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Switch Accessible Touch Screen, child friendly videos.

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Switch videos are animations or slideshows set to music, which can be controlled by a range of common assistive access devices. They are designed to help children understand and generalise cause and effect (the action / reaction bond), one of the foundation stones for early learning.

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Some games are switch accessible if can be played using SPACE or ENTER keys

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Papunet games. Games and exercises for adults, children and everybody in between for learning, rehabilitation and fun.

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Selection of cause and effect switch online games

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Selection of cause and effect switch games great for learning early switch skills

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Selection of cause and effect switch games. They are great for learning early switch skills and may be very appropriate for older students. Games can be accessed by mouse, touchscreen, spacebar and switch.Tons of early switch games. Lots of video tutorials to help you make fun, personalised, inclusi…

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Use Press Any Key online activities to make switch accessible

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games; educational toddler games; toddlers; babies; kids; little kids; toddler games; baby games; games for toddlers; games for babies; little kids games; games for little kids; preschool games; learning; baby activities; activities; interactive games; early development; downloads; wallpaper; coloring games; puzzle; early stimulation; baby stimulation; el buho boo; owl; owl games; owl boo; boo

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OWLIE BOO - Educational games for toddlers, babies and young children - Owl games

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A site of educational games that has as aim that the children learn to use the computer playing. It is a form entertaineing way of stimulating the smallest: it teaches them to press keys, to move the mouse, to do click and to drag objects.

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Switch accessible includes SEN Switcher online activity

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Our free activities have been carefully designed to help young people make progress with their access skills using assistive technology such as switches, touch devices, pointing devices and eye gaze systems. Use the topics folders below to select and download all of our free accessible activities to use on your PC computer.

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Books for beginning readers.

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Welcome

Welcome to the Tar Heel Reader, a collection of free, easy-to-read, and accessible books on a wide range of topics. Each book can be speech enabled and accessed using multiple interfaces, including touch screens, the IntelliKeys with custom overlays, and 1 to 3 switches. Click here to learn more about alternative access methods.

You may write your own books using pictures from the huge collection at Flickr or pictures you upload. All books should be complete, edited, and revised to the best of your ability before publishing them to the site. While you are working on them, please save them as drafts.

Note the little well icon in the upper left corner of the page; clicking it will allow you to access the main menu. You can also click the settings icon to change settings on some pages.

Your browser is unsupported. The site should work for finding and reading books but you will not have switch access or the ability to write books. We recommend that you upgrade to a modern browser or install Chrome Frame.
You are in Classic mode. You will not have access to all of the features of the site but it may work better on older computers and web browsers. Click this text to leave Classic mode.
Ready to get started?

This site is also available in other languages. To help with translation, contact us.

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Welcome to the Tar Heel Reader, a collection of free, easy-to-read, and accessible books on a wide range of topics. Each book can be speech enabled and accessed using multiple interfaces, including touch screens, the IntelliKeys with custom overlays, and 1 to 3 switches. Click here to learn more about alternative access methods.

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SPACE key or SWITCH will move activity along.

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My name is Sara. I have 2 boys who both showed an interest in the computer, but didn't know how to use the mouse or keyboard. Since there was nothing on the market to meet their needs, I developed a series of educational computer software programs that they could operate on their own by simply pressing the spacebar. I am making these programs available at no charge to any parent or teacher who thinks they may be able to use them.

The programs are based on high interest subjects, such as nursery rhymes, holidays, and birthday themes. The software keeps children engaged and actively learning. And for children with limited language skills, my programs can help give meaning to words and concepts. Holidays, birthdays, going to the doctor, dentist, or getting a haircut, are all broken down into sequential steps to thoroughly explain the event.
This educational software is made for children 18 months to 6 years of age (or higher for children struggling with language delays due to autism or other causes).

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Hiyah.net - Free Educational Software for Children

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My name is Sara. I have 2 boys who both showed an interest in the computer, but didn't know how to use the mouse or keyboard. Since there was nothing on the market to meet their needs, I developed a series of educational computer software programs that they could operate on their own by simply pressing the spacebar.

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Memory, Matching, Literacy, Numeracy - all switch accessible

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Doorway Online is a collection of free and highly accessible educational games that learners will find easy to use independently. Each activity has a range of accessibility and difficulty options. Originally developed with funding from Scottish Borders Council, it is now managed by the Doorway Accessible Software Trust, a Scottish charity.

Filed Under: Tagged With: News accessible, activities, educational, free, games, interactive, interactive whiteboard, iwb, learning, literacy, maths, numeracy, school, spelling, typing

We are proud to announce Text Type, the final version of our touch typing activity. Please read these notes carefully.

We have made numerous changes to Text Type to make it more accessible:

Enhanced speech feedback echoing all keypresses and on-screen text. This makes Text Type accessible to leaners with extremely low vision, with some support.

We have increased the size of the target text to make TextType more accessible to visually impaired learners.

As far as possible, Text Type can be navigated by keypresses. These are the standard keys to navigate web browsers. TAB, Enter, the Up and Down Arrow Keys.

Doorway Single Handed Typing has been added to Text Type. This allows learners with use of a single hand to practise typing using exercises developed for their particular need. Select Left or Right from the title screen.

Teipio Testun Text Type is now a totally bilingual activity The Welsh Governement has paid for this development including the above improvements. Text Type/Teipio Testun is also available on their education website, The Hwb.

Browsers - Text Type has been tested on Microsoft Edge and Chrome. It should work in Firefox, but this is not guaranteed.
An important notice about the Speech Output
In previous versions of Text Type, the target letter (female voice) and any mistyped letter (male voice) were spoken by recorded human voices. Text Type now uses text to speech voices. The first time you use Text Type, you will need to choose the voices.

These voices are specific to the browser:

In Microsoft Edge, Sonia Online and George might be a good choice

In Chrome, the choice is between the Microsoft voices and the Google voices, female and male.

In Firefox, you can use a favourite pair of SAPI voices such as Cerevoice Heather and Stuart which are particularly clear in differentiating the names of the letters. You will have to use Firefox, which still supports SAPI voices. Firefox is not officially supported, but we have found no issues with Text Type and Firefox.

Documentation. We have produced a guide to Text Type/Teipio Testun in English, for learners in both languages.

To download this documentation, use the link below:

Two previous versions
For the moment we are keeping two previous versions on the site, TT3 phase 2 and TT3 phase 3. These are no longer supported and may not be kept here much longer.

Scheduled maintenance will be happening to the Doorway website on 16-02-2022 between 9 am and 3pm. During this time the site may not be available for around 10 to 15 minutes.

We are sorry if this causes you any inconvenience.

Doorway Online is designed to run on the following supported web browsers:

Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox (should be compatible).

If you are experiencing problems accessing our site or activities please check you are using one of the above browsers and that your browser is up-to-date.

If you are still experiencing problems please fill in an error report and we will get back to you.

Note: Internet Explorer is no longer supported by our site as it will soon be retired by Microsoft.

Important Update: There is even more up-to-date version of Text Type. Read more about this update here.

We have completed Text Type 3, the touch typing tutor for visually impaired learners that should suit anyone learning to touch type.
The new features are aimed at learners with very low vision:

Text to Speech is available for almost all on-screen text

TAB, Space and Enter can be used to access most functions

Newly recorded female and male voices are used to prompt the next keypress and warn of an incorrect keypress

Single-Handed Typing is now included in Text Type 3

We invite you to take a look at Text Type 3.

Text Type 3 phase 2, has been available on the site for over a year and will be available for three more months. It can be found here.

With the decline of Adobe Flash, soon some of our activities may not continue to function. The following activities have been renewed and will continue to work: Text Type, Speller 2, Letter & Number Formation, Cashing In and the First Phonics suite.

Fortunately, the downloadable version of our remaining activities should continue to run on Windows computers. All of our activities can be downloaded for free below!

The file is zipped and will need to be extracted before use ( how to extract/unzip a file). For installation on a school network, a request will need to be made to the network administrator.

Filed Under: Tagged With: News doorway activity pack, download, windows

Doorway Activities were originally developed in Adobe Flash. This was a good way to develop such activities up to eight or ten tears or so ago. However, Apple decided not to support Flash and later tablets entered the scene. There was a solution in Puffin Browser. Our older activities still work on PCs and Android devices with Puffin Browser installed. This is no longer available on the Apple Store.

We have been able to re-code these activities to work with almost all computers and devices;

Text Type 3

Speller 2

Letter & Number Formation

Cashing In

First Phonics suite, incorporating First Sounds; First Words; First Blends; First Digraphs; More Digraphs; First Blends

First Phonics. The suite of activities now working with most devices.

These have been developed in the modern format of html5 and JavaScript and there are no restrictions to their working on browsers on PCs and Macs. They also work on tablets although on iPads they do not enter full-screen mode as they do on Android tablets. For the remaining activities, we hope to convert more.

In the meantime, if you want to access the Flash-based activities on this site; - Do not use Chrome Browser. Firefox is more friendly to Flash-based activities. If you are using a PC you can buy the Doorway Activity USB pen-drive and install the activities directly to your PC, Pendrive or Network, or even run them directly from the USB stick. It's available now at £ 10, below cost price from [email protected]. There is no copyright restriction any more.

The Doorway Activity Pack, now on USB pen-drive. All the Flash-based activities from the website should work on all Windows PCs. This includes networked PCs, but installation may require a network administrator.

We expect that you'll be able to download these activities directly from this site before too long. Watch this space .................

We are working on the final phase of Text Type 3, the touch typing tutor that can take learners from the home keys to mastery of the whole keyboard and typing sentences. This activity is designed to be as accessible as possible to visually impaired learners as possible. The final version should be accessible even to blind learners, after some initial guidance.

Learning to touch type.
There are some things that you need to know before supporting a learner on the road to touch typing

Touch Typing is just that. There should be no keeking at the keyboard. Do not look at the keyboard or your hands, all the information you need is on the screen in Doorway Touch Type.

Touch typing is a motor learning experience. This means not looking at your hands. The best way to ensure this is to cover the learner's hands with a light cloth. If you truly learn to touch type this skill will last a lifetime like riding a bike. Even learners with mild VI can be tempted to peep.

Motor learning is a very powerful tool and such skills will remin with you thoughout life. However you need to be careful. An incorrect motor habit is very hard to correct. So get it right from the start.

You need to get into a comfortable position in which the hands fall naturally onto the keyboard. The surface on which the keyboard stands must not be too high. The wrists may rest on pads if you are typing for a long time.

A Touch Typing programme is a series of lessons starting with the home keys (A S D F J K L ; ) and leading to full mastery of the keyboard. Moving on to the next exercise without sufficient mastery of the current exercise, will only lead to disappointment later on. A score of 90% or one error in every ten keypresses should be the minimum achievement before moving on. 94% or better is our recommended level of accuracy before moving on.

Learners benefit from regular practice. Little and often is best.

Accuracy should come before speed. Start slowly. If you can type at a regular pace, almost to a beat, it will help you achieve a high speed.

Doorway Text Type is a series of exercises that, followed properly, can lead to a high rate of accuracy in typing and a good rate in terms of words per minute. In handwritten exams with a lot of writing involved. Writing at a rate of 20 words per minute is an arduous task. For a typist that is a low rate of entry. A rate of 40 words per minute is entirely realistic for a sixteen-year-old typist coming up to exams.

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Doorway Online does not collect any information about users.

Text Type 3 stores the results from a user's last session on the computer it is accessed from, but we cannot see that data.

We use Google Analytics to give us usage figures for our activities. This is anonymised data that allows us to see which countries users are accessing our site from, which activities they access and allows us to check for bandwidth issues. It is not possible for us to identify a school or an individual user. We also get anonymised data from Google ads. These adverts are usually blocked in schools.

If you communicate with us by emailing [email protected], our mail server may store your email address. However, we will not use this address to communicate with you except regarding the issue you contacted us about. Your email address will be shared with no other organisation.
Email addresses will be deleted from our mail server when we no longer require them and in any case, two years after our last contact with you. You may send an email to that address asking for your emails and email address to be deleted.

A teacher in East Lothian has made up some very useful record sheets for students to keep track of their progress through the Speller levels. He has been generous in making them available to all.

They are in a compressed zip file which you may have to open using WinZip.

Thanks again to Darren Donnelly, PT Support For Learning, Musselburgh Grammar School for compiling these word lists.

The off-line version of Doorway activities for Windows PCs or laptops which had poor or no internet access has been the Doorway Activity Pack CD. This installs the activities onto your hard disc, server or pen-drive. Typically these were licensed by a school or LEA. We are no longer charging for this, beyond the costs of materials and copying.

We will be making the Doorway Activities freely downloadable. We must thank those authorities that licensed the Doorway Activity Pack CD when we started up. Those licence fees kept us going when finances were terribly tight. Now, it makes sense to make them freely available.
Coming Soon

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Doorway Online is a collection of free and highly accessible educational games that learners will find easy to use independently. Each activity has a range of accessibility and difficulty options. Originally developed with funding from Scottish Borders Council, it is now managed by the Doorway Accessible Software Trust, a Scottish charity.

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Join online. Use Libby app to borrow ebooks and audio books.

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Help shape the future of your community. The Proposed Aberdeenshire Local Development Plan 2020 consultation is open from the 25th May to 17th July.

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Download the BookBug 10th Birthday Pack and use the BookBug Storytime Player PDF to access some BookBug books for Free.

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Happy 10th Birthday Bookbug!

CALL Scotland have loved our Partnership working with Bookbug over the past 10 years, creating accessible versions of the books and symbolised resources. Now, more than ever, it is so important that all children can take part in shared reading and access stories with their parents and carers at home, to develop literacy and enhance health and wellbeing, while schools are closed.

As a birthday gift, we have put together a 'Bookbug Birthday Pack' of resources to enable children with communication difficulties to fully participate in Bookbug storytime at home with their parents and carers.
Watch the Bookbug Birthday pack introductory video
So, what's in the pack?

1. A 'Bookbug Storytime Player PDF' with links to 10 Author videos, produced by Scottish Book Trust, of some of our favourite Bookbug books. There are also links to digital symbolised resources, as well as video tutorials. The PDF can be downloaded and used on any Windows, Android or iOS device.

2. A set of 10 SoundingBoard communication boards, one to accompany each book. The boards use symbolised vocabulary and recorded speech to enable children with communication difficulties to talk about the story and comment during shared reading. These can be used on an iPhone or iPad. Download the free app SoundingBoard for your iOS device

3. Top 10 Tips for parents and carers on how to use the resources at home with your child.

4. Video tutorials and examples of ways to use the resources at home.

Download the Bookbug 10th Birthday Pack .

And for more...

Access ALL our Bookbug resources from the past 10 years on our Symbols for All website.

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Happy 10th Birthday Bookbug! CALL Scotland have loved our Partnership working with Bookbug over the past 10 years, creating accessible versions of the books and symbolised resources. Now, more than ever, it is so important that all children can take part in shared reading and access stories with their parents and carers at home, to develop literacy and enhance health and wellbeing, while schools are closed.

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Widgit symbols to try experiments - from National Science and Engineering Activity Week

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Skip to content

Remember – The Sensory Stories featured in my podcast are HERE (and also free!)

Here are some of more Pete’s Special Stories!

Sir Pranceabout and the Dragon

Join noble Sir Pranceabout as he takes on a cantankerous dragon! This story is designed to get the listener to use their noodle as their thinking skills powers will be tested to the full!

Gobbin’ Hood and his Merry Phlegm!

Disgusting! Gobbin’ must best the evil King John in a spitting match to win the hand of the fair Maid Carryon. Seriously, one of the most disgusting things I’ve written!

Dimwit Dwight on Bonfire Night

Meet Dozy Dwight, an absolute plum who ignores every single rule in the Firework Code. Things will not end well for this bonfire berk!

An awful presentation that will be upgraded soon so people can enjoy Dwight’s suffering in glorious HD!

‘Twas the Day before Christmas!

See what Santa gets up to before he leaves the grotto on Christmas Eve.

A nice gentle Christmas story this one and one to get you in the mood for Christmas!

The Story of Easter

The story of Jesus Christ’s last days, think Jesus Christ Superstar on a budget. A tricky one to do sensitively, but I think I just about managed. However, to my eternal shame, I DO rhyme “Jesus” with “30 silver pieces” Pizzas? What a hack!

Beat the Covid Blues

I wrote this story to give parents and carers ideas of what to do with their young person at home, to beat the pesky Corona Virus blues. It went super viral (no pun intended!) and was translated into Icelandic and Welsh – cor!

Puberty Monsters! A story some of the misconceptions of puberty. Do you REALLY grow hair all over!?! More appropriate for higher learners who don’t take things literally

Naughty Nora and the Easter Bunny

One Easter night, as the Easter Bunny makes his rounds, he notices his eggs going missing as soon as he leaves them. Where are they going and who is the mysterious egg thief? You may be surprised!

I’m Farticus!

A REALLY disgusting story about the most flatulent gladiator you’ll ever meet. Will this farty fighter prevail or will he literally blow his chances?

Like a bunch of unruly teenagers, my stories have ended up stropping about all over the web. You’ll find some here (in the Sensory Stories tab) and a bunch of them are on the EQUALS site: https://equals.co.uk/whiteboard-room-pmld-sensory-stories/

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Remember – The Sensory Stories featured in my podcast are HERE (and also free!) Here are some of more Pete’s Special Stories! Sir Pranceabout and the Dragon Join noble Sir Pranceabout a…

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Variety of Widgit Symbolised resources.

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With schools closing across the world to help fight the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) we have put together a collection of tools and ready-made materials to help parents, teachers and carers who use symbols to support their children and young people.

We have also worked with experts in the healthcare sector to create a wide range of free accessible health resources for patients and professionals.

We will be adding to this page as new materials become available, so check back for more and keep an eye on our Facebook and Instagram channels to find out what's new.

Education

Health

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A collection of tools and ready-made symbol materials to help parents, teachers, carers and medical professionals.

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Axel says:

I asked myself what I could do as a children's illustrator to inform, as well as entertain, my readers here and abroad, about the Coronavirus. So I was glad when my publisher, Nosy Crow, asked me to illustrate this question-and-answer book. I think it is extremely important for children and families to have access to good and reliable information in this unprecedented crisis, and hope this digital book will reach many children.

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I asked myself what I could do as a children's illustrator to inform, as well as entertain, my readers here and abroad, about the Coronavirus. So I was glad when my publisher, Nosy Crow, asked me to illustrate this question-and-answer book.

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A suite of 6 sensory stories.

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Introducing Strings & Things: Telling the tales of our lives

The Covid-19 Pandemic affects us all without exception. The world as we know it has changed.

It's vital to provide opportunities to explore and understand the impact this has had on us - and we now also need to look forward to what may come next.

We each have our own unique experiences of how Covid-19 has touched our lives. Telling those stories over and over can help our amazing brains process and make sense of them. Working through our experiences, rather than bottling them up, supports good mental health.

Still, not everyone is ready or able to articulate their personal tales yet for many excellent reasons, ranging from the practical to the emotional and beyond. So, sometimes, somebody else's stories can tell or support our own until we're ready to find our own words or expressions.

How sensory stories can help: Inclusive approaches to processing social distancing and lockdown

For those whose interactions and communications with the world are mainly sensory, perhaps due to being very young or having a complex disability, stories require more than words. They need animated narratives that stimulate as many routes of perception and connection as possible.

This is where this suite of sensory stories and Story Massages comes in, and it has been designed to support both the person experiencing the story and the person delivering it.

Many families and settings supporting people with complex disabilities are likely to be shielding for some time to come, and resources can be scarce. With this in mind, these stories have been written to require the simplest of things. Sensory experiences don't need to be elaborate, pretty or expensive to create impact, after all.

A suite of stories

There are five stories, using paired concepts to compare and contrast some common themes within our collective experience of the Covid-19 pandemic.

They are not exhaustive, so we hope they may stimulate you to create your own to meet the specific needs of your family member, the person you care for or the person you teach. They are also drama-based with the narrator/facilitator helping to create moments of conversation and character to bring the stories to life.

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Strings & Things: Five sensory stories - Mainspring Arts

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The Covid-19 Pandemic affects us all without exception. The world as we know it has changed. It's vital to provide opportunities to explore and understand the impact this has had on us - and we now also need to look forward to what may come next.

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Social Stories for Families and Educators.

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You searched for label/My Freebies - Autism Little Learners

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Sorry, but nothing matched your search terms. Please try again with some different keywords.

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How to make life more sensory

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Scill is a charity based in Aberdeenshire, Scotland

We help carers, parents and professionals to support children with additional support needs.

Phone us on 07913326816

Email
admin@scill-aberdeenshire.org.uk
or phone
07913326816

Resilience Workshop

On 27th November Marjorie Temperley came to a themed support session on increasing resiliance. There was no internet available for the talk but Marjorie has kindly shared her powerpoint for us to click the links and watch the videos. (click the download button below) Resilience Building for SCILL 2019Download Once again Marjorie was able to ... Read more

Events

Please refer to events calendar for details of upcoming events and children's activities.

SCILL (SCIO) AGM

SCILL (SCIO) will hold its Annual General Meeting at 7.00pm on Tuesday 28 May 2019 at the Burnett Arms Hotel, 25 High Street, Banchory. All members are welcome to attend. Please email if you plan to come along. The management committee will stay for a meal after the AGM at 7.30pm and you are welcome ... Read more

SCILL Support Sessions and Workshops

SCILL Support Sessions and Workshops are listed on the Events calendar of our website. Please email admin@scill-aberdeenshire.org.uk for further information.

Powerpoint from Marjorie Temperley

Download On 4th March Marjorie came to a themed support session on preparing for meetings and the role of the supporter. Marjorie has very kindly given us her Powerpoint which can be downloaded by clicking on the above link. Her talk was very informative and feedback from those attending was highly positive. We will definitely ... Read more

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SCILL - Supporting Children in Learning for Life

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Scill is a charity based in Aberdeenshire, Scotland We help carers, parents and professionals to support children with additional support needs. Phone us on 07913326816 Email admin@scill-aberdeenshire.org.ukor phone 07913326816 Resilience Workshop On 27th November Marjorie Temperley came to a themed support session on increasing resiliance.

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iPad Apps for Learners with Complex Additional Support Needs

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Details
A3 sized PDF poster - revision 3.0, published 2022
Description

We receive regular queries about useful iPad apps for complex learning difficulties. This poster is our response. The 'Wheel of Apps' is not comprehensive, but it attempts to identify relevant, useful apps and categorise them into the areas where we feel an iPad can be a useful learning tool. Note that some apps address a range of difficulties. The wheel features a mix of apps, some of which will be useful for Primary aged learners, some for Secondary aged learners and some with both.

To save space, we have not placed individual apps into multiple categories but listed them under a category that is particularly relevant to the app. Links on the electronic version are 'clickable' and will take you to the iTunes UK App Store, where you can find out more about the individual apps and download them onto your iPad.

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iPad Apps for Learners with Complex Additional Support Needs

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This is the latest poster in our popular 'App Wheel' series. We receive regular queries about useful iPad apps for complex learning difficulties. This new poster is our response. The 'Wheel of Apps' is not comprehensive, but attempts to identify relevant, useful apps and to categorise them into the ...

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Makaton signed stories.

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We've had an amazing month of activities celebrating with different support groups across the UK for #WDSD19 and enjoyed rocking our socks with you all! In early March we visited our friends at South Manchester DS Support group for a concert, followed by a concert in Bolton for High Five Support Group. Later in the...

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We've had an amazing month of activities celebrating with different support groups across the UK for #WDSD19 and enjoyed rocking our socks with you all! In early March we visited our friends at South Manchester DS Support group for a concert, followed by a concert in Bolton for High Five Support Group.

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Inclusion, Wellbeing and Equities

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Welcome to the Inclusion, Wellbeing & Equalities Wakelet. This Wakelet is a collection of links to materials stored online that can be used to support inclusive education and learner wellbeing. These links could take you to the National Improvement Hub, Glow, Websites or YouTube. Please check which…

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Increasing Accessibility and Fostering Inclusive Classrooms

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Microsoft Inclusive Classroom - free tools and resources

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A Wakelet to house all of the tools, training, videos, and blogs related to the Microsoft Inclusive Classroom. Includes Reading, Writing, Math and Communication.

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Reading, Writing and Maths Tools

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Educator Center Overview - Microsoft Learn Educator Center

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Microsoft Learn for Educators takes the best of Microsoft Learn online learning paths and helps you to bring instructor-led training materials from Microsoft into your courses. This program provides members with access to Microsoft ready-to-teach curriculum and teaching materials aligned to industry-recognized Microsoft Certifications.

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Empower Students with Inclusive Writing Tools

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Empower students with inclusive writing tools

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In this interactive guide, you’ll see how to empower students with inclusive tools that help them write more efficiently, edit quickly and accurately, and work independently with confidence.

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Improve Student and Parent Communication

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Improve student and parent communication

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In this interactive guide, you’ll see how inclusive classroom tools from Microsoft can help you improve communication with students and parents. You’ll see how to present with live captions and subtitles, hold multilingual group conversations, and provide one-on-one translation.

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Providing Inclusive Math Tools

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In this interactive guide, you'll see how inclusive math features from Microsoft provide a toolbox of free capabilities to empower students of all abilities and learning styles, improve comprehension of written problems and their solutions, and enable students to work independently at their own pace.

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Help Students Read more Effectively

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In this interactive guide, you'll see how inclusive classroom tools from Microsoft can help students read more effectively, improve focus, and work independently at their own pace.

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Ways to Learn at Home through play

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Free, Daily, Home learning videos for primary aged children brought to you by www.senresourcesblog.com The SEN Resources Blog. Buy us a coffee/donate the equivalent to help support our site on Ko-Fi here https://ko-fi.com/senresourcesblog

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Download the app and use Redeem codes below to play some switch accessible games.

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ChooseIt Maker 3 - plus task Redeem Code

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Stimulus for learning through play.

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Resiliance Alphabet - Education Scotland

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Resiliance Alphabet - Education Scotland

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Build inner strength and wellbeing

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Being resilient is all about how well you deal with and cope with difficult situations, which we are all facing at this time (May 2020) If you are resilient, you have the skills to bounce-back or recover from these difficulties.

The Resilience Alphabet can be used in lots of different way to develop these skills.

You can access and use it on-line or you could print them off to make Resilience Alphabet cards.

Perhaps you could randomly select letters of the alphabet - maybe using the letters within your name, or perhaps start at the very beginning, a, b, c and so on.
Powerpoint presentation: Resilience Alphabet with sound (Large file 22 MB)Powerpoint presentation: Resilience Alphabet (6.2 MB)
A Resilience Alphabet to support adults
PDF file: Resilience Alphabet - How to build inner strength and wellbeing in 26 days
Feel free to share your work on social media, @EducationScot # ResilienceAlphabet

See how people are interacting on Twitter with #ResilienceAlphabet.

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Resilience alphabet - building inner strength and wellbeing for kids - primary

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Being resilient is all about how well you deal with and cope with difficult situations, which we are all facing at this time (May 2020) If you are resilient, you have the skills to bounce-back or recover from these difficulties. The Resilience Alphabet can be used in lots of different way to develop these skills.

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Back to School Toolkit

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Everyone with school-age children, or working in education, has concerns and questions about when and how we will return to schools-based education. For children with learning difficulties, that transition may pose additional challenges and worries. We have listened to parents, carers, children, young people and teachers. We have consulted with colleagues in the research community, in schools and in the third sector. The Back to School Toolkit we offer here has, we believe, something for everyone.

Dip in to all the resources. We think you'll find tips, guidance and practical activities that will work for you and the children and young people that you are helping to get through the COVID-19 situation. You will find answers to questions you didn't know you had, as well as those you have been asking yourself for some time now.

As we learn more about the arrangements for schools, we will add to the range of tools in the Toolkit. Follow us on Twitter and on Facebook to find out when new resources are added. Keep checking our website, too.

And keep in touch - what was useful, what else would you like to see? Do you need help with your own situation?

Contact us on 01313706730, directhelp@mindroom.org or fill in an enquiry form.

What's in the Toolkit?

For Parents and Carers

About Me - a simple way to set out the most important things to know about your child

Correspondence Log - advice to help you keep on top of key discussions and documents about your child's wellbeing and progress

Journal - a place to reflect on how you and your child have been affected by the pandemic. What do you think is imporant to share with your child's school? Suggested activities to help calm your worries

Social Scenario Reflection Tool - the pandemic has thrown up some potential flashpoints for young people with learning difficulties. Use this tool as a way to identify effective coping strategies

For Primary School Children

Workbook - think about what it has been like at home, and how it might feel to go back to school. Record your hopes and concerns. Can you share these with key adults at home or at school?

My Wellbeing Wheel - recognise feelings and emotions, and find out what helps to manage them

For Secondary School Children

Workbook - think about what it has been like at home, and how it might feel to go back to school. Record your hopes and concerns. Can you share these with key adults at home or at school?

My Wellbeing Wheel - recognise feelings and emotions, and find out what helps to manage them

For Teachers

based on the principles of SHANARRI, consider the questions that are troubling families, add your own and track your progress to finding the answers

Social Scenario Reflection Tool - the pandemic has thrown up some potential flashpoints for children with learning difficulties. Use this tool as a way to identify effective coping strategies

For Everyone

Read our updates from It takes all kinds of minds, find out how children and young people with learning difficulties have been challenged by coronavirus, and ways to manage

ADHD

Autism

DCD

Dyslexia

Tourette syndrome

Combined Updates

​Key resources from other organisations can be found below

Our suggestions for using the toolkit

It's not too early to start planning for the transition now!

Once schools have a timescale for opening, transition work needs to intensify. We are all changed by the pandemic and we have discovered new things about ourselves and each other, including how we learn best. We need to share information and listen to one another.

Schools can:

Send home the workbooks now and suggest that families start to work through the activities

Read our and identify parental concerns that you can incorporate into the transition planning

Send every family our chart and hear in their own words what matters most to each child

Incorporate the wellbeing wheels and Social Scenario Reflection Tool into the school strategies for managing pupils' heightened emotions or difficult situations

Read the updated advice in It takes all kinds of minds to learn more about the ways children with learning difficulties may be affected in the pandemic

Remember that how you communicate is absolutely essential, perhaps the most important element of the return to school. Read our Building Effective Relationships to find out what matters most to children, young people and their families

Families can:

Introduce the or Workbooks to your child now - see how your child describes their worries and concerns, but also their hopes and things they look forward to

Use the or Wellbeing Wheels to give your child some strategies to manage their emotions

Consider what you should flag in advance to the school to ensure the best support for your child

Fill in the chart so the school can focus on some key areas that will most help your child

Use the Social Scenario Reflection Tool to help find coping strategies for difficult situations

Read the updated advice in It takes all kinds of minds to learn more about the ways children with learning difficulties may be affected in the pandemic

Remember that how you communicate is absolutely essential, perhaps the most important element of the return to school. Read our Building Effective Relationships to find out what matters most to children, young people and teachers

Keep track of all your communication with the Correspondence Log

Look after your own wellbeing - use the Parent Journal to consider how you have been affected and find ways to manage your concerns and emotions

Everyone can:

Find out more as the situation develops by keeping in contact with us

Find more information in the Key Resources listing

Key resources

In response to the pandemic, lots of organisations have produced fantastic resources and activities. Here are our top picks. If you have a favourite, let us know and we'll expand the list.

Salvesen Mindroom Centre's multi-disciplinary team can offer advice, information and 1:1 support. Our website is host to a range of free resources about autism, ADHD, DCD, dyslexia and Tourette syndrome. We aim to help you whether or not your child or young person has a diagnosis

The Salvesen Mindroom Research Centre (SMRC) is in a collaborative research partnership with Salvesen Mindroom Centre. SMRC research is creating new knowledge about learning difficulties. Together, we are using that knowledge to design and evaluate ways to enable people to thrive

Enquire is the Scottish advice service for additional support for learning. There is a new section on their website to help you to understand how the law has changed during the coronavirus outbreak and what these changes may mean for children with additional support needs

Reach is a website dedicated to young people to help them understand their rights around education

My Rights My Say supports children in Scotland aged 12-15 with additional support needs to exercise their rights to be involved in decisions about their support in school

SCLD (Scottish Commission for Learning Disability) has good information and self-help guides, including Easy Read versions

RCPCH (Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health) has a range of resources to support adult wellbeing, and RCPCH&Us has resources for children and young people while staying at home and more

Scottish Autism has gathered a range of resources, and created some fun activities and a Mood Diary

Contact provides general guidance and information for families of children with disabilities

Dyslexia Scotland has a range of information and resources

NPFS (National Parent Forum of Scotland) represents the views of parents and carers, and produces resources that explain many aspects of the Scottish education system in their 'Nutshell' series

CYCPS (Children and Young People Commissioner Scotland) ensures that the rights of children and young people are protected and promoted. Your coronavirus questions answered, and resources for children and young people

Tourette Scotland provides support to anyone living with Tourette Syndrome and their families, support and advice by email, through local support groups and Facebook groups

Acknowledgements and thanks

We'd like to thank all the parents, carers, children and young people and education professionals who spoke to us and emailed in response to our request for input into the Back to School Toolkit. In addition, we received a lot of generous donations that have helped us to keep going and devote time and energy to the creation of this resource.

We also received help from:

Dr Sue Fletcher-Watson, Salvesen Mindroom Research Centre

Dr Sinead Rhodes, Salvesen Mindroom Research Centre

Dr Catherine Crompton, Patrick Wild Centre

Dr Holly Joseph, University of Reading

Auchenharvie Academy

Glencryan School

General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS)

Graphic Design: Maclean Creative Agency

Graphic Design: Jane Scott, Words and Pitchers

Edinburgh College Wellbeing Team

Margaret Rose Stewart

Janice Mylan, Tourette Scotland

Picture Communication Symbols (PCS®) by Tobii Dynavox (Boardmaker)

All our generous contributors and donors

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Everyone with school-age children, or working in education, has concerns and questions about when and how we will return to schools-based education. For children with learning difficulties, that transition may pose additional challenges and worries. We have listened to parents, carers, children, young people and teachers.

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Some Free Downloadable Resources

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Free Resources Archives - Page 3 of 19 - ELSA Support

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Basic emotions songs with Makaton signs

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Our Early Years Resource Pack includes a variety of double-sided laminated activity cards, as follows, that can be used in any order to suit the group.

Being a Friend

Eating and Drinking

What do squirrels do when they are ill?

Being active makes my brain happy!

Turn Your Frown Upside Down!

When I am sad

Oh dear! I'm feeling ......!

Feeling Good

This is Fin and Bear

Why do we need sleep?

Sleep is like magic medicine!

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Our Early Years Resource Pack includes a variety of double-sided laminated activity cards, as follows, that can be used in any order to suit the group. Being a Friend Eating and Drinking What do squirrels do when they are ill? Being active makes my brain happy! Turn Your Frown Upside Down!

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Sensory, Autism, Dyslexia etc

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Welcome to the Additional Support Needs Wakelet. This Wakelet is a collection of links to materials stored online which can be used to support all children with barriers to learning which includes social and emotional, neuro-developmental differences, and environmental barriers. These links could take you to Websites, PDFs or YouTube. Please check which are available and suitable for use within your Local Authority as well as age and stage appropriateness.

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Welcome to the Additional Support Needs Wakelet. This Wakelet is a collection of links to materials stored online which can be used to support all children with barriers to learning which includes social and emotional, neuro-developmental differences, and environmental barriers. These links could take you to Websites, PDFs or YouTube.

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Health and Wellbeing Education Scotland 

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Health and Wellbeing Education Scotland 

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Welcome to the Health and Wellbeing Wakelet. This Wakelet is a collection of links to materials stored online that can be used for this curriculum area. These links could take you to the National Improvement Hub, Glow, Websites, PDFs or YouTube. This will make it easy to access materials from one place.

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Using and Teaching with MS Accessibility Tools

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Tools for Access: Using and Teaching with Accessibility Tools

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Includes Voice Typing, Translate, Screen Reader, Magnifier, Page Colour and ChromeBook Accessibility options.

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Creating an inclusive digital environment using Google products and accessibility features

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Still in trial phase but looks like it could be great ...

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My Way is a newly developed application by Pace, designed to support a child's communication, expressions, and individuality. My Way is a playful, fun and creative platform that empowers users to participate in their daily childhood antics! Users can tell jokes or stories, make sounds and funny noises - all in their own way.

No matter the access method: switch (including multiple switches), keyboard or touchscreen, no matter their accent, phrase or word, My way helps children with SEND express themselves.

For many communication devices/ Voice Output Communication Aids (VOCA) "speakers voice" is either too robotic or doesn't reflect the child's age, gender, heritage or personality. With My Way, the user can have friends, family or carers record sayings and sounds as the user would want. Allowing the user individualised expression.

An Indian teenager can have his male cousin of a similar age record his request for his favourite song. A Chinese girl can have her sister record the words to her favourite song, so that she can sing along. Personal, individual, and easy to use.

Download the app here and watch the how to video below.

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My Way is a newly developed application by Pace, designed to support a child's communication, expressions, and individuality. My Way is a playful, fun and creative platform that empowers users to participate in their daily childhood antics! Users can tell jokes or stories, make sounds and funny noises - all in their own way.

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See "Special Apps for Very Special Learners" updates.

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On the Flo Publications Ltd website you can order our books on special education using multisensory techniques and see details of forthcoming training courses, workshops and special events organised by FPL or colleagues and associates in the coming year.

Flo Longhorn's 'Special Apps for Very Special Learners' Newsletter Update

Flo has produced two new updates to her 2012 book - "iPads, Apps and Special Learners:A-Z for Beginner s" - first published in 2012, which was then followed by a series of monthly apps update newsletters from 2011 to 2016 sent to the former Information Exchange members mailing list and available from the IE Apps Alert Archive. The new updates are for May 2020 and .

We also announce that all the digital books (.pdf files) now available from Flo Publications Limited include extracts that can be downloaded from our website on the Book Sales menu option.

Flo Longhorn's final Two-Day Forum in 2019

was a big hit and declared a success by all who attended!

"The Best of British Very Special Education: Bridging the void between the past and future"
was held at the Swiss Cottage School in London on 28 & 29 November 2019, attended by 88 special education Teachers, Practitioners and Researchers from 44 schools and 3 universities.
where you can download the Speakers' presentations.

Download the full 2-day programme here () or view Best of British Very Special Education Programme online.

Our thanks to the several Volunteers who helped make the days run smoothly and efficiently!

Special thanks to the Swiss Cottage School EmployMEnt Pathway students who assisted during the Forum
Aman, Eve, Nusrath and Ikraam. And to the staff at Swiss Cottage School who helped make this a memorable event - Dean Howard, Arbesa Shaqiri, Roseanna Goode and Jeff! Well done all!
Flo Longhorn's two-day epic Forum was held in London on 29 and 30 November 2018, at the Swiss Cottage School Conference Centre, site of last two highly successful FPL Two-day Forums. The 2018 Forum followed the same format as previous events, with more than 20 cutting-edge special education topics bing presented by more than 20 speakers - including special education researchers, authors, teachers and practitioners. Another event not to be missed! For more information, see The Cutting Edge or download the 2-day Programme. See the presentations at The Cutting Edge - Programme .

For more information about training opportunities from our associates, see the Resources pages, where you will find training information fromThe Sensory Projects and Sensory Spectacle, plus information on new publications from practitioners in the field of special education, including Very Special Maths by Les Staves.

The Sensory Projects

TFor more information please visit The Sensory Projects believe that with the right knowledge and a little creativity inexpensive resources can become effective tools for inclusion. he Sensory Projects provide training across the UK and consults internationally on sensory engagement and inclusion. The Sensory Projects or connect via social media. Learn more about Training Resources from Jo Grace.

Sensory Spectacle​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Sensory Spectacle creates immersive learning experiences to educate about and form a better awareness of Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). Our workshops and installations give you an opportunity of experiencing first-hand how a SPD might impact your life allowing for greater awareness and understanding of auditory, visual, tactile, smell, taste, proprioceptive and vestibular difficulties. Look for more information about the Sensory Spectacle pre-planned workshops in 2020 or visit our Resources pages.

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On the Flo Publications Ltd website you can order our books on special education using multisensory techniques and see details of forthcoming training courses, workshops and special events organised by FPL or colleagues and associates in the coming year.

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CALL Scotland Resources - iPad Guides to Support Reading and Writing

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CALL Scotland Resources - iPad Guides to Support Reading and Writing

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“A series of quick guides explaining how to use the iPad’s built-in tools to support reading and writing.  These guides can also be used on an iPhone.”

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Ipad Short Video Guides to Support Reading and Writing

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We help people overcome disability & barriers to learning.

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RNIB Bookshare UK education collection membership is for educators supporting learners with print-disabilities and is provided FREE to organisations in the UK. (There is an annual membership fee of £150 for non-UK organisations.)

Use the link below to find out more or to Join RNIB Bookshare today!

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RNIB Bookshare UK education collection provides textbooks and materials to support the UK curriculum. We offer a range of accessible formats that can be read electronically or adapted to suit the personal reading needs of learners. We now have 649,590 titles with more being added all the time!

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New website created by the Scottish Government in partnership with Scottish Autism, the National Autistic Society, Autism Initiatives and Autistic People’s Organisations to raise awareness of autism spectrum conditions.

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Autism Awareness and Understanding

Autism is part of everyday life. Yet even though 1 in 100 people in Scotland are autistic, it's often misunderstood.

Autism is a neurological difference; put simply, autistic brains work differently to non-autistic brains. They see and experience the world differently to non-autistic people. It's important that we all understand more about autism - both what it is, and what it is not.

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Different Minds, One Scotland is committed to building better autism awareness and understanding, and recognising the value of a neurodiverse Scotland.

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Books for All provides books in accessible formats for students who have difficulty reading ordinary printed books, including those with dyslexia, who have a physical disability or who are blind or partially sighted.  Accounts are FREE for educators in Scotland supporting learners with a print disability.

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The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336, VAT Registration Number GB 592 9507 00, and is acknowledged by the UK authorities as a "Recognised body" which has been granted degree awarding powers.