When my son was young, I often found myself wondering how anyone ever raised a child with special needs before the World Wide Web. In those days, I spent a lot of time at the keyboard, researching intervention strategies, swapping e-mails with therapists and making friends with parents all over the world who had children like mine.
Now my son is older, and I no longer spend quite as much time at my computer. Now I wonder how anyone ever raised a child with special needs before the smartphone.
My smartphone has become my lifeline. Alarms sound on a regular basis: “Pick him up from school! Take him to the doctor! Give him his meds! Wake him up to use the bathroom!” I can retrieve documents, consult with specialists and search for answers to my most pressing questions on the spot, in the moment, before I forget. And, of course, I can post adorable pictures of Bud to Facebook as they happen, and I can pass the time in doctors’ waiting rooms working out my angst by hurling angry birds at a bunch of rotten pigs.
Indeed, smartphones have been a gift to parents of kids with special needs. In recent years, developers have begun to tap into this market by creating apps that help us prepare for IEP meetings, develop social stories and create visual schedules. But there is so much potential yet untapped. App developers, if you’re out there and you’re listening, here are some apps whose times have come:
1. The Wardrobe Warner looks ahead in Mom’s calendar and lets her know that there’s an upcoming event that will require clean clothing. On Monday, she’ll get an alert: “IEP Meeting Thursday. No sweatshirts.” She’ll type in, “I’ll wear my black sweater.” It will reply, “In the hamper. Huge SpaghettiOs stain. Try again.” For events such as weddings and graduations, alerts will start at least six weeks in advance.
2. Special Needs Freecycle is specifically designed for parents of children who develop obsessive interests – like my son, who is currently obsessed with a TV show that aired in the UK for two years about 10 years ago. The app also catalogs the toys gathering dust in people’s attics and provides an easily searchable platform, allowing the parents of a child who absolutely must have the Barney doll that plays the trumpet – last seen in stores in 1996 – to find it, while also helping someone clean out his attic.
3. The Shopping Suggester tracks a parent’s purchases and learns to predict shopping patterns. It coordinates with the phone’s GPS system and sends alerts accordingly: “Don’t you need milk?” comes as she’s driving by the supermarket. “Shouldn’t you buy Pull-Ups?” appears once she’s in range of Target.
4. The Character Converter is designed for children like my son Bud, whose reading ability is more advanced than his interest level. Though he can read text at grade level, he prefers books written about his favorite preschool characters. Enter the Character Converter, which takes the text of classic books and replaces the main characters with the cast of your child’s favorite television programs. Et voila! Dora raises a pig in Charlotte’s Web. Barney finds a golden ticket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
5. The Potty Spotter is, above all, the app that parents of kids with special needs have been waiting for. Using the parent’s current location, it will identify the nearest public restrooms. Moreover, it will identify single-use restrooms for the opposite-gender parent of a child who needs assistance. It will give each restroom a “risk rating,” identifying those most likely to be free of the sounds, sights and smells that can trigger a meltdown, and it will spotlight stalls without the much-dreaded automatic flusher.
App developers, I’m telling you – there’s a real market for products like these. And more important, you’ll be providing a significant service to people who will truly appreciate it.
Just think. Five years from now, some happy, successful parent somewhere will be typing out a text to her friend on the other side of the country. “I can’t help wondering,” she’ll write. “How did anyone ever raise a child with special needs before the Potty Spotter?”
Mary McLaughlin writes about life with her son Bud, who has autism, on her blog, Mom – Not Otherwise Specified at momnos.blogspot.com.
