Instructional Resources and Products

A Spectrum of Apps for Students on the Spectrum [PDF]

ABA Educational Resources, Ltd.

The site for ABA Educational Resources Ltd. provides parents the opportunity to obtain ABA resource materials at an affordable cost, and where possible, at no charge to the parents. ABA Educational Resources is a resource site. The resources on this site should not be used to replace the specialized training and professional judgment of a health care or mental health care professional. Any information on this website is gathered by a parent with experience running a home treatment program for her child with Autism.

ABC Teach

Great site for teachers and parents for resources for teaching the basics along with theme teaching, games and puzzles, report writing, shapes, comprehension, and fun activities.

Action Based Learning

Jean Blaydes Madigan developer of Action Based Learning, provides the following description of her product: kinesthetic teaching strategies that teach specific academic concepts in a teacher friendly, time efficient, fun way that has proven results for a positive learning experience. This website provides information as well as methods for purchasing the product.

Apple Education Disability Resources

On this site, you'll find additional information about the many accessibility features built into Apple products. You can also learn how Apple technology is being used to address the needs of students by visiting Apple's special education page. If you have comments or suggestions about accessibility, we welcome your feedback. (Search: accessibility)

AAPC (Autism Asperger Publishing Co.)

We are an independent publisher specializing in books on autism spectrum disorders based on the latest research on autism, Asperger syndrome and other pervasive developmental disorders. We take pride in offering books that provide practical solutions for individuals with an autism spectrum disorder as well as parents, teachers or others working or living with an individual with an autism spectrum disorder. In addition to autism books and asperger books, we offer videos and other interactive products. We have recently expanded our titles of books and resources on social skills and sensory integration due to the importance of these areas for individuals on the autism spectrum and the scarcity of resources in these areas. Whether you need information about an autism spectrum disorder or social skills or sensory integration, we offer books, resources, and conferences of the highest caliber with a practical focus.

AutismPro

AutismPro provides online professional development, case management, and evidence-based classroom resources that equip and connect educators and school staff to confidently meet and manage the unique challenges that each student with autism presents daily.

Autism Shop

Good resource for purchasing books and other items related to supporting individuals with ASD's.

Assistive Technology: Free and Affordable Help for Everyone

Bry-Back Manor

Website that provides free activity pages, themed information, resources, and a multitude of other links to instructional materials. The website operator states that Bry-Back Manor is "A place for folks who care for young children or children with special needs". This page links to several other informative websites.

Chart Jungle

The free printables are for many areas of life. Print the online charts to help you get more organized in your life and activities. Teach the kids to get more organized and award them for doing a good job. Keep track of events with calendars. Remind yourself of daily tasks, maintenance, budgeting, help with parenting and more. Print charts then place them in a sheet protector for use. Write on, wipe off and hang anywhere. Great for family, parents, teachers, day care providers, schools, homeschoolers, etc.

Closing the Gap: Changing lives with assistive technology

Founded over 25 years ago by Budd and Dolores Hagen, parents of a child with a disability, Closing The Gap strives to provide parents and educators alike, the information and training necessary to locate, compare, and implement assistive technology. Through our annual international conference, magazine, and Web site, we provide the latest information and training available for individuals with disabilities and those who work with them. The Closing The Gap magazine and Web site are designed to assist you in locating, comparing and reviewing the thousands of products on the market. Allowing you, the consumer or educator, to make intelligent choices.

Different Roads to Learning: Your ABA and VB Resource

Founded in 1995 by the mother of a child diagnosed with Autism, Different Roads to Learning carries over 500 products carefully selected to support the Autism Community. We understand and embrace the unique needs of every child on the spectrum and strive to enable parents and professionals to help our children grow to their full potential. We have carefully researched our products to ensure their quality and utility while we continue to explore new topics in order to offer you the most appropriate and progressive materials available. On our site, you'll find everything from basic flashcards, books and timers to advanced social skills tools to support you at every step of your program.

DoToLearn

A website with a multitude of free and cost resources. This is a great site for teachers to get some ideas on fun activities, as well as for parents.

Enchanted Learning: Curriculum Materials Online, over 25,000 Web Pages

Good site for teachers for unit materials. "Enchanted Learning® produces children's educational web sites which are designed to capture the imagination while maximizing creativity, learning, and enjoyment. Ease of use is a hallmark of our material. Children need the clearest, simplest computer interface, and our material is created so that the navigation and controls are intuitive.

Future Horizons (publishing) INC.

Thank you for your interest in Future Horizons. We appreciate your consideration. As a parent of a terrific young man with autism and as a past president of the Autism Society of America, I have a special interest in offering the very best information to family members and professionals. We hope you utilize all that we offer by:

• Exploring the many resources of this site, such as our conference calendar, the Find a Professional feature, our online store, and links to other helpful sites
• Requesting a free catalog and/or free poster featuring the 14 Signs of Autism
• Signing up on this site to become one of our "Special Friends" so you can receive information on new releases, upcoming events, and exclusive special offers
• Encouraging your local organization to become an affiliate so we many channel funds back into your community in support of your efforts

Gray Center for Social Learning and Understanding

The Gray Center For Social Learning and Understanding is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and those who work alongside them to improve mutual understanding. We approach the social impairment in ASD as a shared impairment. We work to improve social understanding on both sides of the social equation, helping both persons with ASD and those who interact with them to be able to communicate more effectively.

Handwriting for Kids

Handwriting for Kids is a good site for downloading resources for a variety of skills. Although mostly focused on handwriting skills this site also provides information and resources for math, English, geography, and others.

Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders (ICDL)
DIR®/Floortime Model

Founded by Stanley Greenspan and Serena Wieder, the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders (ICDL) has been a pioneer in its work to advance the identification, prevention, and treatment of developmental and learning disorders. Through its research, training and publications, ICDL extends knowledge of developmental processes and provides a framework (DIR®/Floortime Model)* for understanding and improving interventions with infants, children and adults with challenges in relating, communicating and thinking, including autism spectrum disorders.

International Magazine Dedicated to Improving Sensory Integration

The purpose of the magazine is stated as the following, to inspire families and professionals to become more aware of how to improve sensory processing in our environments. We strive to enlighten individuals on how to recognize, assess and recover from sensory deficits in every stage of development. We share the latest research, ideas and experiences in a practical, clear, easy to understand format that motivates our readers to make educated decisions for themselves and their families. We inspire positive changes in their lifestyle, resulting in an improved quality of life for both adults and children.

Junction of Function

Junction of Function's mission is to incorporate a multi-modal method into the design and functionality of our superior educational product lines, which appeal to many learning styles. Here at Junction of Function, we are the"new trail-blazers" offering state-of-the-art educational products, promotional materials for educators and parents, and pilot programs with Junction of Function staff offering one-on-one assistance and customer support, and continuing education trainings. Junction of Function specializes in providing developmentally appropriate inclusive preschool and kindergarten products, specifically for learning shoe tying and handwriting skills, which are now being marketed and sold throughout the United States and abroad.

LD Online: The World's Leading Website on Learning Disabilities and ADHD

LD OnLine.org is the world's leading website on learning disabilities and ADHD, serving more than 200,000 parents, teachers, and other professionals each month. LD OnLine seeks to help children and adults reach their full potential by providing accurate and up-to-date information and advice about learning disabilities and ADHD. The site features hundreds of helpful articles, multimedia, monthly columns by noted experts, first person essays, children's writing and artwork, a comprehensive resource guide, very active forums, and a Yellow Pages referral directory of professionals, schools, and products.

Mayer-Johnson Products

Mayer-Johnson's mission is to enhance learning and human expression for individuals with special needs through symbol-based products, training and services. For more than 25 years, Special Educators, Speech and Language Pathologists, Parents and Caregivers have successfully applied the company's Picture Communication Symbols® (PCS) at home, school and in clinical settings. Today, approximately 11,000 PCS symbols are available in 44 languages and used throughout the world.

Microsoft Accessibility

Accessibility makes the computer easier to see, hear and use. Discover what's possible with accessibility today and read inspiring profiles of accessibility in action. This website provides information about Microsoft products that are created to provide accessibility to all individuals. (Search: accessibility)

National Academies Press (NAP)

The site for National Academies Press where you can read online books and order PDF articles. The National Academies Press (NAP) was created by the National Academies to publish the reports issued by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council, all operating under a charter granted by the Congress of the United States. The NAP publishes more than 200 books a year on a wide range of topics in science, engineering, and health, capturing the most authoritative views on important issues in science and health policy. The institutions represented by the NAP are unique in that they attract the nation's leading experts in every field to serve on their award-winning panels and committees. This is the right place for definitive information on everything from space science to animal nutrition. (Search: key terms related to autism; ex. "autism", "ASD", "PPD-NOS", etc.)

Pics4learning

Pics4Learning is a copyright-friendly image library for teachers and students. The Pics4Learning collection consists of thousands of images that have been donated by students, teachers, and amateur photographers. Unlike many Internet sites, permission has been granted for teachers and students to use all of the images donated to the Pics4Learning collection.

Pocket Full of Therapy: Select Pediatric and School Based Products

Pocket Full of Therapy (PFOT), established in 1989, assists parents, teachers, Occupational Therapists, learning & development professionals and others concerned with the development of children with finding the unique products and resources needed to provide effective, appropriate, motivating and fun, pediatric therapy and learning. Our ShopOnline Catalog is filled with select pediatric and school-based products that we carefully evaluate and review before offering them for sale. To help you locate a specific product, our catalog and our online shopping cart are divided into therapeutic categories. PFOT also offers several interactive online services to foster a community of caring and sharing.

Polyxo.com: Resource for Teaching Children with Autism

Polyxo.com is a resource for parents, professionals, or anyone interested in teaching children with autism or other related developmental disorders. Polyxo.com was developed by Jason Wallin to encompass a variety of instructional techniques and philosophies.

Practical Money Skills for Life: Financial Literacy for Everyone

With a diverse palette of resources - free lesson plans, profiles of inspiring teachers, discussion of relevant economic topics, and more - Practical Money Skills for Life hopes to empower educators, enable student learning, and ultimately support the financial literacy necessary for success today. The site includes a pull down menu that includes lessons for ages preschool-grade 12 and specific lesson plans for individuals with "special needs" in grades 7-12. (Select "educators" pull-down menu to access the lesson plans)

Pyramid Educational Consultants, Inc

Pyramid offers a variety of training opportunities and products that focus on the initiation of communication and the design of effective educational environments. We are the exclusive source of training and consultation for the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) and the Pyramid Approach to Education.

Rethink Autism

Our Program is Simple, Effective and Affordable. Rethink Autism places at your fingertips teaching tools that have never before been available at a price you can afford, on a schedule you can manage, and at a quality that you can trust. For a minimal monthly fee, you will have access to comprehensive assessment tools, web-based teaching tutorials, hundreds of video images of teaching interactions, and teaching objectives, all of which will allow you to start working with your child right now. Our support program and data-tracking system will guide you as you and your child progress through the program.

School Specialty

School Specialty is an umbrella for a sundry of catalogues providing educational resources. The catalogues are divided into categories and include resources for working with individuals with disabilities.

Shoe Box Tasks

Good site for ideas for shoebox tasks. Lots of links and monthly ideas. "Centering on Children is dedicated to providing creative learning experiences for autistic individuals or those with learning disabilities who are beginning the process of "learning how to learn". ShoeboxTasks® provide the opportunity for children or adults who need a high degree of structure to experience success and build upon that success for greater skill and independence." The focus of this website is to promote and sale structured work systems which are a product and part of the TEACCH program.

Simplified Technology – Linda Burkhart

Tons of information on assistive technology, products and low tech ideas to promote communication.

Social Role Valorization

Social Role Valorization (SRV) is a high-level service and relationship theory based on empirical knowledge for the design and rendering of both formal and informal services and relationships to any kind of people with any kind of need or condition, but especially those who are devalued or at risk there of. It is the purpose of this site to provide information and some resources about Social Role Valorization (SRV), information about training opportunities and a forum for discussion. We welcome your input toward making this site more useful for you. We ask that trainers and individuals responsible for organizing events inform us promptly of their workshops, seminars and conferences. Your support will help us in keeping this site as reliable and up to date as possible.

Southpaw Enterprises

We're not all left-handed, but we do take a different approach to business. We're all about creative solutions, information, and advice – not mass distribution of the latest gadget. In fact, since our founding in 1976, we've dedicated ourselves to developing and manufacturing sensory integration dysfunction (DSI) and neurodevelopmental products that help therapeutic professionals, people with special needs, their families, and other professionals, solve problems or meet new challenges. Although we focus on clinic-based therapy, we continue to develop products for teachers in the classroom and for parents for use at home under the guidance of a therapist. We also offer the entire community education, insight, and resources for learning more about DSI and related neurodevelopmental disorders. We believe whole-heartedly that it is information that will lead to greater strides and progress in understanding and treating these disorders.

SuperKids Education for the Future

SuperKids is a website for parents and teachers who want the best in education for their children. SuperKids provides: reviews and ratings of educational software, practical and fun educational tools for online and offline use, news about important educational issues, and views of visionaries and policymakers. (Select "Feature Articles" from left-hand column, select article "Computer Play as a Clinical Intervention for Children with PDD")

Teacher's Toolbox

A commercial website for selling products to teachers, the "Teacher's Toolbox" has video training programs focused on "Adventures in Language", "Disability Awareness Collection", and "Quality Inclusion Curriculum".

Therapy Shoppe

On our site you will find a wonderful assortment of therapy merchandise: specialty toys and games, hard-to-find favorites, innovative new products you haven't even heard of yet, and lots of other great goodies and gadgets!... Everything you've been looking for and much more, at very pleasing prices, all under one little roof. And you'll receive warm, personal service from our caring staff... each and every time. We're environmentally conscious; recycling whenever we can to help conserve precious resources and to keep costs down. While our merchandise is always first rate, packaging materials and shipping boxes may have been around the block a few times before! We're looking forward to serving you and to providing one of the most exciting and inclusive selections of therapy products anywhere. Welcome to the Therapy Shoppe and thank you for your business.

Tinsnips

Tinsnips is a special education resource that strives to share a variety of specialized teaching tools, techniques, worksheets, and activities with teachers of students who have autistic spectrum disorders and related developmental disabilities. Many of these activities may be appropriate for Pre-K and Kindergarten children.

Tobii Assistive Technology, Inc.

Tobii Assistive Technology, Inc. (Tobii ATI) is a premier developer of innovative hardware and software solutions for people with disabilities. The company is located in Boston, Massachusetts. Its close proximity to many of the nation's top teaching hospitals and education institutions helps foster close research and testing relationships with several of these facilities.

Toys"R"Us Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids

As a company that loves all kids, Toys"R"Us, Inc. has a long history of supporting the special needs community. For nearly 20 years, we have published the annual Toys"R"Us Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids, an easy-to-use resource featuring specially selected toys that encourage play for children with physical, cognitive or developmental disabilities. (Search: Differently-Abled Kid)

TrackStar

TrackStar is your starting point for online lessons and activities. Simply collect Web sites, enter them into TrackStar, add annotations for your students, and you have an interactive, online lesson called a Track. Create your own Track or use one of the hundreds of thousands already made by other educators. Search the database by subject, grade, or theme and standard for a quick and easy activity. There is a fun Track already made for each day of the year, too!

Use Visual Strategies

Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and many of other students with behavioral or communication challenges tend to be visual learners. They understand what they see better than what they hear. Therefore, they often times benefit significantly from the use of Visual Strategies. This website provides examples, "how-to's", resources, information, etc. all focused on creating and implementing visual supports for individuals with ASDs.

WebABLE!

The Paciello Group is passionately dedicated to helping government agencies, technology vendors, e-commerce corporations, and educational institutions make their technology equally accessible to all people, including those with disabilities. The company offers professional consulting, technology solutions, and monthly monitoring services to ensure that clients reach all audiences effectively and efficiently while meeting governmental and international standards. The Paciello Group LLP is a privately held consulting group founded by Mike Paciello, a leading international authority on Internet and software accessibility. For nearly two decades, Paciello has pioneered the field of accessible interface design as a technologist, consultant, author and professional speaker. His internationally best-selling book, "Web Accessibility for People With Disabilities," remains the definitive standard reference for accessibility design, implementation and usability.

Attainment Company

Special needs educational resources, autism, augmentative communication, Go Talk, assistive technology, life and work skills.

Don Johnson

We're a bunch of people who believe that a good teacher and assistive technology can help every student with a disability read and write better than they can today. We've been creating tools focused on doing just that since 1980. Our tools are used by students with autism, dysgraphia, quadriplegia, cerebral palsy, and dyslexia. We've been creating tools focused on doing just that since 1980. Our tools are used by students with autism, dysgraphia, and quadriplegia,

Intellitools

Offers a series of educational software products for students, including IntelliMathics to reinforce math skills for K-8 grades.

Jessica Kingsley Publishers

Publishers of accessible professional and academic books in the social and behavioural sciences.

KidAccess Main

Eyecons are a tool for organizing the worlds of non-readers and other visual learners. Concrete, visually engaging, and customizable.

Silver Lining Media

Our photo software collection contains thousands of photos designed for teaching language, behavioral rules and everyday living skills. The CDs are more than just a collection of photos. They contain premade templates for common communication tools such as photo schedules and checklists plus cards for ABA therapy, early intervention, and picture exchange.

Slater Software, Inc. - Picture It and PixWriter

Literacy and Communication products Adapted for Special Needs.