13 Sensational Apps for Children With Learning Disabilities

How can you help students with specific learning disabilities?

About 1.5 million people have a learning disability in the UK. Children with learning disabilities can be supported in a number of ways including:

• Support and guidance by a paediatrician
• Speech and language therapy sessions
• Physiotherapy sessions
• Educational and clinical psychology sessions
• Dedicated learning and assistive technology (e.g. apps for learning disabilities)

How does technology help kids with learning disabilities?

Assistive technology can help kids with learning disabilities by helping with tasks they find challenging, for example, typing instead of handwriting or spelling and grammar checking tools.

There are also dedicated apps for children with learning disabilities that have been designed with specific needs in mind. You’ll find everything from apps that teach kids to read to those that help improve verbal communication skills and practice. We’re going to share the: 

• Best apps for children with autism
• Best communication apps for learning disabilities 
• Best educational apps UK for dyslexia

Let’s take a look at what our favourite apps offer in these categories. 

Best apps for children with autism

There are a lot of wonderful learning apps for children with autism. Here are our favourites for Android and iOS devices. 

Best free autism apps for Android devices

Here is our pick of the best free autism apps for Android devices:

• CommBoards Lite - AAC Speech Assistant

CommBoards is free to download from Google Play and offers in-app purchases. It uses the Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) method and benefits children with autism by helping them express themselves. It comes with predefined communication boards about feelings, playing, eating, drinking, and greetings. ⚽

When your kid taps on pictures or symbols the sentence they form is read out loud. Once you’ve downloaded the app onto a device you don’t need an internet connection to use it.

• Language Therapy for Children with Autism (MITA)

Language Therapy for Children with Autism (MITA) is also free to download from Google Play and offers in-app purchases. Its effectiveness is backed by clinical data and has been used by more than one million kids to date. MITA stands for Mental Imagery Therapy for Autism and trains mental integration and language.

The app starts with simple vocabulary and builds up to more challenging uses of the English language such as adjectives, pronouns, verbs, and syntax. It comes with unlimited language and cognitive exercises that will keep your child busy for 10 years. There are no ads and you also don’t need a Wi-Fi connection to use it once you’ve downloaded it.

Best autism free apps iPad and iOS devices

Here is our pick of the best free autism apps for iPads, iPhones or Mac computers:

• Endless Reader (Sight Words for Kids)

Endless Reader (Sight Words for Kids) is designed to help your child learn sight words. It builds words letter by letter and has great visuals to show their meaning e.g. a dog wagging its tail to teach “dog”. 

As your kid places each word in a sentence a cute character will act out its meaning. The sounds that accompany everything your child does on screen are very effective and kids really enjoy using this app. 

• Otsimo | Special Education AAC

Otsimo | Special Education AAC is an award-winning education app created for children with autism and other special needs. Via assisted games, your child will develop communication, motor, and cognitive skills with learning topics including vocabulary, numbers, colours, emotions, music, and animals. 🐱

The app will provide a tailored learning plan for your child, adjusting to your child’s progress as they work through the activities. You can access progress reports which detail what games your kid has played and what skills they have been learning.

Best iPad music apps for autism

Here is our pick of the best iPad music apps for autism:

• VAST Songs: Autism & Apraxia

VAST Songs: Autism & Apraxia is part of the VAST: Autism & Apraxia therapy series created for kids to help develop speech. It uses videos to show someone’s mouth singing a song so your kid can mirror the movements. The words also appear at the bottom of the screen throughout the song.

• Sing to Say - AAC for Autism

Sing to Say - AAC for Autism is a great app that will help to teach your child language skills through the use of music and animation. The songs have been created so that the lyrics focus on a keyword and all of the songs are clear and well-paced. There is also a feature that tests your child’s understanding and retention. 

If you don’t have an iPad and are wondering “Where to get a free iPad for autistic child UK” you will find different grants and offers come and go. For example, Disability Grants can try and help fund an iPad for your child. You will need to provide information on what the iPad will be used for and how it will benefit your child plus a letter from a professional like a teacher. 

Best communication apps for learning disabilities

If you’re looking for the best communication apps for learning disabilities the following are all specially designed to help children with speech sound delays. 

Communication apps for younger kids

Here are two great communication apps for younger children to try:

• Articulation Station

Articulation Station was created by a certified Speech-Language Pathologist. It covers 22 sounds in the English language putting them together into words, sentences, and stories. There are six fun and engaging activities that your kid will adore and it’s available on the App Store. 

• Card Talk

Card Talk was designed to help kids who have difficulty communicating verbally. It comes with 200 cards including sounds to help your child express themselves and learn as they go. It’s available on Google Play and the App Store. 

Articulation apps for older students

Here are two great articulation apps for older students to try.

• Speech Tutor

Speech Tutor comes with clear video animations to display articulation placement. It’s available on the App Store or to use as a web version from a browser (preferably Chrome). There are multiple packages available including their Lite version where you can try out Speech Tutor Pro for free.

• Conversation Therapy

Conversation Therapy is recommended and used by many Speech-Language Pathologists and is suitable for older kids. They can engage in real-life discussions to practise communicating and boosting their confidence. It’s available for devices that run on Android and iOS and there is a Lite version available to try for free. 

While apps for children with learning disabilities are a great way to teach them new skills they can never replace one-on-one teaching and support. If you would like additional help for your child to practise and develop their communication skills, a dedicated tutor is a fantastic mechanism. 

At GoStudent, we have professional tutors to help with just this. All of our classes are online so your kid can learn from the safety and comfort of your home. This allows them to feel at ease and improves their learning progress in leaps and bounds. Plus our interactive virtual classroom is a great tool that uses multi-sensory aspects. 

Best educational apps UK for dyslexia

There are so many great educational apps for children with learning disabilities. We’ve looked at autism apps and communication apps and we’re going to focus on dyslexia in this section. We’re going to share a comprehensive educational app called Simplex Spelling Phonics that will keep them busy for years and then give you two free options your kid will love too. ❤️

Simplex Spelling Phonics

There are three apps in the Simplex Spelling Phonics series:

1. Phonics 1 - has 450 words that are split into lists, and each one builds on the previous one as your child works through the app
2. Phonics 2 -  this app has 650 additional words on top of those learned in Phonics 1 and becomes increasingly more challenging 
3. Advanced Phonograms - this includes 750 high-frequency words and moves onto advanced phonograms and spelling rules 

Free educational apps UK for dyslexia

Here are our favourite free educational apps that help children with dyslexia.

• Learning Ally Audiobook Reader

Learning Ally Audiobook Reader contains a library of audiobooks. It’s an interactive app that will show your child highlighted text alongside the audio narration. It also allows them to add bookmarks and take notes. 

• Blending Board

Blending Board is an app that uses a systematic teaching approach to learning to read and understand phonics. It’s easy to use and you can even create your own decks for your child to learn.

We hope you have found some interesting apps for your kid to try out and use to learn at home. Apps for children with learning disabilities are a very non-confrontational way for your little one to improve their skills while having fun at the same time.

If you would like further support in a specific area for your kid, we have tutors that are dedicated to teaching and motivating in a way that’s different to a regular classroom environment. For most kids with learning disabilities, one-on-one support is essential. Our tutors make every class entertaining and engaging so that your child gains the most out of it. 

Since the sessions are tailored to your child’s individual learning needs, every 50-minute class will provide maximum learning potential. If you want to try a free class simply complete some details and we will match your kid to the right tutor for them.