Computer technology provides a powerful solution to the obstacles faced by children with special needs.
It offers a wide range of gaming activities that are an important part of early childhood development.
For children with attention problems and children who are hard to motivate, computers can be used as an engaging teaching tool.
It can also be used to promote early communication skills for children with language delays or children who need an assisted communication system.
The key is to choose the right software.
There are thousands of early learning books on the market, all claiming to be "the best ".
"Remember, however, that none of the programs worked for everyone;
The "best" software for you is the one that fits your child's needs and interests.
Taking the time to find a program with the right functionality will ensure a successful, constructive parent-child-
Computer experience.
Early Learning software "early learning software" refers to programs designed to teach age
Appropriate skills and/or age provided
Provide appropriate learning opportunities for children aged 18 months to 8 years.
Many of the recommended programs will also be successful in attracting elderly children with normal cognitive functioning within this age range.
The curriculum areas typically covered by early learning software include: * visual attention and visual tracking;
* Causal relationship;
* Language of acceptance (i. e.
, Understand words and pictures); * Pre-
"Basic concepts" such as shape, color, size and pattern ";
* Early reading and writing skills such as letter recognition, consonants and vowels, simple visual words and simple sentence structure;
* Early critical thinking skills such as memory and simple questions-solving;
* Emerging literature (i. e.
Develop interest in writing and reading);
* Play and explore.
The software recommended by the excellent parent-assisted technical advisory board can be used by parents, teachers and therapists and easily integrated into daily life
Kindergartens, public school classrooms and families.
Most programs can be used in a number of ways, so don't be limited to the description on the box.
Take your child's interest and use your imagination!
You should not purchase the computer software until you have determined the target for its use.
Before purchasing, you should ask yourself if the software is for the purpose.
You can start by answering these basic questions: What do I want the computer to experience doing for my kids and what do I want to accomplish?
If you want your child to be able to have fun and explore, you may be interested in painting or painting programs like Pix [s]R]
Or kaleidoscope, or a program like block movement.
If your goal is to develop a child's interest in writing and reading, you should explore interactive storybooks such as the life book series [1 [R]
Amazing story series, or Disney Animated Storybook series. These CD-
Rom starts with the story of the favorite kids and takes them to a new level of enjoyment.
Children can read the story themselves, let the story read to them, or get help with difficult words.
They can also play the story itself by having characters and objects active in sound and animation.
If you want to strengthen the skills that the school is teaching, such as shape and color, or early reading or math skills, look at projects like Milly math House [s]R]
Bailey's bookstore [R],A to Zap! [R]
And [sunbuddy math theater]TM].
What features do my kids need? Non-
Readers and children with visual impairment feel neglected and feel very frustrated when instructions only appear visually.
These children benefit from a program that provides voice output. e.
The computer says all the instructions and words.
Consistent, neat visual presentation is important for visual children
Perception problem
Too much moving and flashing at the same time can be distracting and confusing.
The program should be its own. paced.
Your child should have enough time to think, read, make a decision, and perform any required exercise tasks without being punished for being slow to respond.
Software should recognize that children learn by doing, not by doing things for them.
It should involve your child in "active learning ".
"Your child should have the opportunity to do things the way they are.
For example, all trends in Edmark's early learning series offer two different learning patterns.
When the program is set to "explore" mode, any choice your child makes will get some kind of engaging feedback with no rights or rights in Explore mode;
We encourage children to try different ways to see what happens.
In contrast, in question and answer (Q & A)
Model, the program provides specific instructions that children need to follow and provides more traditional tutoring activities.
The software should provide appropriate feedback.
The animation of the wrong answers and the soundeff should not be so interesting that the children want to see them again.
It's better to have a simple "No, try again.
While you want feedback to be presented in a positive way, it should be clear so that your child can easily distinguish between correct and wrong answers.
Can this program be customized according to my child's needs?
Find software that allows you to control difficulty.
For example, thinking about things [R]
A feature called "growth slides" is provided that allows parents and teachers to set various activities at a simple, medium or difficult level.
It can also be set to remember a place where the child leaves so that the program doesn't go back to its simplest level all the time the next time the program is used.
There are programs that allow you to modify the presentation to suit your child's needs.
For example, in the Life book series, a simple click of the mouse changes all the text, spoken instructions, and reading from English to Spanish, a wonderful feature for Spanish-speaking children --
Talk about family. (
Some titles offer translations in Japanese, French or German. )
You can guide these projects from Laurel Learning Systems, Inc.
, Providing visual tips for children, you can change the size and image of the cursor and specify the time the program waits for the answer.
If your child is easily overstimulated or distracted by auditory stimuli, look for a program that allows you to adjust the sound and music volume, or you can turn it off completely.
The most flexible program also offers the option to specify which skills to teach. A to Zap!
For example, allow you to specify whether the alphabet letters are uppercase or lowercase.
What is your child interested in?
Providing the child with the choices and opportunities he or she likes is the basic principle of the child's development.
Interactive storybooks are a great choice for kids who like to listen to stories. Reader Rabbit[R]
If your child likes to sing, toddlers can be a great start.
Franklin activity centerTM]
Children who like animals like them very much.
If your child is physically disabled and limits block play, maybe he/she will be interested in the sport block.
Is this program easy to use?
With so many good programs, you shouldn't struggle with those that are tedious to learn or difficult to use.
Documents should be clear and easy to understand.
It shouldn't take too much time for you or your child to learn how to use this program.
Different titles in Aseries (
Such as living and Reader Rabbit)
Follow the same structure so that once you have mastered how to use a program in these series, you will find other titles very easy to learn.
How will your child access the program?
If your child has physical disabilities or attention problems that interfere with the use of the mouse, you should explore alternative access devices.
Alternately include: * trackballs such as Penny and Giles Rollerball [TM](
East Johnston and Semel).
* Touch the touch screen [such as window]TM](Edmark).
* Extended Keyboard for smart keys [etc. R](IntelliTools[R])
[Board of DirectorsR](
Don Johnston Company).
A touch window connected to the front of the computer monitor and activated with a light finger touch can be used as apoint-and-
Click on the device like a mouse.
Users of IntelliKeys and discover: Board can buy custom sets-ups (
Software with paper cover)
Some software.
Related articles: computer resource access community network for teachers and parents of early childhood organization Technology Alliance
Resource centres for information and services for persons with disabilities. (415)455-
4575 National Association for early childhood education (800)424-
2460 National Centre for the improvement of special education practices through technology, media and materials (NCIP)(617)969-7100 ext.
2422 publication Children's Software Revue Bi-
Monthly Newsletter. (800)993-
Computer Learning 9499 (650)327-
Education Software Catalog 3347 discount on educational resources. (800)624-
2926 PEPsite: Parents-Educators -
Publisher's website that provides information about software titles, publishers, reviews, and awards.
Books on computer resources for persons with disabilities: a guide to exploring today's assistive technologies.
DD (Wright, Ji, color)eds).
Hunter House Limited(Alameda, CA)1996.
Available from the technology acquisition alliance.
Young Children: National Association of early childhood education for active learners in the technical era (Washington, DC). 1994.
Provided through the National Association for children's education.
Related article: interactive storybook series interactive storybook Broderbund * only grandma and I [TM]
* Arthur's Teacher Trouble * Harry and haunted house * Green Eggs and Ham * turtle and Rabbit * Arthur's birthday * burenstein bear fight * dr.
The Cat in Sue's ABC * hat * the brave Sheila Ray * steiraruna * the burlstein bear in the dark Disney * Hercules * 101 dalms * bear at school * Toy Story * Pocahontas * the Lion King Knowledge Adventure * the magic goose of kayaga [TM](Russian Tale)
* Imo and King [TM](African tale)
* Little warrior [TM](Japanese tale)
* The Test of the courage of sleeping babies [TM](
Native American story)
* Liam found a story [TM](Irish tale)
* Princess and crab [TM](Italian tale)
Editor Amy G Weber Technical Advisory CommitteeDell, Ph. D.
Associate Professor.
University of New Jersey Special Education College Deborah NewtonEd.
Auxiliary Technical Expert Centerfor's enabling technology, Whippany, Tang jianlisa ProMedia, New Jersey, Inc. , Clifton, New Jersey.
Mr. Leonard Margolis. A.
, Assistant director of Special Services School District, Malam Bergen County, New Jersey Cathy tambrillo adaptive technology specialist Bergen County Special Services School District, params, Karen Warner, New Jersey