Lately we’ve been introducing Ava, the four year old, to computer games. We started with the basics, Reader Rabbit, Living books (Stellaluna is a favorite) and the like. Most of these games were given to us by family members which is great. Ava wiled away lots of time with these games. Eventually though she became bored with them.

Way back in February, otherwise known as the bowels of Michigan winter, I was looking for quality kids games that were affordable. I happened upon a contest PG was hosting and ended up winning that one too. Trust me, I’m not near as lucky as this post would lead you to believe. The prize in this contest was a copy of ItzaBitza.

ItzaBitza is fabulous software. It took Ava a few months to really get the hang of it. We would let her play for a bit at her own pace and for short amounts of time.  Within the last several weeks she has really wrapped her head around how the game works and is having an absolute blast.

I’m not even crazy about calling it a game. It’s so much more than that. The interaction is unlike anything I’ve seen in a program for a child. Ava can move the mouse over the words in a sentence or instruction and the game reads them to her. This is helping her learn to read as well as improving her accuracy with the mouse. The game tasks her with drawing different things which often place the character into action. She can’t be lazy about it either. The game seems pretty good at detecting a scribble, and discarding it, when it was expecting a house or tree instead. The fun doesn’t end with drawing things either. The items that are drawn can be put into motion much of the time. Imagine a plane your child draws in the game flying across the sky with a simple shake of the mouse. Really excellent.

There have been plenty of reviews written for ItzaBitza so don’t feel like you need to take my word for anything. The software only costs $20 and there’s also a trial version available. Go ahead, kick the tires.

I thought little more about the parade until I got a heartwarming phone call from my wife yesterday morning. While she was dropping my son off at his classroom, one of the other moms came up to her and told my wife how much she thought of my son. She had just moved her slightly Autistic child to the school a couple of months ago and was impressed at how caring everyone was towards her son, my son especially. Her son is still involved with the scouts at his old school, and was marching with his old pack someplace else in the parade lineup. She told my wife that she and her son were behind a fire truck that just kept blowing its siren and horn and that all the noise was a little more than her child could handle.

Towards the end of the parade route we all started disbanding and moving off to the side of the street, and we suddenly had a mélange of scouts from different packs milling about the sidewalk. I lost sight of my son momentarily but had instituted a buddy rule at the beginning of the parade, so I wasn’t too worried. Sirens, lights, and marching bands added to the cacophony as we stood aside to let the large vehicles go by.

Little did I know that while I lost track of him my son saw his new classmate in the crowd and came up to him and held his hands over his classmates ears until the noise subsided. My son remembered his new classmate’s Autism, and how loud sounds affected him. I’m not sure if what he did helped, but the fact that he thought of someone’s anguish, in the middle of all the revelry, and even refrained from watching the sights to help someone else makes me proud of him. The child’s mother expressed her gratitude to my son, and my son took his place by my side, never once telling me about he had just done.

When kid’s are well behaved the parents can take the credit, but I don’t think compassion is something that can be taught. You either have it, or you don’t.

In my various travels online, and while listening to podcasts like Jumping Monkeys, I’ve been introduced to a few tools that can help ease the worrisome mind. I’ve no affiliation with the products mentioned below nor is this part of some referral program. I just care about our kids.

In very basic terms SafetyTat is a temporary tattoo that you would place on your child before they head out to the amusement park, beach or school field trip. If you’re like me you might even apply one before taking the kids to watch a movie though this might become expensive over time.

The folks behind SafetyTat have managed to make these little gems very attractive. They’re much more attractive than you might achieve with an Avery label and sharpie not to mention those Avery labels can’t hold up very well in water. The tattoos come in several different categories and designs and even include tats for medical alerts and special needs.

$20 gets you 30 SafetyTats.

The USB flash drive contains the database where your families information is stored. It also contains the software used to collect this information. The design of the application is such that none of the information gathered, or programs used for collection, are stored on a computer.

A username and password is required to access the application and the data is encrypted; however, I wasn’t able to determine the type of encryption being used. Once the data is collected you have the ability to produce several reports (ID Card, Missing Poster, Fingerprint Card, etc) containing just the information you do not want to be hunting around for if an actual emergency were to occur.

The identakey would also be useful in day to day life, not just in emergencies. Simply having all this information in one place may be all the incentive you need to pick one up.

The identakey is available through several online sources and a few brick and mortar. It looks like the going rate is $29.99 per key.

InstantAmber might be considered the online equivalent of identakey. With InstantAmber you gather and collect your families information online. The online model does create the opportunity to easily share the information with law enforcement. With this service there is even a password you set that is designed specifically for law enforcement. In the event of an emergency you would supply your email address and law enforcement password to an appropriate person, direct them to the InstantAmber site and they would have access to your information.

As with any online service, you need to be comfortable trusting them with your data and especially so in this case. Their site indicates the data is secure and encrypted.

This service runs $29.95/year per child.

There you have it. Three opportunities for you to be prepared when your children aren’t within arms reach.

The geek in me is considering collecting this data on my own USB drive within a TrueCrypt volume. If tech DIY is your kind of thing you might want to check out TrueCrypt yourself. Storing this same type of critical information in a spreadsheet, along with pictures, would seem to get the job done as well.

Have you taken the steps to gather your families information in one place, and if so what method did you use?

ZAC is the first web browser developed specifically for children with autism, and autism spectrum disorders such as Asperger syndrome, pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), and PDD-NOS. We have made this browser for the children – for their enjoyment, enrichment, and freedom. Children touch it, use it, play it, interact with it, and experience independence through ZAC.

The creators of ZacBrowser first created Kidz CD, a free browser for children and teens. When they learned their grandson, who was diagnosed with severe autism in 2005, was able to use and enjoy the browser they created another version designed around the needs of children diagnosed with autism and autistic spectrum disorders. The ZacBrowser was born.

ZAC is the zone that will permit your child to interact directly with games (a LOT of games) and activities (focused on MANY interests) that cater specifically to kids who display the characteristics of autism spectrum disorders, like impairments in social interaction, impairments in communication, restricted interests and repetitive behavior. ZAC has been an effective tool for kids with low, medium and high functioning autism.

You can download an installer of the ZacBrowser or an executable that can be run as is without a full blown installation. I’ve tested it on Windows Vista and Windows XP and it installed without incident. Once ZacBrowser is launched it fills the entire screen and what is displayed is a mesmerizing user interface.

The initial interface loads a very calming aquarium scene. The menu along the bottom of the screen is done in classic macintosh style and presents easy links to Aquarium, Television, Games, Music and Stories. Each section displays a different skin with links to the associated content. In my testing, videos, music or stories were played without a hitch. One video link led to the Disney site (wrapped in the ZacBrowser interface) and I was concerned this may be a jumping off point to other places online. It seems the developers thought of this as each attempt to do anything other than play the selected video was met with no results.

All in all this seems like a solid piece of software created with absolutely the best of intentions. In addition to the ZacBrowser they are also hosting a support ZacBrowser forum for parents to reach out to one another and share trials and successes.

(Parents) We know that your job here is challenging and that you meet the responsibilities of each day as a special kind of hero – especially to your autistic child! Because we share your circumstance as parents (or Grandparents) of a special needs child, we have developed a place especially for you so that you can share your unique experiences with other parents and grandparents. This is the best place to connect with others whose lives are touched by autism. You will benefit from their experiences, their stories, their tips, tricks, tools and triumphs – and they will learn from yours. All of this is essential because your child is so much more than any medical journal can possibly describe, and we all need more information than we can get from our doctors.

If you would like to spread the word about this great piece of software please use the ShareThis link below to Stumble it, Digg it, send a link in an email. Whatever your preference.

“They’re down to around 200 feet now.” I said.

“What kind of well are they digging?” My son interjected.

“Well, a water well of course. What other kinds of wells are there?” I said matter-of-factly.

My son said, with DUH intonation and attitude, “Wishing Wells!!!”

I laughed so hard I couldn’t catch a breath. He comes up with some good ones.