in Check: Coach, Blood Glucose andCarb Tracker
The most comprehensive type 2 diabetes app on the market, designed by a Certified Diabetes Educator. You'll get all the tools plus the most up-to-date information you need to control and manage your condition every day. This app is designed to help you 1) LOWER YOUR BLOOD SUGAR 2) GET ACTIVE 3) EAT BETTER 4) COUNT CARBS 5) MANAGE YOUR WEIGHT. 
Other Health-related Apps:

Healthier Me, by Children's Specialized Hospital (FREE)
Healthier Me reinforces the healthier choices and habits of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and turns tracking day-to-day activities into something rewarding and educational. Establishing good hygiene habits, eating healthy, staying active and safe, watching out for food allergies...in so many ways, Healthier Me helps the child reach reward milestones through positive actions and reinforcement.

AbleLink's cognitively accessible self-directed learning app designed for self-paced learning of eight important topics necessary for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. With this title, AbleLink has partnered with Westchester Institute for Human Development (WIHD), a leader in promoting health for individuals with special needs, particularly those with significant health disparities.

Lysol recognizes the importance of educating students about healthy habits, both in the classroom and at home. That's why Lysol has developed the Healthy Habits Program application, a fun, educational experience to educate students on proper healthy habits! Within the application, students are encouraged to complete four fun-filled challenges to be pronounced a Healthy Habits Hero! As students complete the four educational challenges they will learn; the importance of proper hand washing, how to prevent germs from spreading, proper hygiene, where germs may be hiding and much, much more!

The Bean Sprouts Cooking Fun for Kids app is filled with fun and healthy kid-friendly recipes, videos, games, books, photos and puzzles designed to empower, entertain and educate kids to cook and eat healthfully. Cooking Fun for Kids' videos, reciPEAs and activities will be updated regularly to stay "fresh" and engaging! Designed for children eight and under, the one-of-a-kind app features a cute cast of silly pea and bean characters who guide users through playful recipes, star in food games and magically appear in videos. The app offers a play-by-play on creating the most popular "Imaginibbles" recipes from Bean Sprouts and the award-winning book it inspired: Bean Appetit: Hip and Healthy Ways to Have Fun with Food.
That is all for this month. As always, feel free to call (866) 828-8275 or e-mail [email protected] or call (714) 533-8275 with specific questions or for more information on any of our programs and services!

Happy APPing!
 
Laura Simmons-Martinez
Assistive Technology Program Manager
Team of Advocates for Special Kids

TASK is a nonprofit Parent Training and Information Center that serves all ages and all disabilities. TASK is funded in part by grants from the U.S. Department of Education and the California Department of Education. The views expressed in this e-mail newsletter do not necessarily represent those of TASK, the U.S. Department of Education, the State of California or any other funding source, nor are they an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill before congress. Advertisements or refernces to trade names, commercial products or organizations do not constitute endorsement by any of the above.