As a psychotherapist and technology journalist, specializing in education, I'm often looking at the intersection between app-based solutions and real-world emotional needs for students.
This is a very, very busy space right now as apps, AI, and enhanced attention in this area are all making for a whole host of potential solutions. So where do you start?
I think it's important to focus on what you're trying to do, first. Are you offering tools to send kids away to self-regulate, or are you trying to work with them to offer ways to explore their emotional worlds together? Or perhaps a combination of the two?
A student with enhanced communication skills, empathy, and an ability to know their own needs and limits is automatically going to be more independent. This is good for them and for educators.
So this guide aims to lay out some of the best special ed need (SEN) apps to help foster social and emotional independence for a better mental health experience for students and teachers alike.
TeenToks
TeenToks is a very modern and highly teen-focused solution to a mental health issue that has been enhanced by social media. Only in this case, that social media-style app is used to foster better self-care, enhanced emotional learning, and reduced adult authority pressure to help.
This mirrors how adolescents process emotional information: socially, narratively, and without feeling 'treated.' In this way, the app allows them to explore videos created by peers, normalizing mental health talk, in a short-form that's easy with which to engage.
GoNoodle
GoNoodle is a great choice for anyone who wants to use movement-based work to help with the discharge of energy. For this reason, the tool can be very helpful for learners with ADHD, autism, and sensory-seeking challenges.
This uses movement to help regulate the emotional system and to discharge nervous system arousal, safely and effectively.
While that can look like burning off energy, it's actually co-regulation through movement. This is ideal for any student who may struggle to process or express emotional experiences verbally. A great, body-first somatic path to regulation.
Moshi
Moshi offers a way to help students down-regulate their nervous systems so they can be more available and attentive. This can be a great way to start lessons, setting everyone in the room on a similar level for calm and available attention.
This uses strong evidence-based approaches to reduce anxiety. This includes calming stories, mindfulness, and a focus on sleep. That makes this ideal for transition periods, such as lesson beginnings or endings, as well as refusal points, or to help with sleep when needed.
Smiling Mind
Smiling Mind is a really good tool for working on understanding how to name and communicate feelings.
Thanks to a focus on emotional vocabulary development, this is a really powerful way for students to explore their inner worlds in a meaningful and useful way, both in the moment and for the future.
This uses structured mindfulness programs, nicely adapted to age groups, that allow teachers to help students develop better emotional literacy. The fact it's free, school-friendly, and non-commercial all help to make this a really powerful option for teachers.
Zones of Regulation
Zones of Regulation is an effective option to help students with their emotional self-regulation. This works well to take emotions as they are, without the usual moral connections that can complicate the reality around working with them non-judgmentally.
This uses an emotional self-regulation framework that's visual for ease of understanding, even for younger students. The idea is to take "bad" away from feelings and rather focus on ones that, perhaps, need more support than others.
No matter which you use, these SEN-friendly options make for a powerful way to help students work more openly and effectively with their own emotions in a self-affirming way.
