Birdhouse Blog

A good story is a like a gift. It has the rare ability to make us feel as though we aren’t alone, and that there is someone who shares in our struggles, challenges, and our joys. For a child with special needs, the right book can connect with them, giving them the...

Our Autism is fluid. It’s changed a bit over the years. I imagine it’ll keep changing. This is what our Autism is like at nine and a half years old. -It’s still watching Sesame Street. -It’s buying or making everything associated with a new interest in hopes of...

Parenting a child with special needs has its own unique set of tribulations and triumphs. However, thanks to the fact that we now live in a tech-centric world, we have a variety of handy tech tools and gadgets that can make life a whole lot easier (and offer our kids...

We worked hard over the last week to make the Birdhouse app better for you. Here’s what we did over the past 10 days or so.Improving Web 2.0 and planning for Web 3.0Talked to Joel about how best to work through our big list of small improvements and fixes, and start...

Article summary: — Transitions are hard, but inevitable — Talk about the old — Talk about the new — Photography can be powerful — Do an activity around the theme of the transition Transitioning to something new has never been easy for my daughter, who is ten. While...

We worked hard this past couple weeks to make the Birdhouse app better for you. Here’s what we did over the past 10 days or so.Developing Android 2.3a - how nutrition info is all going to work on your phoneArranged a meeting with Dan to review build 1 notes and...

It was less than 2 weeks ago that we released Birdhouse 2.0 for the web. We worked full time, around the clock, and many, many months of planning and strategizing, to get that out to you as the best way to address many of your requests now and soon to come. And now...

One of the most challenging things about raising a child with special needs is feeling as though you’re completely alone. Even if friends and family are supportive and well-meaning, they don’t know what it’s like to walk that proverbial mile in your shoes. Chances...

Over the course of the past 6 months, we rebuilt the entire Birdhouse for Autism website. We’d grown to the point that the old site was really beginning to hold us back and prevent us from building the features that families have been asking us to build for them, and...

Oh hello again! We worked hard this past week to make the Birdhouse app better for you. Here’s what we did over the past 10 days or so.   Bringing our unique schedule organization and management to your pocket   This week we wrote full documentation for the Nutrition...

Hi again! We’re back with our second installment of our “What We’ve Been Up To” series. We worked hard this past week to make the Birdhouse app better for you. Here’s what we did over the past 10 days or so. Final stage before iPhone app 2.2.3...

This is a guest post by Katie Hench, CEO of Infiniteach LLC, a Chicago-based startup building autism education apps rooted in evidence-based interventions. Katie’s brother was diagnosed with autism at the age of 6. It wasn’t until the age of 26 that she finally began...

We worked hard this past week to make the Birdhouse app better for you. Here’s what we did over the past 10 days or so. We wrapped up and released Android 2.2.3, which focused on bug fixes and future-proofing the application Have you noticed a difference? Less...

Parents often drill into their children’s heads all the pertinent information a child would need if he or she got lost or separated from them: name, parents’ names, phone number, etc. Since many children with Autism aren’t able to articulate that information well, we...

Last year around Halloween, we talked about what a weird concept trick-or-treating is. I still think it’s a tough one for our kids to really understand. Someone recently asked me what I’d want to tell my neighbors about my child as we gear up for Halloween and...

— It wasn’t too long ago that Frozen captivated just about every single child’s imagination– while simultaneously drilling into their parents heads the incessant, unrelenting croons of Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel (or Adele Dazeem if you’re John Travolta at the...

You’ve got the school supplies, the new backpack and lunchbox, and maybe even a new pair of shoes for your kiddo this year. But lost in the midst of checklists, orientations, open houses is something that we at Birdhouse routinely ask ourselves, “what tools can we use...

Written by: Dani, Chief Mama Bird Little Bird on her first day of school! — Many parents count down the days until school is back in session. For so many of us raising kids with disabilities, those school day hours are the only times of respite we get. If you’re like...

Summer’s still in full swing, and it can be tricky to think of activities to keep the kids busy. It’s no fun to drag ourselves to the store to find activities, but fortunately, that’s totally unnecessary! Stuff we have around the house is perfect for...

It’s those little moments in life that mean the most to me. In relation to my brother, who happens to have Autism, it’s the moments where he surprises me with a hug. Those hugs are like treasure to me because I know it’s not always comfortable for him, so it means a...

An Easy To Follow Activity Recipe For A Sensory Friendly July 4th If the sum of crashing sounds + flashing lights + mosquito bites + a large crowd doesn’t really equal a happy 4th of July for your child, keep on reading. Even if a fireworks show isn’t on the agenda...

Kids love to have fun. Understatement of the year, right? But it’s so easy to fall into the “technology trap” of addicting iPad games that often times force us to lose sight of the simple things, and the simple things can be just as engaging, if not productive and...

Who doesn’t love a good popsicle? The problem is, a lot of popsicles out there really aren’t good.  Well, they might taste good, but they’re not good for our families’ health. Most regular popsicles are filled with artificial flavors,...

This weekend we pushed a couple big updates to our iPhone and Android apps. We’re always doing our best to make Birdhouse easier to use, more intuitive, and especially more convenient, so you can get in and out and back to your day with as little hassle as possible....

Bedwetting. It’s been an issue in my home and since it’s very common for some children to wet the bed at night, I’m guessing that it could be an issue in yours, too. “Most” children are potty trained between ages 2 and 4. Of course, those...

Memorial Day weekend is a time to stop and appreciate our troops for bravely protecting our freedom. It’s also a time to actively appreciate that freedom with our families by spending quality time together – freedom that would not be possible without...

As the school year winds down, we parents start thinking about ways to thank the teachers and therapists that have worked with our kiddos all year. Some parents I know try to search for things that are special to each individual therapist, others go for the trusted...

Have a Stress-Less Vacation  For students on the Autism spectrum and their caregivers, school holidays aren’t all they are cracked up to be. Children on the Autism spectrum are sensitive to changes in routine and holidays from school can be very stressful. What is...

It’s a hot, humid afternoon and the sun is starting to go down. Everything is still – everything, that is, except for my mother. She is running around the house opening closets and pacing up and down the bayfront in the backyard, scanning the water. My mother is...

The start of April marks the beginning of Autism Awareness Month and today is World Autism Awareness Day! Here at Birdhouse, we see it as a time to come together as a community to promote acceptance and recognize the strength of families. It is an exciting month and...

We’re so excited to finally provide a way to track food on Birdhouse. We did it with ease in mind– simply choose Food from the Activity options, input your child’s meal, and you’re done! Birdhouse will even learn what kinds of food your child is eating and make...