Monday 6 August 2012

Present A Choice by Pufferfish

Present a Choice is an app designed to help a parent or caregiver quickly present a set of choices to a special needs or young child. 

Designed specifically for children on the Autism Spectrum this is a simple yet very useful app. 

I use choice boards regularly with my two ASD boys and find they work brilliantly, especially during high anxiety moments when they may have difficulty processing verbal directions.

This is an excellent alternative to the traditional laminated paper versions I use and much easier to set up. There is also the added benefit of having all your choice boards in the one place for fast access.


The user interface is simple and self explanatory. There are a small number of stock photos to use and the promise of more to come but these are really not needed as it is so simple to add your own photos making it much more versatile and relevant to your child.







Creating a choice is as simple as tapping the icon, entering the title of your choice and how many choices you want to offer.











You then get taken to a new screen where you add your photos and text. 
I would love to see an audio option to record the choice or even the ability to add an icon or picture instead of the written text for younger children.The only other issue I had with this app is when you have four choices presented they do not fit on the screen so you need to scroll down to have all four choices visible at once. This could become difficult during high anxiety moments when our kids need to see the choices immediately.









Overall, this is a fantastic little app for the price- just 99c at the moment. I am already using it with my boys with great success and I'm sure with a few minor adjustments it will be come a staple resource in this household for a long time to come.












iTunes Link


Pufferfish Software have very kindly given us codes for Create a Choice and for two of their other apps. Enter via Rafflecopter below...Descriptions available for Emotion Cards and Visual Schedule with reviews for both of these apps coming soon!










a Rafflecopter giveaway






VISUAL ROUTINE





Description

★A4CWSN: "I like that I can make text only schedules, or picture only schedules, or combine both."
★Visual Routine is now on iHeartThisApp.com! (http://bit.ly/MS6NmH)

•Visual Routine is a simple, easy to program visual schedule that helps your autistic or special needs child keep a routine.
Routines can be tailored to their needs with audio feedback, and customizable pictures, audio, and text.

•Instead of carrying around pecs or a laminated schedule, this app will let you have routines preset and then run them to show the child in an easy way what they have to do. The format of this app is a checklist, with checkboxes for each item.

★ Reviewed By A4cwsn http://a4cwsn.com/2012/04/visual-routine/ **

Features:
✔ Check mark system with auditory feedback for completed tasks
✔ Routines can be as long as needed
✔ Full customization routine creator - customize text, images, and choices.
✔ Picture only option for non-readers (with written Routine title)
✔ Permanent storage of many routines
✔ Text only option for readers (with Monkey image for each written step or task)
✔ “Choices” feature for tasks in a routine step. Up to 4 choices can be embedded within each routine item, enabling someone to pick between options. (i.e. eggs, pancakes, or cereal for breakfast.)
✔ Fast and easy setup
✔ "The auditory feedback when a step in the routine is checked off is great as well."

•This app serves as a visualization tool for routines, providing portability, audio support, and excellent easy to understand graphics. By using this app special needs individuals and children will be able to understand what needs to be done easier then with PECS or simple description.

•Customization is a big emphasis in this app; every autistic and special needs child requires specific and centered care, and the ability to create your own routines with pictures of your child and house settings in them places the emphasis on your child. Take pictures of them doing things in their environment, and they will understand the routine better then a generic, preset choice. The images can be set by you, the user, as well as audio.



a Rafflecopter giveaway





EMOTION CARDS

Description  

Emotion Cards is a set of PECS on the iPhone of 81 emotions.
★Charly James:"...I just want to say it's the best .99¢ I've spent in a while!"
★Emotion Cards is on iHeartThisApp.com! (http://bit.ly/PAe7r8)
Special needs child uses these PECS to show how they feel.

Emotion Cards is a set of PECS on the iPhone of 81 emotions. A broad selection of PECS of emotions helps a child find the emotion they're feeling, and show a parent or teacher what they're feeling. This benefits nonverbal users greatly, as they can express much easier how they feel.

*iPhone and iPad capable*

The user will then select the emotion they're feeling and show you, taking the guesswork out of figuring out what they're feeling.

Features:
✔ Full set of 81 PECS
✔ Definition button for every emotion - pronunciation included.
✔ 9 categories of 9 emotions helps children easily find the emotion they want.

How does it help my child?
• Prompt "Show me what you're feeling."
• Open up the app either to the homepage or the relevant category.
• Your child will select the emotion they're feeling, and show you.
• "When he's frustrated and having a really hard time explaining to me what is going on he goes into the Emotion Cards app and chooses as he was shown by his therapist and myself what is going on."


a Rafflecopter giveaway

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