Working with students with significant needs comes with many challenges.  Encouraging students to achieve State Learning objectives can be one of them.  Writing in particular can be extremely difficult.  Organizing thoughts for content, writing, typing and being motivated are all necessary for effective writing.  One method I found that worked through the years was publishing classroom books.  Many teachers may do this but I want to reemphasize the importance of this simple activity.  Here are the steps I took to encourage resistant writers:
1. Take photos of activities done in the classroom or of particular interest to each student.
2. Verbally describe photos as a class.
3. Have students select the activity they want to write about and allow them to organize the photos in a sequence.
4. Have students write or scribe for them for each photo.  
5. Edit by having students decide which photos could be eliminated and combine sentences together.
6. Involve them in decorating class books and completing components such as title, index and chapter/story titles.
7.  Publish by sharing with other students (younger), parents or special adults in the school setting (often the social workers are special adults). 
I found students were more willing to participate in this process and then it could be referenced back to in future writing assignments to encourage them as being effective writers.  Specifically for students on the spectrum with significant needs taking pictures of them with preferred items or peers encourages them to engage in writing.  This may begin with selecting pictures that match their photo, selecting PEC pictures that match or even selecting words or sentences that match as stepping stones to get closer to that challenging academic and functional skill of writing.

There are so many apps out their that can 'help your child/student'.  I've seen and tried a lot in my 17 years of teaching, here are my favorite current apps and why. Each of these apps could be for parents or teachers.  Click on each app name link to get more info.  

Autism Behavior Tracker Pro 
This app can be used to track behaviors including mood, sleep, diet and whatever specific behaviors you would like to include or write in.  You can track data by descriptors, frequency, duration, time and intensity.  From a teacher perspective you are also able to track multiple students.  Data that is tracked with this app can be represented with charts or lists and are compiled into a nice report for easy sharing.

 Kid in a Story  
This is a great app to encourage reluctant readers, focus on specific vocabulary and just have fun.  With this app you can insert student's pictures among other photos that you would like to use as backgrounds.  You can then add text and even voice recording of the text read aloud.  Students love to see themselves in stories and it encourages them to read.  It also is a great app to make social stories or create a story template to add different students to.  I have used it to preview new settings and set expectations for the settings as well.

Choiceworks
This is a great app to create social stories or personal schedules.  It also can help be a transition tool when waiting, knowing what to do next or in communicating feelings to others.

Chillz Out
This app is useful to guide students into a state of calm.  It can be used to help students develop concrete strategies for regulation as the soothing characters model strategies in a fun way.  I have used this with my classroom to practice calming after busy activities as guided practice.  Individual students have utilized the device in the classroom to regulate on their own after the guided practice.

Autism ihelp-language
This app is specific for reviewing and repeating language concepts.  It offers practice opportunities and includes pictures with the concepts.

Snap's Stories About Feelings
This is a nice app to help students identify their feelings and find patterns about what triggers them.  The stories help students visualize and verbalize their feelings.