BridgingApps Project Manager Marjorie Reichard has two young daughters with disabilities. These are her picks for the apps best at making caregiving easier to manage.
- Proloquo2Go was life-changing after Olivia started talking up a storm at age 3—but I only understood her about 25 percent of the time. After we got Proloquo, both her and my frustration was reduced considerably. It was amazing to watch her “talk” to people with her iPad and app. Eventually she learned to communicate without the app, but we pulled it out again last winter after she had surgery and couldn’t talk for a while.
- Hoopla opened additional doors for Olivia, who loves to be read to. Her favorite way to listen to books is having Dad read them, but when he doesn’t have time, the app is the next best thing. It provides a great variety of titles.
- Messenger Kids [see also Messenger] was something I really liked for Maddy during the pandemic. She really missed her friends, and the app allowed her to contact people. She still uses it for family and friends who do not live nearby.
- MyChildren’s and MyChart are essential for me to keep up when we go to different medical providers. Apps keep the necessary data at my fingertips.
- Google Calendar is one app on which I rely heavily to keep us organized, especially for getting to the right appointments and locations.
- Netflix and Disney+ are our go-to media apps for when I need a break. I like that I can control the content from which the girls select their movies and shows.