Halloween is almost here! It is always more fun to have everyone included in the fun, so we decided to put together a list of the best apps for those with Special Needs. Whether it is a special AAC app, just for Halloween, a bright and not too scary monster puzzle, or an app filled with delightful Halloween games, your child will have a frightfully good time with these apps!
Fat Cat Spooky Chat
By Point-and-Read, Inc.
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(FREE) Fat Cat Spooky Chat is an AAC app designed for children who are non-verbal or have minimally verbal, specifically for the occasion of Halloween. In this app, there are options for buttons sayings including Happy Halloween, Trick or Treat, Boo!, Yes, No, Please, Thank You, Help, I am Dressed as…, and one or two more. There are editing options, and you can easily finish off the sentence for “I am dressed as___”. Even of your child uses AAC already, you can spend a lot of time creating an extra page for Halloween, or you can download this app. We have used this for a few years now, and it has been very effective. In ipad settings, you can disable editing of the app, make it so that app settings do not show in the app, set it so that sharing via social media is disabled, and more. I recommend this app for kids who are non-verbal, minimally verbal, as well as those who have dysarthria, apraxia, and other speech issues that make saying trick-or-treat and thanks you over and over difficult. It is easy to use, and kids pick up on it easily. All links for sending messages via twitter or email can be made useless via iPad settings, where you turn them off, and all your settings can be locked by disabling editing, unless you turn it on there as well. I recommend this app! There are no ads or IAPs. ~Angie Gorz on 2014-10-13 19:45:08 ==> User rating: 5 Recommended: Yes
– http://bit.ly/1p7NVTR
My Monsters – Puzzle Game for Toddlers and Preschool Kids – Premium
By Sebastian Bachorzewski
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(0.99) My Monsters – Puzzle Game For Kids. Another great puzzle app from Jump App! It is similar in format to their other puzzle apps – Vehicle Puzzles and Animal Puzzles, but there is another layer of complexity with a choice of 4, 9, or the new 16 piece puzzles. Puzzles are laid out in a grid format, meaning all the pieces are squared. This means that you must rely on your ability of form completion or seeing the whole from all of its parts. That is a tricky thing indeed. I like how you can grade the puzzles with a beginning with a visual overlay, and matching the placement of pieces. I think that this helps kids who have motor planning or perceptual problems keep the stress level down, and gives them a successful experience right away. Also that you can use the same puzzle by increasing the number of pieces helps to reinforce working memory. On completion, you are rewarded with a shower of monsters to pop. On the parents page, accessed by holding down a button, you have the options to delete the more apps banner, turn off the music, and sound effects. Highly Recommended. ~Jo Booth on 2013-07-02 16:23:13 ==> User rating: 5 Recommended: Yes
– http://bit.ly/163eeQt
Halloween eBook
By Visuals Work
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(0.99) Halloween eBook is a nicely done social story book, that can be personalized by placing your child in the book. It is a nice way to introduce Halloween, its characters and customs. Speech therapists, teachers, and parents will particularly like the introduction of new vocabulary as well as using this as a means to ask WH questions. The graphics are simple and uncluttered, keeping the focus on the subject of the page. There are no IAP or ads. Recommended. ~Jo Booth OT on 2013-11-27 10:21:04 ==> User rating: 4 Recommended: Yes
– http://bit.ly/ZpzW5U
Holidays – 4 scary little Halloween games for kids
By Jan Essig
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(1.99) Holidays – 4 scary little Halloween games for kids is a fun learning app for kids, which includes four Halloween games for kids to play. The games include a Halloween version of tic-tac-toe, which can be played alone or with a friend, another game, in which the child is shown a pumpkin hiding under one of three punpkins who swirl around and they must keep track and pick which ghost the pumpkin is under. In Whack-a-monster, hand eye coordination is tested as kids must tap specific Halloween characters as they pop up, but they must match the one at the top of the screen. Pumpkin Says is the “Simon Says” of Halloween apps. In this game, the child must repeat the sequence of the not-so-scary monsters. This app is tons of fun for kids, but there is also learning taking place while they play. This app is good for teaching logic, spatial awareness, problem solving, critical thinking, and more. All links are secured, there are no IAPs or ads. Also, in settings, you can change the app to be an Easter game when the seasons change. So, it is really two apps in one. I recommend this app for early learners, as well as those working at this level.
~Angie Gorz on 2014-10-13 21:03:52 ==> User rating: 5 Recommended: Yes
– http://bit.ly/1r7j4XH
Go Away, Big Green Monster! for iPad
By Night & Day Studios, Inc.
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(2.99–>1.99) Go Away, Big Green Monster! for iPad. It is great for teaching parts of the body, using visual representations. It is also great for making what scares some children into something funny. I use it with my son to encourage reading and is also great for fine motor skills, as well as cause an effect. In my opinion, this app will keep your child engaged with the bright, contrasting colors, moving monster eyes nose, and so on, being added on each page. The app is narrated by a child, and there are options for read to me, read by myself, sing along, read with a friend, read along with ed, There are no ads, links, or IAPS. ~Angie Gorz on 2013-06-25 21:15:11 ==> User rating: 5 Recommended: Yes
– http://bit.ly/15kfVue
Yipy Costume Party
By Alien Toes AB
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(1.99–>0.99) Yipy Costume Party makes playing dress-up easy and fun! Your child can choose from 6 different characters to dress up, 6 different styles of dress-up and 2 different backgrounds as well! You simply tap a character, tap the wardrobe box to open it, and start choosing clothing items, or you can change the background, which will also change the clothing items for your character! There is a wide variety of dress up clothing for kids to choose from, and it snaps into place quite easily, which is great for the young ones that this app will appeal to. Would your child like to dress up a ballerina, a pirate, a princess or a cowboy? They are all here, plus much more. Once completed, they can save their creation to your devices camera roll. I recommend this app for fine motor, pretend play, and imaginative play. There are no IAPs or ads, and all external links are locked. ~Angie Gorz on 2014-08-19 23:36:08 ==> User rating: 5 Recommended: Yes
– http://bit.ly/1AC84s5
Millie’s Book of Tricks and Treats, Volume 2
By Megapops LLC
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(0.99) Millie’s Book of Tricks and Treats, Volume 2 is a cute, interactive storybook, starring Millie, the Bacon loving dog. Even very young kids will love flipping through the pages, and either tapping to knock the door or ringing the doorbell to see the wheel spin to see if they will get a trick or a treat from Millie. Each time the door opens, there is an amusing video clip of Millie the dog, which of course is Halloween related and usually funny. Also, kids can collect Millie stickers on each page. When kids choose to play the app again, it is randomized, so they do not see the same pages again. All links in this app are secured, and there are no ads or IAPs. I recommend this app for younger kids and those who like dogs, as well as those working on cause and effect. ~Angie Gorz on 2014-10-13 21:47:10 ==> User rating: 4 Recommended: Yes
– http://bit.ly/16DbA59
Halloween Shape-O! ABC’s
By Bellamon
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(FREE) Halloween Shape-O! ABC’s is a puzzle app that offers kids the chance to complete to complete Halloween themed puzzles, by dragging shapes into the correct spots. Then, depending on the difficulty level selected, children also drag letters to complete the corresponding word that matches the shape. Upon completion of a puzzle, there is very sensory positive reinforcement. What I also like about this app is that the colors of the puzzle can be changed, which is great for kids with visual issues, and on the medium or above level, you can get a hint on the spelling portion. In the easy level, the word is already spelled. This is the free version of the app, and includes quite a few puzzles, but there is a link to the full version, which is not secured, on the home page. Other than that, there are no true IAPs, no ads, or other external links. I recommend the app for kids of all abilities. It is great for fine motor, spelling, motor planning and more. ~Angie Gorz on 2014-10-13 21:20:25 ==> User rating: 4 Recommended: Yes
– http://bit.ly/1dzagrK
Grandma Loves Bugs
By Fairlady Media
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(1.99) Grandma Loves Bugs is a fantastic early learning app, that teaches many critical skills that all kids working at the preschool level need to know, including matching letters, colors, basic spelling, matching, number groups, counting, spot the difference, and more. In settings, you can set the app to target specific goals for the child using the app. This app has fun graphics, animation, prompts when needed, directions throughout, and encouragement from grandma. There is also encouragement offered and rewards in the app. At the time of this review, the app has a fun Halloween theme. I highly recommend this app for early learners, as well as those with special needs working at that level. There are no IAPs, unsecured links, or ads in this app. ~Angie Gorz on 2014-10-13 20:46:49 ==> User rating: 5 Recommended: Yes
– http://bit.ly/N9t5q5
Build a Scare HD
By Brett Latimer
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(0.99) Build a Scare HD. This is a fun app for children to use that fosters creativity, learning, and helps kids practice pretend play. In the beginning your child can choose from 10 backgrounds before they build their “scary” monster, then choose a body. At this point, your child spins a colorful wheel to determine the number arms for their monster, this process repeats for the legs, eyes, nose, mouth, mouth, and ears/horns, always from a wide array of choices. Now, your child can save their creation into photos, turn it into a puzzle, or create a new monster. Puzzle difficulty can be set at from easy, medium or difficulty. Also, the sound effects, voice volume, music volume can all be set separately, or turned off completely. ~Angie Gorz on 2013-02-19 13:04:20 ==> User rating: 4 Recommended: Yes
– http://bit.ly/12wAHJs
First Words Halloween
By Learning Touch LLC
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(1.99) First Words Halloween is a fantastic app for early spellers and readers! Using fun words related to Halloween, the app has your child drag and drop the letters into their correct spots, and once completed, the picture becomes animated! The app is packed with features, which make it work for children of varying ability levels, like an option to tun hints on or off, change the length of the words, just to name a few. I highly recommend this app, and it is good for kids who are just learning reading and spelling, as well as those who are reviewing the basics. **All links within the app are now secured, as are settings, so little fingers do not get into areas where they should not be. The app has no ads.
~Angie Gorz on 2013-10-21 18:26:24 ==> User rating: 5 Recommended: Yes
– http://bit.ly/17eIEGH
CreateACard
By KidsAndBeyond, LLC.
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(1.99–>0.99) CreateACard is a good app for creative play. Your child can choose different colors of papers, borders, and they can add many different stickers from a vast array of categories, including holidays, like Halloween, Christmas, and more! Kids can also choose to write, using a thicker writing style-marker or a thinner writing style- pencil in various colors or type their message in several fonts. Finally, once the card is saved, your child can record a personalized message to go with their special creation! This app is good for creative play, working on fine motor, following directions, expressive speech and much more. Your child is guided through the app by one of two clever clouds the entire way, so they do not get lost. Kids can save their creations to the camera roll or email them. There are no unsecured links, IAPs or ads. This app is great for creative play, expressive language, fine motor and much more in typically developing children, as well as those with special needs. It a neat way for kids to make their own holiday and birthday cards as well. I recommend it! ~Angie Gorz on 2014-10-13 21:35:06 ==> User rating: 4 Recommended: Yes
– http://bit.ly/17UE1yr
Carve-a-Pumpkin from Parents magazine
By Resolute Digital, LLC
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(FREE) Carve-a-Pumpkin from Parents magazine is a neat Halllween app for trying out designs on pumpkins, or for fun with pumpkins for those who have sensory challenges when it comes to dealing with teh real thing. In this app, you can choose from five punkins to either decorate or virtually carve. There are several decorating choices, and with craving, you can choose freehand, or choose separate mouths, noses and eyes, or choose entire faces. Once you choose your decoration or shape for carving, it can be moved, made larger or smaller, roasted and more, very easily. When you are done, you choose a background, and it takes to another page, in which you have sharing choices. This page does offer social media links, but you have to have the passwords to sign in. So, if you are not signed in, your child cannot utilize this feature. In fact, I was signed in to one network, and or still asked for a sign in, which is good. It did allow for emailing pictures, and you can save your creation to the camera roll. On the home page, there is a link to another app by Parents magazine, which is free at the time of this review. I recommend this app. The final results are so realistic. My son loves it, and it does give yiu an idea of how an idea will turn out on a real pumpkin. My child also likes it because he cannot tolerate teh feeling of real pumpkin. There are no IAPs an unsecured link to an app that is currently free, social links as described above, and no ads. ~Angie Gorz on 2014-09-30 23:22:08 ==> User rating: 4 Recommended: Yes
– http://bit.ly/ZpBw7F
FINN & FRIENDS MYSTERIES
By Campbell Soup Company
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(FREE) FINN & FRIENDS MYSTERIES is a very well made storybook app, with interactive pages, built-in games, and a recently added Halloween themed mystery story. The app also has two other mysteries included. There is also a photo booth, where you can take your own picture, and add seasonal frames and stickers. There is a button at the far bottom left that does nothing, but it is there to let you know that this app is itself, essentially an advertisement for goldfish crackers. The app has no actual banner ads, pop-ups, etc, nor external links, or IAPs. In fact, it is very well made, has 3 ways to read, including read to me, read to myself, and autoplay, and has fantastic graphics. I would recommend it for children of all abilities. It is great for building vocabulary, fine motor coordination, and more. I recommend it. ~Angie Gorz on 2014-10-13 22:04:41 ==> User rating: 5 Recommended: Yes
– http://bit.ly/1p7RKs5
All Prices are correct at time of printing!! Developers have the right to change their prices at any time!!
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