About Mike Schmitz

Mike is the President of the Conover Company, an assessment company that focuses on transition, social/emotional learning, and independent living skills.

Closing the Autism Gap Using Mobile Technology

Yesterday the Associated Press published an article that uncovered some pretty astonishing information about the unemployment rate of young adults with Autism. The article reports that 1 in 3 Autistic young adults have no paid job experience, college education, or technical school nearly 7 years after graduating from high school. This is [...]

By |2017-04-30T16:18:30-05:00May 15th, 2012|Corporate, Education|

5 Benefits of Web-Based Transition Assessment Systems

Technology and education go hand-in-hand. The right tools can make all the difference in a learner's success. The growing trend in web-based technology within the realm of education makes perfect sense. Online availability allows learners to access their tools anytime, anywhere. And that's huge because let's face it, learning shouldn't [...]

By |2017-04-30T16:18:30-05:00May 10th, 2012|Education|

A Sneak Peek at Our Latest Innovations

As many of you know, we recently came out with a communication application for the iPad called the Functional Communication System. I won’t spend a lot of time talking about this app (you can read more about it in a former blog post), but basically it’s a communication tool that uses real-life [...]

By |2017-04-30T16:18:31-05:00January 10th, 2012|Education|

The Importance of Special Needs Networking

There’s a saying that says, “If you’re not networking, soon you’ll be not working.” Today, I’d like to examine this from the perspective of a parent of a child with special needs. One of the major difficulties facing these parents in the past was finding a support group where ideas, [...]

By |2017-04-30T16:18:31-05:00December 27th, 2011|Education|

Thoughts on Android

I just returned home from the M-Enabling Summit, a global conference that focused on accessibility for aged populations and persons with disabilities. There was a lot of focus on apps, and in particular Android apps. People often ask The Conover Company if we have considered developing Android apps, and the short answer is yes. [...]

By |2017-04-30T16:18:31-05:00December 20th, 2011|Education|

Thoughts on Dedicated Devices

I just got back from the M-Enabling Summit in Washington DC, a global conference that focused on accessibility for aged populations and persons with disabilities. There were over 300 attendees from from over 30 countries, including representatives from some rather large companies (Apple, Microsoft, Research in Motion, IBM, and HTC to name a few). [...]

By |2017-04-30T16:18:31-05:00December 13th, 2011|Education|

My World – Organized

The concept of video modeling is nothing new. In fact we've been doing it for about 30 years (I even wrote an article about it in the July 2010 issue of Exceptional Parent last year), but the iPod touch and the iPad allow us to take the concept of video [...]

By |2017-04-30T16:18:31-05:00October 18th, 2011|Education|

Real vs. Make Believe

One of the major issues with current Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) applications and devices is the disconnect between the symbols and drawings that are used in the application/device and the real world.  Many users need to not only learn the symbols and drawing used for communication, but they must [...]

By |2017-04-30T16:18:31-05:00September 2nd, 2011|Education|
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