Hello, I'm Robin Flutterby Borakove, high functioning adult with special needs, now a correspondent for SpecialNeeds.com, covering the Special Olympics World Games and other amazing events. I invite you to follow my blog and learn about my quest for self healing and improving the quality of my life. I have learned so much throughout my journey as an adult with Asperger's Syndrome. It’s time for me to share, and teach others how to be the best they can be even with a challenge. I will tell my story and hope the lessons I have learned will help others to enrich their lives and live their own dreams as I am now doing for myself. I tell people that I had to become my own hero, take an active part in my mental and physical well-being and save my life, because no one else was going to! So HERE I AM, getting a life, and learning how to have a positive impact and inspire those around me. Creating a character and storytelling as Fairy Queen Flutterby™, I have decided to shine brightly so other’s may have a lighted path. Blog of a Special Needs Adult Growing up, whenever I tried to explain my thoughts to anyone, it seemed to annoy people. In fact, whenever people spoke, I saw people's words turn into pictures or shapes of some sort. At the time I didn't understand why, and so it was a lot easier to tell stories about what...

Robin, an adult with Asperger's, recounts her unique experiences and storytelling journey on SpecialNeeds.com.

Life With Asperger's Syndrome by Robin Flutterby Borakove

Hello, I'm Robin Flutterby Borakove, high functioning adult with special needs, now a correspondent for SpecialNeeds.com, covering the Special Olympics World Games and other amazing events. I invite you to follow my blog and learn about my quest for self healing and improving the quality of my life.  I have learned so much throughout my journey as an adult with Asperger's Syndrome. It’s time for me to share, and teach others how to be the best they can be even with a challenge. I will tell my story and hope the lessons I have learned will help others to enrich their lives and live their own dreams as I am now doing for myself. I tell people that I had to become my own hero, take an active part in my mental and physical well-being and save my life, because no one else was going to! So HERE I AM, getting a life, and learning how to have a positive impact and inspire those around me. Creating a character and storytelling as Fairy Queen Flutterby™, I have decided to shine brightly so other’s may have a lighted path.   Blog of a Special Needs Adult  Growing up, whenever I tried to explain my thoughts to anyone, it seemed to annoy people. In fact, whenever people spoke, I saw people's words turn into pictures or shapes of some sort. At the time I didn't understand why, and so it was a lot easier to tell stories about what...

Robin, an adult with Asperger's, recounts her unique experiences and storytelling journey on SpecialNeeds.com.

This review is courtesy of Wynsum Arts' Every App Has a Story , the stories behind Wynsum Arts' distinguished apps. "We looked at existing story apps but nothing created a way to 'page through' a story, repeating a message as often as needed." – Jennifer Marden, developer of Pictello Pictello is a 2012 Apps of Distinction recipient. Congratulations to the AssistiveWare team! In one of our recent posts, we talked with David Niemeijer of AssistiveWare about his AAC app Proloquo2Go. He started the company after developing technology to make a computer accessible to a friend who became paralyzed from the neck down. His reputation for innovation in assistive technology has led to many partnerships, including one with Jennifer Marden, who brought her social stories app to AssistiveWare. Niemeijer says, "For quite some time, I had wanted a companion app to Proloquo2Go for visual storytelling, but I lacked the time to develop it. In 2009, I met Jennifer, who had been working on something like this. I offered her to bring her project to AssistiveWare. We continued working on the app for almost a year, adding support for text to speech, a wizard mode for creating stories so that kids could easily make their own stories, a nice user interface with attractive artwork, etc. It was released as...

Review of Pictello, an app by AssistiveWare for creating visual stories, aiding social sharing and literacy for those with special needs.

Special Needs App of the Day – Pictello

   This review is courtesy of Wynsum Arts'   Every App Has a Story  , the stories behind Wynsum Arts' distinguished apps.                       "We looked at existing story apps but nothing  created a way  to 'page through' a story, repeating a message as often as needed."   – Jennifer Marden, developer of Pictello  Pictello is a 2012 Apps of Distinction recipient. Congratulations to the AssistiveWare team! In one of our recent posts, we talked with David Niemeijer of AssistiveWare about his AAC app Proloquo2Go. He started the company after developing technology to make a computer accessible to a friend who became paralyzed from the neck down. His reputation for innovation in assistive technology has led to many partnerships, including one with Jennifer Marden, who brought her social stories app to AssistiveWare. Niemeijer says, "For quite some time, I had wanted a companion app to Proloquo2Go for visual storytelling, but I lacked the time to develop it. In 2009, I met Jennifer, who had been working on something like this. I offered her to bring her project to AssistiveWare. We continued working on the app for almost a year, adding support for text to speech, a wizard mode for creating stories so that kids could easily make their own stories, a nice user interface with attractive artwork, etc. It was released as...

Wild Onion Press took off in 2009 on the mission to change minds one at a time about children (as well as about all creatures great and small) with physical differences. We aimed to do this through literature, believing that a story is a powerful influence on the emotional lives of readers. Remember what it was like to fall in love with a book when you were a child? No matter if we “fell in love” with the main character of Lassie, Jo in Little Women, or today's Harry in Harry Potter, we transferred that affection and admiration to a real-live person whom we met–or will meet–along the way in our own lives. That's the idea behind Wild Onion Press. Our heroic characters just happen to have a physical difference, yet they drive the story, save the day, are funny, adorable and naughty just like any other child. The day that Grace McClelland in Indiana sent her picture book manuscript to Wild Onion Press was only a few months after the publishing company opened its doors. Her surgeon recommended Wild Onion Press to her, and the Fed Ex truck drove up to deliver her “life story,” which she had dictated to her mother when she was five. By the time Shelley Fraser Mickle, the publisher, turned the last page, she said, "” was not the same person.” Yes, that's the ultimate measure of a successful piece of writing: it invites you into a unique world and leaves you...

Wild Onion Press publishes books like 'The Gift of Grace' to change views on physical differences through storytelling.

The Power of Stories to Change Minds

 Wild Onion Press took off in 2009 on the mission to change minds one at a time about children (as well as about all creatures great and small) with physical differences. We aimed to do this through literature, believing that a story is a powerful influence on the emotional lives of readers. Remember what it was like to fall in love with a book when you were a child?  No matter if we “fell in love” with the main character of Lassie, Jo in Little Women, or today's Harry in Harry Potter, we transferred that affection and admiration to a real-live person whom we met–or will meet–along the way in our own lives. That's the idea behind Wild Onion Press. Our heroic characters just happen to have a physical difference, yet they drive the story, save the day, are funny, adorable and naughty just like any other child. The day that Grace McClelland in Indiana sent her picture book manuscript to Wild Onion Press was only a few months after the publishing company opened its doors. Her surgeon recommended Wild Onion Press to her, and the Fed Ex truck drove up to deliver her “life story,” which she had dictated to her mother when she was five. By the time Shelley Fraser Mickle, the publisher, turned the last page, she said, "” was not the same person.” Yes, that's the ultimate measure of a successful piece of writing: it invites you into a unique world and leaves you...

Wild Onion Press publishes books like 'The Gift of Grace' to change views on physical differences through storytelling.

The Rooster Who Lost His Voice is a tale of a rooster and his family in friends, but it is more than a simple storybook app; it is an app full of lively animations and is more like a trip to the theater than just a narrated story. Developed by iMagine machine, an "edutainment" publishing and development house, The Rooster Who Lost His Voice is an entertaining and educational app for children. Each "page" of the story includes a lively narrator, and animations bring the story to life. The user must tap a part of the screen (an object begins blinking so you know what to tap) to move to the next part of the story, so it also includes an interactive element. The Rooster Who Lost His Voice is underscored with fun music, and children will love the characters. Told through narration and interjections from the characters, the app is a throwback to classic storytelling, but presented in a very modern way. All of these elements, including the interaction needed to move to the next screen, help keep children focused and drawn into the story. The Rooster Who Lost His Voice includes many characters, which help establish themes of friendship, family (including children, parents, and grandparents), and commitment. The story runs for 18 minutes, and children will love every bit of it. The app is meant for a whole family experience, and it is very...

Interactive children's app 'The Rooster Who Lost His Voice' offers a theatrical storytelling experience with animation and music.

Special Needs App of the Day: The Rooster Who Lost His Voice

 The Rooster Who Lost His Voice is a tale of a rooster and his family in friends, but it is more than a simple storybook app; it is an app full of lively animations and is more like a trip to the theater than just a narrated story.    Developed by iMagine machine, an "edutainment" publishing and development house, The Rooster Who Lost His Voice is an entertaining and educational app for children. Each "page" of the story includes a lively narrator, and animations bring the story to life. The user must tap a part of the screen (an object begins blinking so you know what to tap) to move to the next part of the story, so it also includes an interactive element.   The Rooster Who Lost His Voice is underscored with fun music, and children will love the characters. Told through narration and interjections from the characters, the app is a throwback to classic storytelling, but presented in a very modern way. All of these elements, including the interaction needed to move to the next screen, help keep children focused and drawn into the story.         The Rooster Who Lost His Voice includes many characters, which help establish themes of friendship, family (including children, parents, and grandparents), and commitment. The story runs for 18 minutes, and children will love every bit of it. The app is meant for a whole family experience, and it is very...

Interactive children's app 'The Rooster Who Lost His Voice' offers a theatrical storytelling experience with animation and music.

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Special Needs
Articles

Life With Asperger's Syndrome by Robin Flutterby Borakove

Special Needs App of the Day – Pictello

The Power of Stories to Change Minds

Special Needs App of the Day: The Rooster Who Lost His Voice

Find Providers Near You

Special Needs Articles

Life With Asperger's Syndrome by Robin Flutterby Borakove

Special Needs App of the Day – Pictello

The Power of Stories to Change Minds

Special Needs App of the Day: The Rooster Who Lost His Voice

Find Providers Near You

Special Needs
Articles