There is no denying that technology has become a huge part of everyone, including children’s lives. There are thousands of games & education tools available to anyone with a smartphone or tablet. However, most of these apps can be difficult or impossible for visually impaired users to navigate. Below we have pulled together some resources for finding those that may work for our Batten kids who have vision impairments.
Braille Institute- ViA
ViA a fully accessible app that helps identify other apps that are useful for children or adults who are blind or have low vision, including those with other disabilities. Users can sort through over 500,000 apps to locate those that are specifically built for users with visual impairments. Using a variety of filters you can narrow the search to find exactly what you’re looking for. Filters include search by low vision, voice over compatible, Apps for Kids, 26 different educational categories, and 13 different entertainment categories.
Wonderbay.org- Our Favorite Apps for Children Who Are Visually Impaired
This website lists 15 apps for children who are blind or visually impaired, they break them into a few categories including stimulating the use of vision, honing fine motor skills, communication apps, and storytelling apps.
A few highlights from this article:
Bebot ($1.99): “Bebot is a simple sound cause and effect app that makes funny synth robot sounds. Touch the screen and make the robot sing!”
Cause & Effect Sensory Light Box ($2.99): “This is a really well made cause-and-effect app that creates sounds and lights when your finger is on the screen, then stops when you remove your finger. Perfect for children with low vision or CVI.”
Pocket Pond (Free): “Listen to birds chirp and frogs croak in a peaceful pond. Touch the screen to make the water splash or just watch the koi swim by”
Paths to Literacy- 138 Apps for Early Learning for students with Visual Impairments
This extensive list is curated by a Teacher Consultant for students with deafblindness. She includes apps for a wide range of vision impairments that fall into many different categories.
A few highlights from this article:
I Hear Ewe: “When a user taps on an animal or vehicle icon, the game will verbally announce what type of animal or vehicle it is and play a recording of its real sound”
Sound Drop: “Draw lines and watch as Soundrop uses them to create music.”
Animal Farm: “Children learn about animals by seeing and hearing the sounds an animal makes.”
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