Empower Your Voice: iPads for Emotional Expression

Funded Sep 29, 2024

Thank you for empowering our students at Coral Reef High School's Access Academy for our ASD unit with the gift of iPads to support emotional expression. Your generosity has made a tremendous difference in our classroom, especially for students like the one pictured, who uses the iPad to navigate her social-emotional needs. She struggles with anger management and has found the iPad to be an essential tool for calming exercises, visual prompts, and expressing her emotions through digital art and journaling apps.

Many of our students have access to technology at home but often use it passively, such as for games or entertainment. In our classroom, the iPads are being used intentionally to teach self-regulation, emotional awareness, and academic skills. The ability to engage with customized apps designed for their specific needs has been transformative. Students who were previously hesitant to communicate are now using the iPads to share their thoughts, manage their emotions, and participate more actively in lessons.

The excitement in the classroom has been contagious! Students are especially drawn to the creative features of the iPads, such as using drawing apps to create emotion wheels or engaging in mindfulness activities with interactive tools. One student, in particular, who was previously nonverbal during group activities, has started to engage by using the iPad to type out his responses and share them with his peers. It's heartwarming to see how this technology is opening doors to new ways of learning and self-expression.

Thank you for believing in our students and supporting their growth. Your kindness has made a lasting impact on their lives.”

With gratitude,

Dr. Mendez-Londono