Community Organizations:
- The Office des personnes handicappé Québec (OPHQ) ensures compliance with the principles and rules set out in An Act to secure handicapped persons in the exercise of their rights with a view to achieving social, school and workplace integration. It advocates for persons with disabilities and their families, provides them with information and advice, and represents them, both individually and collectively.
Tools for School:
- All About Me: One-Page printable to create a story of your child to share with teachers, etc.
- Western Quebec School Board: Understanding the IEP
- Handbook for Parents of Children with Special Needs – An essential reference for who does what in the Québec school system, what to expect when your child starts school, and what happens during transition periods.
Online Tutoring & Online Learning Tools:
Fun & Educational Games:
- Fun Games for Math Abstract Concepts
- Fun Games to Increase Fluency and Vocabulary on Pinterest
- Fun Games to Develop Fine Motor Skills
- Free Visual and Task Cards
Apps:
- Special Stories App: With Special Stories you can easily create your own stories, visual schedules and wonderful memories, with your own text, images and sound. An invaluable app for visual learners, to promote language acquisition, word, picture and sound recognition, speech and sight-reading. https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/special-stories/id478550473?mt=8 (Apple Store), https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.specialiapps.specialstories (Google Play)
- TouchTown App is a basic software based treatment and education program that targets students who are developmentally 2 to 12 years old. With a combination of computer lessons and off-computer generalization lessons, the program addresses language learning, communication skills and emotional development.
- Smiling Mind App for Meditations for children and their families
- What’s Up? APP, developed by Jackson Tempra, is a free app that utilizes CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and ACT (Acceptance Commitment Therapy) methods to help users cope with depression, anxiety, anger, stress, self-esteem and more.
- STOP, BREATHE & THINK APP for Kids to help them discover their superpowers of quiet, focus and peacefulness.
- STOP, BREATHE & THINK APP for Teens to help them tune-in to their feelings.
- Booster Buddy is a free app designed to help teens and young adults improve their mental health.
- Smiling Mind. This app has great body scan meditations to help children develop the awareness of what’s happening in their bodies. Learning about what’s happening in your body is one of the first steps of an authentic mindfulness practice.
- Headspace (for Kids). This app teaches parents and children together about meditation for different age levels. They focus on Calm, Kindness, and Bedtime.
- Calm. This app provides mindfulness and sleep stories for children of varying ages. Several parents I know use the app to help their children relax, and restore themselves after a full day of running around.
- Three Good Things: A Happiness Journal. This app is simple and easy-to-use, helping children focus on the positive and recognizing what went well today. (Ages 6 and up.) Every child gets to list three things daily that went well, which begins to train their mind to look for things to appreciate and begin a gratitude practice.
- Insight Timer. This app is free with meditations for parents and children. They focus on relaxation, managing stress, concentration, and sleep, as examples.
Assistive technologies:
Materials, Toys & Equipment
- KiwiCo offers STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) hands-on projects delivered monthly.
- A l’échelle du monde is located in Gatineau and has supplies/materials for children with special needs, as well as tons of amazing toys and craft supplies. Their Website is French-only, but it’s awesome to find such a HUGE store filled with high quality toys within the Outaouais area.
- Special Needs Toys offers a full-range of visual, auditory, cognitive and motor toys and more.
- Fat Brain Toys provides a comprehensive listing of toys appropriate for specific disabilities. Caregivers of individuals with special needs can browse through the site and purchase developmentally appropriate toys, games and tools.
- Different Roads to Learning carries over 500 products carefully selected to support the Autism Community. You’ll find everything from basic flashcards, books and timers to advanced social skills tools to support you at every step.
- From over-sized building blocks and bungee jumpers to snapwall playsets and sand and water activity tables,eSpecial Needs offers a variety of appealing active play toys for children with special needs, including autism.
- Fun and Function designs sensory toys and therapy equipment for individuals with special needs to help children learn adaptive responses for what they may lack or crave.
- PlayAbility Toys designs and develops toys for children with special needs. Toys are geared towards children on the Autism Spectrum, individuals who are blind & visually Impaired, cognitive challenges, hearing impaired, physical challenges, speech delay and more.
- Special Needs Toys offers a wide range of special needs toys, from mobile Multi-Sensory, to Swings, Trampolines and other Sensory Integration kits, Switches, rewards and small Sensory toys.
- Lakeshore Learning does not have a special needs toy section, however a number of their products are perfect for children with special needs. The store is dedicated to creating innovative educational materials that spark young imaginations, instill a sense of wonder and foster a lifelong love of learning. Although not specifically targeted towards children with special needs, a number of their products can be very useful for children with special needs. As well, they offer tons of free resources.
- HUION Tablet: Offers graphic tablets, pen tablet monitors, tracing boards and accessories. This is just one example of drawing software that connects to drawing/graphic software like Photoshop.
- Ants Canada: This an organization promoting the pet ant keeping hobby, myrmecology, ecology, and habitat conservation. Its aim is to make pet ant keeping simple and enjoyable and thereby promote ant awareness and inspire conservation. They offer amazing ant farms, information on how to start an ant farm, and even has an ant nursery project where ant “farmers” can sell their ant queens for those who are starting a new farm.
