Friday Appy Hour: Celebrating Autism Acceptance Month with Assistiveware

Celebrating Autism Acceptance Month

April is Autism Acceptance Month and the folks at Assistiveware are looking forward to celebrating.  They will amplify autistic voices by sharing resources and blogs written by the autistic community. With this celebration is the return of the 4-day discount of their apps including Proloquo2Go, Proloquo4Text,  Pictello, Keeble and Gateway. Each will be discounted at 50% off.

Save the date!

The 50% discount will be in effect worldwide from Tuesday, April 2 to Friday, April 5. No need to fill in a discount code - you’ll see the discounted amount in the App Store.

Discount also available for volume purchase discount

The discount also applies to Apple’s Educational Volume Purchase Program. When your school or educational organization purchases 20 copies or more, you get an additional 50% off. That’s 75% off!

#ATAwarenessDay

In honor of #ATAwarenessDay, I felt it was important to take a step back to review the basics of what assistive technology is, the types/categories of technologies available, frameworks, feature matching of tools, as well as some of the important steps to follow during the selection process. Whether you're new to the field of assistive technology or more seasoned, take a peek into each of these areas. Please feel free to comment below if you have any other information you feel should be included or would like to see more of. To learn more about #ATAwarenessDay follow the hashtag on Twitter and read about Senate Resolution 103. 

Visit some links and previous Where It's AT blog posts...

• Getting Started....What is Assistive Technology?
• Intro to Assistive Technology from the CTD
• Assistive Technology Checklist: What to Consider When Looking at AT
• Assistive Technology: What It Is and How It Works
• The QIAT Top 10
• Assistive Technology (AT) to Support Students with Special Needs
• 5 Low-Tech AT Options
• From High to Low to No Tech Tools
• The SETT Framework
• CTD's Assistive Technology Module

Motivational Mondays

Motivational Monday

Motivational Monday

Motivational Monday

Friday "Appy" Hour: Daily Calm App

Children and teachers today are under great pressures due to unique academic, social and emotional challenges. Kids are experiencing greater pressures earlier in life, and feel more stress and anxiety than ever before. These demands have led many school districts to begin shifting their focuses onto incorporating mindfulness in the classrooms. This can be done through the addition of peaceful music, movement breaks, yoga, deep breathing, and so on. Given this movement in schools nationwide, it seemed fitting to dedicate a Friday Appy Hour to an app that supports mindfulness. 

This week we are taking a peek at Calm. At Calm, their mission is to make the world a happier and healthier place. The app, created 4 years ago, was initially created to provide mindfulness tools and resources for adults. However, in more recent months the focus has shifted towards the opportunity to bring mindfulness to teachers and children all over the world. 

Calm's goal is to, 

"Empower kids to thrive, not just survive."

As stated on Calm's website, "Numerous studies have shown the many benefits of teaching mindfulness to children. Through mindfulness education, kids can develop a lifelong capacity for greater self-awareness, concentration, patience, and resilience.

Meanwhile, educators face pressures of their own. Many teachers understand the benefits of mindfulness, but they face time and budget constraints, making it challenging to bring mindfulness education to the classroom.

That’s why we’re launching The Calm Schools Initiative. We are offering every teacher in the world free access to Calm, the mindfulness app that hundreds of thousands of people all over the world use everyday. Our aim is to empower teachers with mindfulness tools and resources they can use to help kids learn this new skill."

The Calm Schools Initiative allows for any teacher with a K-12 classroom,  to gain free access to the application's paid subscription service. Teachers can access the subscription on Android, iOS and the web. Through the subscription, teachers will have unlimited access to an expansive library of guided meditations and mindfulness exercises, including Calm Kids, which is a mindfulness and meditation program tailored for age groups from pre-K through high school.

Sound interesting? If so, you may be asking how to begin.

Teachers fill out a simple form (link here). Once you submit the form, the Calm Schools Initiative contacts you within a few days with your approval  and some resources and suggestions to get your started.

If you’re a parent or student, forward this page to your teacher and let them know how important mindfulness education is to you.

Either way, have fun discovering the power of meditation!