Katherine Swarts – Page 20

How to Build Your Personal Support Network

When your child has serious disabilities, it’s important to have friends and family you can rely on for backup caretaking, resource recommendations, and comfort when reality gets overwhelming. However, you can get into trouble assuming that people will always be…

BridgingApps Teacher and Therapist App List

Whatever your schedule for the 2023–24 school year, it won’t be long before summer-to-school transition season becomes everyday-routine school season. Which is not to say that “routine” always equals “easy.” Particularly for those whose routines include managing special education and…

father and two sons sitting at table using technology

Back to School: Learning Self-Sufficiency

What are your family’s “learning goals” for the 2023–24 school year? Your children’s school district and board of education will have official standards for academic skills that students are expected to master. (For Texas residents, these are in the TEA…

Eye-Gaze Technology for ALS, Part 2

Over 31,000 people in the United States have ALS (full name amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), a terminal nerve disease. The primary symptom is deteriorating muscle control which ultimately leads to respiratory failure and death, usually within five years. It’s quite possible…

Back to School: What to Do First, What Can Wait a Bit

If school has started and there are still unchecked items on your getting-ready list, that’s not a disaster—assuming your priorities were in order. You may have a problem, however, if you spent too much “Priority A” time on what should…

ipad laying on desk with app store displayed on screen

Tech Shopping on a Budget

Inflation has hit the technology market—including the software department. Even inexpensive apps can make an ugly dent in your budget if you download a screenful of them. The good news is, many great apps are available at little or no…

Preparing for Back-to-School: Health Considerations

As the 2023–24 school year begins—with the inevitable crowds and stresses of the season—these tips will help your children stay healthy for its challenges. Keep a couple of good health apps on your child’s device. These include coping tools for…

older adult woman being helped with her ipad by lady and man

Assistive Technology and Helping Others

You may or may not be a technical whiz, or have personal disability experience. However, even casual interactions can make positive contributions to the world of assistive technology (AT) and the lives of its users. Here are a few ideas…

Back to School with Special Needs

Within a month after this is published, most U.S. schoolchildren will begin the 2023-24 school year. Including the demographic of kids who—along with their families—find that “back to school” involves more-complicated-than-average challenges. If your child has a mental or physical…

Digital Skills Roundup: The First Things Everyone Should Know

Which statement is correct? Actually, both are correct with regard to certain aspects of screen use. What are “people” actually using their screens for? What educational or career fields are they in? What age groups? And perhaps most important, where…