Jeannette Landrie
26 February 2016
Report for Sherrerd Center for Teaching and Learning
From February 15 to the 18th, I attended the Learning Disability Associations 53rd
Annual International Conference in Orlando, Florida. In addition to facilitating a group
discussion (with a former colleague) entitled "Honoring the Creative Voice of Students with
Learning Disabilities," I attended a range of presentations on Mental Health, Therapeutic
Animals, Post-Secondary, Law and Assistive Technology.
One of the most helpful of all the presentations was on using apps for mental health. It was
entitled "Here's Hope: AT Supporting Mental Health for People with LD" by Carolyn Phillips
and Rachel Wilson and Maria Kelly. It was sponsored by the organizations AMAC Accessibility
For All, Tools For Life and Georgia’s Assistive Technology Act program.
According to the World Health Organization, 40% of the leading causes of disability are
mental disorders. In the United States, 57.7 million Americans are diagnosed with a mental
illness each year. The good news is that 70% to 90% of individuals who receive help, go on to
lead a higher quality of life! Since the numbers of students with mental health disabilities is
rising steadily, it was great to learn about apps we can suggest to students which they can
download and start using immediately.
Before introducing the apps, the power of mental illness was discussed. Concentration,
Memory and Organization, are all effected by mental health issues. Specifically, concentration is
impacted by depression, racing thoughts and fatigue. Memory and organization is effected by the
side effects of medication. Before introducing the high tech options, theory reviewed a few low
tech options. These included Ear Buds, pocket stone, note pads, weighted vests and service
animals. Below are short summaries of the apps I learned about.
Apps for Wellness
In an effort to reduce stress and teach individuals to be more mindful:

Take a break! Guided Meditation

Relax Sounds - relaxing nature and ambient melodies

Nature Melody, sleep pillow sounds

iZen Garden 2: is a Zen garden, one can stack stones in.

Koi Pond: plays the sound of birds chirping as fish swim about. When one touches the
screen, ripples gather around and you can hear splashing noises.

Key Ring: puts grocery cards, gym cards, library cards etc. on your phone, so you can
travel with a lighter key ring.
Apps for mood management include:

PTSD Coach: this was designed by the Veterans Administration and teaches relaxation
skills, positive self-talk, anger management and how to find additional support.

DBT Emotion Regulation Tools: utilizes Cognitive behavior therapy. Individuals can
review their thoughts, feelings and then replace them with new thoughts.

Operation Reach Out: this app helps individuals know when to reach out in a crisis. It
was developed to prevent suicide.

T2 Mood Tracker: individuals can chart their moods and monitor their anxiety levels,
depression, brain injury, post-traumatic stress and general wellbeing.

MindShift: offers tools for relaxation and healthy activities.

Self-Help for Anxiety Management: teaches calming or relaxation techniques in
response to inputting how anxious or worried an individual is.
For sleep management, there are:

Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock

Sleep Bot-Smart Cycle Alarm with Motion and Sound. These tell how efficient one is
sleeping as well as offering a time to wake up.

Relax Melodies: To aid the sleep cycle there is Sleep Zen Sounds and White Noise. This
app allows one to program sounds and music that one finds relaxing.
For Task Management:

30/30 which allows one to set up times to complete items and it tells when to move on to
the next task.

Pomodoro Timer: Focus on Productivity, runs for 25 minutes with 5 minute breaks.

Evernote: For note taking, where you can store text, photos and audio notes.

Notability: also gives the option of handwriting, typing or recording lectures
Two organizations that can provide additional support are the Depression and Bipolar Support
Alliance (DBSA) as well as the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).