I'll be honest, I don't have a kid with ASD. But I do have a co-parent with whom my children share residency! And as I was thinking ahead about our return to Canada and the "regular" shared parenting schedule, I knew the best place to search for child-friendly calendar apps would be in the Autism section.
Choice and transition planning, so necessary for students with ASD, can benefit many other learners as well. Bee Visual has developed two apps that are helpful for keeping children organized and on track: Choice Works and Choice Works Calendar. As a parent who likes to foster a sense of routine and security in her children's lives, I appreciated the fun and fairly easy-to-use interface that Choice Works offers. In particular, I liked the fact that their calendar app and menu items can be customized, either by labeling an already-existing stock image, or by choosing a photo from the photo library on one's device, or even by taking a photo on the spot.
I quickly used this app to build monthly schedules for May - September, which I then shared with Alex and Simon's dad as a .jpg file via email, and with the boys themselves, since both their devices have the same app (so files created on one device can be shared with and opened by others who have the same app, directly in Choice Works Calendar, on their own device).
Choice and transition planning, so necessary for students with ASD, can benefit many other learners as well. Bee Visual has developed two apps that are helpful for keeping children organized and on track: Choice Works and Choice Works Calendar. As a parent who likes to foster a sense of routine and security in her children's lives, I appreciated the fun and fairly easy-to-use interface that Choice Works offers. In particular, I liked the fact that their calendar app and menu items can be customized, either by labeling an already-existing stock image, or by choosing a photo from the photo library on one's device, or even by taking a photo on the spot.
I quickly used this app to build monthly schedules for May - September, which I then shared with Alex and Simon's dad as a .jpg file via email, and with the boys themselves, since both their devices have the same app (so files created on one device can be shared with and opened by others who have the same app, directly in Choice Works Calendar, on their own device).
Although the app offers this easy-to-use sharing feature, I have to say I found the files rather large and slow to share. (But that might have just been my slow, crappy internet connection!)
Another thing I appreciate about this app is that one can create a monthly calendar, but then view "week at a glance", as in the first image below. This is helpful for chunking information for kids who need smaller bits rather than the big picture (you can even view one day at a time, useful when you have more than two items per day, which can be a bit overwhelming in the monthly view -- in our case, I kept the calendar mainly to who was sleeping where and when, just an overview).
Another thing I appreciate about this app is that one can create a monthly calendar, but then view "week at a glance", as in the first image below. This is helpful for chunking information for kids who need smaller bits rather than the big picture (you can even view one day at a time, useful when you have more than two items per day, which can be a bit overwhelming in the monthly view -- in our case, I kept the calendar mainly to who was sleeping where and when, just an overview).
I like the fact that you can customize images, but I do wish the visual library were a bit bigger, and included things like "Skype" or "singing", rather than the more generic "computer" or "music". I'd also like to see people of different colours (everyone's pretty "white" in the generic images) and different family groupings, like two moms or two dads, and kids with just one parent, to show special time with one parent alone.
Overall, I think Choice Works Calendar is a useful app for parents and teachers working with students who have ASD, as well as for anyone who wants to support their child in getting organized. It's a great visual organizational tool with lots of potential.
Overall, I think Choice Works Calendar is a useful app for parents and teachers working with students who have ASD, as well as for anyone who wants to support their child in getting organized. It's a great visual organizational tool with lots of potential.