The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that an estimated one in 50 children between ages 6 and 17 have been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Parents of these kids usually go through a therapy program for their children and autism therapy is not cheap. Many parents obviously could not afford the recommended 10 to 25 hours per week of home therapy.
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What is Puzzle Piece Tablet for Kids with Autism
When Puzzle Piece was launched in 2014, many parents with autistic kids were very hopeful. Puzzle Piece was a 7-inch Android tablet with dual core processor, 4GB of memory, memory card slot, front and back cameras, and a durable build.
Puzzle Piece hopes to make the technology for kids more affordable to families so they sell the android tablet for $19 and sell subscription for educational apps for $19 per month which will give parents 10 free apps. Therefore, the initial cost would be $39.95 should parents wish to cancel their subscription for the apps, but they can keep the tablet. For those who purchase more than one tablet, the succeeding membership fee is only $5 for the second tablet. The apps are aimed at children aged 3 to 10 years old and the company plans to develop more apps for specific age ranges of the autism spectrum. Puzzle Piece was probably the cheapest tablet for kids with autism.
The tablet was developed by Puzzle Piece hoping to make technology more accessible to families with autistic children.The Puzzle Piece games were built to mimic the kind of interaction and work children do in the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) home therapy program. Most ABA programs focus on character-based stories to help children learn social skills and dealing with frustrating situations and even bullying.
Feedback on Puzzle Piece Tablet
Early feedback on Puzzle Piece were very encouraging
“Glad to say the offer is real and on top of it, super Fast shipping!!! I bought on the 30th and received it on the 2nd!!! Thank you so much, for providing this affordable learning tool for our Miracle babies. Thank you. But I do wonder, tough, where are the instructions on how/where to download the autism apps? and if they are not available yet, when will they be? Besides that, the tablet is working just perfect! Thank you so much Puzzle Piece Thank you from a grateful mom ( I will be buying 2 more!!)“
“We ordered our six year old High Functioning Autistic son your tablet last Thursday night after seeing your page on Facebook & got it in the mail first thing Monday morning. He opened it up after school & was SO excited. The joy on his face was just priceless. He has been using it non stop since then. He loves the learning games that we have downloaded for him, the ladies at Burrel Autism Center said that you all are amazing for putting this out there for kids like him & his teachers are so grateful that you all have come together & created this! Amazing work, keep it up. I have been sharing this with everyone that I can whose children can benefit from this.”
However, as the Puzzle Piece tablet became popular, a lot of parents complained that the company could not deliver their orders and customer service is practically non-existent. We don’t know what exactly happened to the company but it is now no longer in operation. The website and Facebook Page are no longer available.
Without a tablet specifically for kids with autism, parents and caregivers now have to consider the best tablets available in the market. Parents just have to decide which environment they want – Amazon FreeTime, iOS, or Android.
Cheapest Tablet for Kids with Autism
For the cheapest tablet option, we feel that the Fire Kids Tablet offers the best value for money. The Fire Kids 7 is less than $100 yet you get access to thousands of apps and entertainment media through Amazon FreeTime. Here are some of the reasons why we think you should consider the Fire Kids Tablet
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Content
Fire Kids Edition comes with a one-year Amazon FreeTime Unlimited subscription which gives you access to different types of content for 3-12 years old. At no additional cost, you can access 15,000 books, movies, TV shows, educational apps, and games.
Kid-Proof
Most parents are hesitant to give their kids a tablet because let’s be honest, kids Each Fire Kids Edition tablet comes with a Kid-Proof Case and a 2-year worry-free guarantee, giving parents peace of mind and kids freedom to play.
Parental Controls
With Fire Kids Edition, parents can manage and customize their kids’ experience with up to four individual child profiles and you can control the screen time and content for your kids. With Amazon FreeTime, kids do not have access to the internet and they will need parental approval before they can make in-app purchases. You can also access and control your kids screen time and content remotely.
Top Tablet for Kids with Autism
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If budget is not a major consideration, the iPad Mini is our top choice tablet. In terms of the most robust apps for kids with autism, the App Store has some of the best apps and which are sometimes not available in Android tablets. Here are the reasons why we think iPad Mini is the top choice.
Content
For content, the App Store has a lot of apps specifically for kids with autism which are not available in FreeTime and Android. With this, we think you should also consider the iPad Mini if your budget allows it. You should also need to invest in rubber case to protect it.
Parental Controls
Apple lets you share your account with your family. You can also create accounts for and share your content with these them. Every time they make an app purchase, as the family organizer, you will be prompted and asked for permission.
Best Android Tablet for Kids with Autism
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Because of their availability, you can easily acquire an Android tablet for your kid with autism. If you are already using an Android tablet and upgrading your unit, you can give your older tablet to your child. What we consider the best android tablet for kids is the Samsung Tab E Kids Edition. Below are some of the reasons to consider an Android tablet.
Availability
As mentioned, there are a lot of Android tablets in the market to choose from. There are also several tablets for kids which are based on Android such as PBS Kids and Samsung Galaxy Tab E Lite Kids Edition with preloaded content for kids and access to Google Play Store.
Content
Although some apps for kids with autism available in iOS are not available in Android, there are still a lot of apps designed for kids with autism which are available in Android. If you choose an Android tablet specifically for kids, these are mostly pre-loaded with content for kids.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab E Lite Kids comes pre-installed with more than 20 apps and a free three months subscription to Samsung Kids.
Parental Controls
Android parental control is also very robust. You can set-up account for your kids and control their access to apps and set time limits. Parents can choose specific apps that their kids can access without ads or in-app purchases.
Although there is no tablet specifically for kids with autism, there are a lot of choices in the market depending on your preference. You assess what features are important to you and look for the right tablet for your kid based on those features.
Debra Olsen says
I have an autistic grandson for whom I got the tablet and signed up for puzzle pieces or pieces for puzzles. I got it in Nov/dec last year and signed up for the 29.99 monthly apps. After two months my grandson did not take to the apps. So I called and explained they were to cancel the apps. They did refund my money for February but charged me for March, April and twice for May. I have called puzzle pieces and get answering machine, left several messages and I have got no response.