This is the second post in our “Expansion Pilot Update” series, featuring reports from five Easterseals affiliates who are learning the BridgingApps Search Tool via monthly virtual training.
Today’s report is from Joy McGowan and Marcia Leinweber, of Easterseals Southeastern Pennsylvania. Joy is a Director of Assistive Technology and Augmentative Communication; Marcia is an Assistive Technology Coordinator.
Q: What digital training sessions have you found most helpful so far?
A: We found the session on early childhood and caregiver applications to be most helpful, providing engaging activities that expand our preschool clients’ language and learning. My PlayHome is especially good for providing support, with concepts that mirror children’s typical home and community environments.
To develop customized schedules for individual children, our classroom teachers utilize task-analysis, scheduling, and transitioning apps, such as Choiceworks. These apps provide a framework that helps children transition from one activity to another. The schedules are easy for teachers to develop, and can be modified easily.
Q: How else are you using what you’ve learned from BridgingApps?
A: We learned about the various features on both the Mac and Google Calendar apps, which we use to coordinate tasks and locations for our AT [assistive-technology] staff. This has been tremendously helpful: even when away from our offices, we can check our colleagues’ locations, review tasks, and add or change appointments. We have held five in-person workshops, each for approximately 150 of our staff members, to help them set up calendar accounts.
In addition, we’ve provided in-service training on using the BridgingApps website, to search for apps and to create a personalized list which is saved as a resource. Our colleagues have commented on how helpful some of the apps are in keeping their students engaged.
Q: Among the apps you’ve been introduced to, which are your favorites?
A:
- TouchChat with WordPower is an augmentative-communication app widely used by staff and families. Therapists and parents find it intuitive and easy to program. And it has options for everyone, from beginning communicators to adults of any age.
- Several staff members use Libby on their phones, mostly for audiobooks, and have expressed how helpful it is to have a wide variety of books at their fingertips.
- Administrators and staff members recommend If I Need Help for families, especially families going on community outings.
Further information on apps mentioned above:
- Calendar (iOS) or Google Calendar come with most phones and other personal devices. Both apps can schedule one-time or repeated tasks; create multiple task lists; and share information with other users’ calendar apps.
- Choiceworks is a to-do-list app for children, designed to be accessible for users with autism, ADHD, or learning disabilities. The app includes emotion-management features.
- If I Need Help is recommended for nonverbal family members, especially those with elopement (wandering) tendencies. It uses wearable QR codes that rescuers or helpful passersby can scan for the wearer’s family-contact information.
- Libby can connect any registered public-library user to that library’s database of e-borrowables.
- My PlayHome is “a doll house for the iGeneration,” offering all sorts of virtual “at-home” activities for ages 2–8. Spinoff apps include My PlayHome School, My PlayHome Stores, and My PlayHome Hospital.
- TouchChat with WordPower is a customizable AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) app with seven different text-to-speech voices. This is the most comprehensive (and expensive) of the TouchChat apps, which also include TouchChat HD and the free TouchChat Discover.
See also: Expansion Pilot Update: From Easterseals Crossroads