GRANDParents of children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder are finding a new ally in a 409-year-old green-faced witch named Heckerty. That’s because the award-winning app Meet Heckerty was designed around proven educational techniques that work for children with or with out learning differences.
“Anyone with a child on the autism spectrum knows that repetition and control are the keys to a happy child,” says Los Angeles mother Brenda Christensen, creator of the Facebook page Autism Technically Speaking. “So I’m always looking for apps that engage my 6-year-old daughter. Meet Heckerty is one of the best I’ve found. My daughter will spend hours with it, making the app read different words to her, and laughing every time one of Heckerty’s spells misfires.”
Christensen is one of many parents who have found that a child with learning differences will find the interactive storybook enchanting. “We get email and comments in reviews from many parents who tell us that this is the only app that their children can share and enjoy together when one of them has autism, and the other does not,” explains Jan Ziff, CEO of Broomstick Productions, the company that brought Heckerty to life.
Speech Language Pathologist Tara Roehl (MS, CCC-SLP) says, “When I work with children, showing them how the written and spoken word relate to each other is critical, and so is teaching them about accepting each other by valuing differences and diversity. Meet Heckerty does exactly what I need — and the narrator’s BBC-perfect diction, clear speaking voice and pace make it memorable and understandable for my clients.
“Clicking on an unfamiliar word to hear it pronounced correctly is a great learning tool for kids and the social interactions within the story are a fantastic platform for teaching them about the thoughts and feelings of others. We need more titles like this one!”
The website Autism Speaks, one of the leading news and informational sites for families with an autism spectrum disorder, recently featured Meet Heckerty. Their review concluded that it’s a choice for kids because like all of us, Heckerty makes mistakes as she deals with the confusing world around her.
Meet Heckerty, a mobile app for Apple iOS and Android devices including Kindle Fire, is an award-winning interactive storybook for children. Heckerty has appeared in children’s education for over 20 years in the UK and was created by Ann Rachlin, Britain’s Royal Storyteller and an internationally acclaimed music educator, writer, recording artist, lyricist and speaker.
Meet Heckerty is currently available FREE on iTunes, the Amazon Android store and the Google Play store.