Grace App for Autism on iPhone, iPad and iTouch

ARMAGEDDON 1998 UK VHS

2012-01-28T18:05:00.005Z

Armageddon 1999 UK VHS
DVD OPENING CREDITS - Jack Frost 1999
VHS CHAPTERS - Looney Tunes Back in Action 2004
DVD END CREDITS - Jack Frost 1999

FEBRUARY 20 2012

2012-01-28T17:46:00.003Z

1. LONDON AIRPLANE
No movies and no TV shows

FEBRUARY 20 2012

2012-01-28T17:46:00.002Z

1. LONDON AIRPLANE
No movies and no TV shows

Grace App Blog has moved - please resubscribe to our feed

2011-10-06T13:57:00.003+01:00

The Grace App is going up in the world and thanks to Redfly web design we are now housed at www.graceapp.com

If you want to continue to subscribe to my blog feed you need to switch to this: or paste the following into your address bar.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/GraceApp

I look forward to seeing you over at the website, or you can follow me on Twitter or meet me over on Facebook for a question, chat or a lovely share of what you have been doing with Grace App.

Best Wishes, Lisa Domican, Gracie's Mummy

Want to get started with Grace App in Ireland? Options to get hold of an iPad

2011-10-04T08:55:00.000+01:00

New iPad options for people who recycle mobile phones in Ireland.

In conjunction with BPI Telecom there is a great recycling scheme to help you trade old mobile phones of any condition (as long as it still looks like a phone) and turn it into great technology like an iPod Touch or iPad.

The scheme has been very successful but people were collecting enough to get an iPad, but then having to wait to buy a protective cover before they could use it.

Like my kids, I have a big problem with waiting - so the nice people at BPI came up with the following options for our families and schools who are recycling mobile phones.

Now, if you choose an option containing one of the packs, you will get everything delivered at the same time and your iPad will be ready for use immediately!

Bronze IAA Pack – 165 Phones

iPad @ 165 phones

RRP €479

Silver IAA Pack- 175 Phones

iPad @ 175 phones

+ Grace App Voucher

Total RRP Value €509

Gold IAA Pack -185 phones

iPad @ 185 phones

+ Grace APP Voucher +

IAA IPAD Protector Pack or IAA Usability Pack

Total RRP Value €613

Platinum IAA Pack – 200 phones

iPad @ 200 phones

+ Grace APP Voucher + 1 Year IAA Membership

+IAA IPAD Protector Pack or IAA Usability Pack

Total RRP Value €630

Think it can't be done? To date a grand total of 81 iPads have been delivered to families of children with Autism! Please note that the other options of 85 phones for an iPod Touch, 100 for a netbook laptop, and the 300/500 for an Interactive Whiteboard remain unchanged and are still available.

Set up a facebook page to get your family and friends to step up and start collecting their old devices and sending them to you.

To get the collection pack phone Geraldine on (01) 4279790 or email geraldinep@bpi.ie

For more information about the accessory options available with each pack, please visit iPads4autism-ie

2011-08-05T16:39:00.004+01:00

From the Excellent Irish Autism Action Blog:

This lady collected 165 old and perhaps broken cellphones to get an iPad for her special needs son via the Irish Autism Action mobile phone recycling appeal.

Tess* shares her story and gives some tips on how where to go and who to approach:

Sean is 6 years old. He has autism and significant speech delays. He has words alright, he can say 'juice' or 'biscuit' but he is a long way from conversation. Having been on the IAA Facebook page for a while I was intrigued about Apple devices. I read some posts about apps and looked at some videos. They looked great but I was skeptical as Sean has no interest in computers/games and could never figure out the connection between the mouse and the screen. My mobile phone contract was up for renewal so I got an iPhone. I came home and downloaded some of the free apps mentioned on the IAA Facebook page. The moment Sean picked it up and touched the screen he was hooked. Within an hour of us playing together he could navigate between apps and even get into YouTube and play his tellytubbies! The next day I saw this blog post about recycling old mobiles and thought I would try, never expecting to reach 165. I rang a few friends and posted something feeble on my Facebook page like: "I'm trying to collect a number of old mobiles to get Sean an iPad." Two days later I had 3 phones arrive. Little did I know about the commotion going on behind the scenes. All the people who I had drifted away from, as our lives became so different, were busy collecting. As one old friend said "finally, we have a way to help." Sean's Godfather drove all the way to Limerick for 25 phones. Seans Aunt put notices in all the parish newsletters. Danny's preschool had notices on their doors. My old job (I had to leave as had so many appointments to attend with Sean) put a notice in their newsletter and their van driver collected the phones with the delivery's.
It took two weeks, I thought it would take a year! It gets better though, we already have 120 phones for another special needs child! Sean is sitting beside me as I type, busy working away..happy and learning. We don't have a case for the iPad yet, but I am saving up for the Otterbox Defender as I have heard they are great. I know there are some fab communication and speech and language Apps. The world is our oyster! Thanks IAA.

Jen from the Irish Autism Action Blog says:
"Network network, network, use any contacts you may have especially businesses that have reps or drivers. They always have loads of mobile phones lying around if you don't know them personally, but know someone who works there, get them to ask. Ask, ask, ask or else you won't get. Builders and tradesmen are great too they always break loads of phones! To get the collection pack phone Geraldine on 01 4279790 or email geraldinep@bpi.ie for your collection package. Or phone Noel at BPI on 01 4279290 and leave a message.

Read more about what you can get by recycling old cell phones here and you should also check out Jen's excellent post on choosing the right iPad here at The King and Eye - her personal blog.

And for my Overseas readers - perhaps you have a recycling company locally who might be persuaded to help your Local Autism Group. The price of minerals is going up every day so the attraction of recycling cell-phones to extract those precious metals goes up with it. Be inspired!
*not her real name.

My Name is Petunia and I am an...Apple Addict

2011-07-25T19:42:00.003+01:00

Guest Post from my friend Petunia - from Love, Life and Aspie Antics

I'm thinking of joining AA... no, not Alcoholics Anonymous but Apple Anonymous! At last count in this house we had three iPhones, an iTouch and the latest addition to our family is the iPad. We love our technology in this household and if it was a choice of buying new clothes (I hate clothes shopping) or even buying nice food, a new gadget will win hands down EVERY time! They are not cheap by any means but I'd stake that anyone who has one of these iOS will understand exactly where I'm coming from. Thankfully, now that most mobile operators are supplying them, its easy enough to get your hands on a free phone these days and just watch your usage to keep the cost of your monthly bill down.

I'm sure there are doubters out there though that still believe that giving your child a piece of technology is akin to an electronic babysitter. Where sitting your child in front of a tv for hours a day watching cartoons isn't going to be hugely beneficial to them, there are huge advantages to having a device such as an iTouch. Munchkin has been using the apps on my phone for a couple of years now and I marvel at the ease she uses them. When we started, we used ABA Flashcards from Kindergarten as they were free for World Autism Day a couple of years ago (and incidentally are still free now) and wherever we were, she had access to them. Could you imagine lumping around boxes of cards to work while you're waiting for appointments? Eh no. There are some fantastic applications out there which are autism/speech delay specific. One that I saw grow from an idea to an award winning one is of course Grace App. A fantastic communication app that helps not only children with Autism, but any child/adult with speech delay. There are countless numbers of people using this app now in place of or in conjunction with PECS. Once again, which is easier to carry around for portability? A large bulky folder full of laminated and velcroed pictures, or a device that any child would be seen carrying?

I could go on and on about the vast quantity of quality applications that are both fun and educational for the child to use but we'll be here all year... I have over 100 books stored on our devices for Munchkin to have at her fingertips. A4cwsn recently held an App Party on Facebook where developers gave away apps or discounted them heavily so we have dozens of fabulous educational apps now loaded up and ready to use. A special mention to two iPad apps that Munchkin loves now has to go to "How are You?" which is an interactive, brightly colourful book app that teaches about feelings and emotions through their stories, and "Dexteria", a wonderful app that was developed by occupational therapists and helps improve fine motor skills through, tapping, pinching and the more advanced "write it" part of the program.

On a social level, giving your child an iOS is not going to stop them interacting with other children. Look at any child with one in their hand and there's usually another one looking at what they're doing, sharing in the experience and comparing what they have on their own device. It gives them a common interest that they can talk about. Of course they're going to play games on it to but hey, that's helping hand-eye coordination right?

If you do decide to take the plunge and get one of these iOS, some advice I would give you is to get a good protective cover! Munchkin has broken her screen twice on the iTouch but thanks to product replacement cover have managed to get new ones. My friend Lisa recommended the Otterbox Covers as has extensive experience with kids dropping or throwing the phones when she brings them into schools to train with Grace App. She recently had a stand at the Autism Show in London and demonstrated frequently how well the covers work by throwing her own phone on the ground. I now have an Otterbox Reflex cover on my new phone and my iPad now sports a very robust Defender case. Both incidentally have hit the ground since and survived to tell the tale so I'm happy (no I didn't test them Lisa's way, Munchkin dropped them!)

You can read more about my friend Petunia and her adventures in the World of Aspergers on her personal blog Love, Life and Aspie Antics

If you would like to try and get an Apple iPad for your autistic child - In Ireland you should also read about the Irish Autism Action campaign to recycle old cell phones in exchange for new Apple Goodies here

Good coffee, chocolate and Wine please

2011-07-01T14:22:00.001+01:00

I actually wrote the above on my "In Case of Emergency/Dietary Requirements" form for a residential workshop I attended last month.

Because I am a fussy person and I think it is best to be clear about your preferences and not be out of sorts when you are only offered things you don't particularly like.

And being autistic must feel a bit like that all the time. With limited communication and understanding of social cues, it can be difficult to get people to understand your preferences, which must be very frustrating.
I know if I was presented with instant coffee for example, I would feel very uncomfortable about drinking it. (can barely type it without making a face, GAH!)

It would be considered very rude to refuse it and ask for something else- or push it back at my hosts so I would either have to let it go cold, (and suffer from caffeine withdrawal) or discreetly make my way to the kitchen and tip it down the sink while furtively making a cup of tea.

In other words, rejection, then helping myself to find what I really wanted would be the option.

Remind you of anyone?

In order to attend this residential workshop I was given the opportunity to choose what I really wanted in writing - making it clear. When I got to the wonderful house where we were doing the workshop, there were strong sensory cues that I would be getting an excellent brew of freshly ground coffee: An empty packet, a good smell and the tell-tale plunger pot. So I relaxed and accepted and was able to concentrate on the task ahead.

It was a different story at the B&B. I don't know if you have ever been to an Irish Bed & Breakfast but they are run by families who live on the premises and offer exactly what they say; A bed, a shared bathroom and in the morning, breakfast. You are totally dependent on the Irish Landlady; a kind of subsitute Mammy who offers you tea and cupcakes on arrival, 15 different kinds of cereal in the morning, a full irish breakfast with fried everything and when you get in at midnight, she will be there behind the door with more tea and some freshly baked scones.

There is no chance to make a visual request. No access to the kitchen to help yourself and if you are nervous about coffee quality - no way of making sure it will be okay. So I meekly accepted tea. I don't eat breakfast so refusing the entire list of offerings I took a banana from the fruit bowl - and went on my way.

I'm pretty sure the Landlady didn't like me much. She probably thought I was taciturn and rude for not accepting her hospitality and piling up the toast, bacon and eggs while letting her pour me more coffee. She would have seen a much more relaxed and sociable me over in the Big House at 10 am with my coffee, some chocolate and a keen mind ready to learn.

Again, does this remind you of anyone?

Given the opportunity to access my preferred choices I found it easier to relax and integrate with my surroundings. Denied of access and independence I preferred my own space.

But I needed this:

And this:

I'm not being critical of the Landlady - she is an Irish Mammy after all and probably believes that if she wasn't there the world come to halt as everyone stared at the empty tea cups and unplugged kettles in dismay.

It's just a long time since anyone minded me. I was amused to see that several in the party were very comfortable with it - but I am sure they were still capable of looking after themselves if need be.

So that's why I appreciate Grace App. Even if you do have some communication - it can be a lot easier to get your message across with the support of the visual.
In my case it was the "In Case of Emergency" Form that smoothed the way.

For children and adults with Autism it can be the difference between getting what you need easily and feeling at ease- or being constantly frustrated and uncomfortable and as a result; isolated and withdrawn.

Everybody deserves the right to say what they want. My Aim is for them to get it.

What do you mean "Non-Verbal"? We are already communicating!!

2011-06-17T21:40:00.001+01:00

If there is one thing that really annoys me it is when people who do not speak in audible words are not being listened to. And by that I mean that the needs, interests and rights of the "non-verbal" are being overlooked.

That's why I feel passionate about creating a simple means of communication that incorporates independent choice which can be universally understood. Because it is much harder to discriminate against someone who has the ability to tell tales.

It is why I feel so passionate about getting the parents, teachers, tutors, supervisors, therapists and carers of these people to enable them to access this means.

You see, these kids (and young adults) are all actively communicating and shaping our behaviour in order to meet their needs right now. How do they do it?

See if you can guess what these kids are really saying:

Can I go home now?

If you think I'm going in that you've got another think coming!

Stop talking and pay attention to ME!

I am so not eating that.

Come here...

Too Loud!

I'm sure I can reach that very interesting thing up here. Maybe if I just stood on this pot...

Get off the phone Mummy and come and spend some more time with me.

(with you cleaning up this whole jar of expensive face cream)

You call that a door latch? Let me show you what I think of your locked door....

Leave me alone.

These photographs were sent to me by good friends of small children. In each case it was possible to catch and hold or physically re-direct the child to a better way of getting their needs.

But what happens when they are too big to hold? How do you teach a young adult an appropriate way to say "You are talking too much and I'd like to leave now" when they are 13 and 5' 5" ?

Because at the moment when Charlie pulls her Gran's hair to get her to stop talking, it is kind of cute. But if Charlie was 23 and that was the only way she knew to get someone to help her find a quiet space, people might be a lot less understanding.

Adults with intellectual impairment or communication disabilities will often end up medicated and in residential care because they had no appropriate way of getting people to listen to what they need and want. The hair pulling, the dragging, the running away or the self-harm really got people's attention quickly. And without anyone dedicated to teaching them to communicate by alternative means - disruptive, aggressive and distressing behaviours are their only way to be heard.

Make a commitment to learning what your child is really saying and give them the power to say it another way.

xx

These photos are going to be used in a forthcoming Grace App Video - If you would like to be part of this project please send your photos- together with your permission for me to share them to Graceappforautism@gmail.com

I will also share them here on the blog. Funniest caption wins a Free Code for Grace App!

Get the Manual

2011-06-15T07:58:00.001+01:00

Or email me at GraceappmanualATgmailDOTcom and I will send you a pdf. Also on scribd.

Final Version of Grace App 2-0 Manual 1

I made the Finals

2011-06-08T10:50:00.004+01:00

Social Entrepreneurs Ireland are a charitable organisation that aims to encourage and support the development of a new generation of social entrepreneurs.

They directly support the early stage development of these social entrepreneurs by providing a range of supports that include financial investment, technical training, peer networking, mentoring and links to other social entrepreneur networks.
They also work actively with the business, third level, public and voluntary sectors to support the development of a new social entrepreneurship movement in Ireland.

They have developed a support model that helps these social entrepreneurs grow their ideas from concept to reality. The prize fund, supported by DCC plc, has increased by over a third this year in response to the increasing strength of social entrepreneurship in Ireland and the growing need for the services social entrepreneurs provide.
Now, eight finalists have been chosen from over 200 applicants and will compete for a Social Entrepreneurs Ireland award, which will be presented to three winners next October to help them grow and increase the impact that they are having around the country. The finalists will now embark on a three month ‘finalists programme’, where they will receive funding and support to assess and develop their ideas prior to final selection of the 2011 winners in October.

The finalists include:
Sheila Gallagher of Galway’s ‘Green Sod Land Trust’,
Joan Freeman Pieta House,
Steven Daly of Camara Ireland,
Niamh Gallagher and Michelle O’Donnell-Keating of ‘Women for Election’
Lisa Domican of Grace App Communication, (that's me)
Michael Kelly from GIY Ireland,
Krystian Fikert of MyMind, and Sean Love of Fighting Words.
(Click on each to learn more about the project they have a passion for)

Announcing the finalists, CEO Sean Coughlan said, “It is a testament to the growth of social entrepreneurship in Ireland that we have seen such high standards of applicants to the Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Awards year on year. The strength of social entrepreneurship is so strong that we feel it merits strong support, and we are delighted, with the help of DCC plc and our other partners, to be able to increase funding of our finalists and eventual winners.”
Fostering the development of solutions to Ireland’s most pressing social problems, Social Entrepreneurs Ireland celebrates social entrepreneurs from all walks of life. Social Entrepreneurs Ireland was the first and remains one of very few sources of support for social entrepreneurs.

For more information visit www.socialentrepreneurs.ie

For more information about Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, visit www.socialentrepreneurs.ie .

AWARDS SPONSORS: DCC plc

DCC are the flagship sponsor for the Awards selection process and provide critical funding and support to Social Entrepreneurs Ireland alongside other funders and supporters.

Everybody communicates! - let's just change how they do it

2011-05-05T14:05:00.000+01:00

How does your child communicate? A lot of people will refer to children with autism as "non-verbal" meaning they can't talk in recognisable words.
They might then explain that they use signs, or pictures or other augmentative means.

Someone just sent me an article about a girl who had supposedly just 'started" communicating via a keyboard - "She had Found Her Inner Voice"

The truth is, she always had that inner voice, and had been expressing herself through her actions all her life. What she had found was a way to communicate that the rest of the world could be bothered to understand.

Which is a bit like saying foreign nationals aren't really communicating when they use their mother-tongue. It is only when they buckle down and learn english that we should start taking them seriously and pay attention to their needs. And that is not OK!

Because with Autism - the person is always there. What you might see as inappropriate behaviour is probably that individual's way of addressing a sensory need or creating a reaction that gets their needs met.

For example:

So called attempted "Bolting" Behaviour:

Which actually means:

"I've had enough of you talking and I would really like to go back to the car now"

The typical child would be whining and saying "Mummeee" but my autistic son uses actions that he has learned via cause and effect: If I do this, Mummy shuts up and puts me in the car to go and get a hamburger and coke. If I wait mutely, she just keeps rabbiting on. My choice? BOLT!

The solution: Replace the drag, pull and bolt with appropriate communication.

How do I do that?
See that pink thing in my hand, that's my iPhone. It is with me ALL the time. So I open the Grace App and get Liam to select what he wants, then I go into the Sentence Makers folder and add on Wait.

We read the sentence together with a Point and Pause when Liam says each word.

Then I wait for ten seconds and when he is quiet and no longer tugging my arm - go straight to the car.

Ten seconds is LOOONG time in kid world. You can practice increasing the wait intervals in a structured trial some other time.

Reward the prompted appropriate communication. Not the inappropriate "Behaviour"

The lady on the steps will just have to wait while I perform this activity. (and she did) because it is an important life skill for my son to learn before he gets too big.

Because you HAVE to STOP rewarding the inappropriate dragging and pulling before a shoulder joint is dislocated, Or Liam bolts to the middle of a school driveway surrounded by soccer-moms in people carriers who cannot reverse park. (a real hazard around any school)

Since that picture was taken, Liam has overtaken me in height and weight. If I didn't implement a means of appropriate communication to explain things when he was smaller, I sure as heck would not be able to do it now. He is verbal and able to have a conversation with me but when he stressed he reverts, as we all do, to habits learned in the past.
I used to have to do this with portable visual schedules and social stories in a little book. Now I have the App. Whatever it takes, if it means I can go out and enjoy the real world with my son and daughter then I am going to keep it up.

My kids have always had an "Inner Voice" - I just have to shut up and listen to it.

xx

iPod touch 4G with Otter Box Defender Series Case.

2011-04-19T09:41:00.000+01:00

A lovely lady wrote to me last week after downloading Grace App for her very cute son Malachi

"I've purchased an ipod touch generation 4 and an otterbox defender case to match. Both arrived today. The case is different to the one in your picture. I think it’s a newer version and I don’t know how I would attach a lanyard. Have you heard from anyone else with this problem? If so, what have they done to get around it? I really want to get this up and running with grace app before kinder goes back in two weeks. So far it’s just been set back after set back.

Thanks for everything you’re doing for everyone.

(Mother of Malachi, Age 4, Eastern Victoria)

I sent her a few pictures of what I do with the iPhone 3 (which I use) and she not only fixed the problem but came back with this wonderful guide to setting up an Otterbox defender on the new iPod Touch, with a lanyard. This means that the user of Grace App can take their communication support everywhere and not just be limited to the desktop or highly supervised situations.*

First take apart the case. Take note of the small gap at the back
between the slot for the power button and opening for camera.

Thread the black loop

lanyard through the gap,

The hard shell case should close normally with the iPod Touch 4G inside.

Thread the lanyard through the camera space on the silicone case

It doesn’t seem to interfere with the functioning of the Otter Box or iPod Touch

Result! Malachi finally has his Grace app up and running, and is happy about it.

*These pictures and instructions are offered as a guide to anyone who chooses with their own independent free will to use an Otterbox Defender to protect their device and a lanyard to make it accessible. We do not take any responsibility for how individual children get along with lanyards, otterboxes or any iDevice. That up to you

How to do category sorting with Grace App 2:0

2011-04-03T19:33:00.000+01:00

Grace App is WAS FREE for World Autism Awareness Day on April 2nd

2011-03-29T21:50:00.000+01:00

World Autism Awareness Day was last Saturday 2nd April. My apologies to anyone who missed out.

Saturday 2nd April

Everybody deserves the right to say what they want. Listen and you will also get to know what they like and need, and maybe get to know them a bit better.

The App WAS ~~is free today~~ for World Autism Day , and updated!

Many kids with autism or speech delay use "pecs" a system of pictures attached to a board to ask for what they need or say how they feel.

These boards are stored in a book which they have to carry around with them.

Even if and when they begin to say a few words, they may be difficult to understand and so they need the pictures as a back-up, as their independent speech develops.

As the mother of a severely autistic little girl with a few words but many pictures, I wanted to keep prompting her to use her own voice - while bringing ALL her pictures everywhere.. so I created the Grace App

Grace App replicates the picture exchange system by storing a basic picture vocabulary in simple to access folders with a facility for building a semantic sentence.

It can be used on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. On the smaller devices you tilt and the cards are enlarged for you to point and read together. On iPad the pictures are big enough to be read easily without enlargement.

You can take and add your own photographs or images, download, save or transfer pictures that you already have. You can encourage the user to do this independently -:

Giving them the power over their communication choices.

It is a simple and portable means of prompting communication and mutual understanding -

which leads to trust.

And to celebrate World Autism Awareness we ~~have~~ set the App to free.

World Autism Day was 2nd April 2011. My apologies to anyone who missed out. Maybe next year?

You can also join our Facebook page for more information and support. Grace App was created with the support of O2 Telefonica and developed by Steve Troughton-Smith for iOS.

Support the drive for collecting old 3G iPhones and iPods/iPads at The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism -including our own MyCharity Link

Blog updated to include the fact that World Autism Day was last Saturday 2nd April. Sorry if you missed out. Please join the Facebook page for news of further offers, next year.

Watch this space for the new manual with updated operating instructions and steps to introducing Augmentative Communication or email me on Graceappforautism@gmail.com for a copy.

Purpose Built iPad Latch Cover - result!

2011-03-21T13:30:00.000Z

The cover has elastic corners that fit snugly over the iPad Otterbox Defender Cover that we already have.

Handstrap - not to be used without the Lanyard in my opinion. Unless the user is very calm indeed. You do not want handflapping with a €700 iPad attached to the hand...

You can attach a Lanyard at any point - to wear it around the neck or over the shoulder as I always recommend.

This is Gracie wearing the iPad in Otterbox defender with the latch cover on it.

It actually looks really "cool" like you were on the way to the office. And not like something from a therapeutic/special needs catalogue.

It is nice for our kids to fit in and look cool sometimes...

Latch Cover retails for €49.95 - but as iPad 2:0 is on the way, Amazon.uk are doing special offers on iPad 1:0 cases so give them a try first. Limited Stock.

Disclaimer: I was sent this as a gift by Otterbox Ireland after I posted about trying to make a portable cover. But if I didn't like it I wouldn't have written anything. So I really like it.

Its just around the corner folks.... Grace App Version 2:0 !!!!

2011-03-11T14:50:00.000Z

iPad - Truly mobile or just, Portable?

2011-02-01T14:27:00.000Z

After an iPad was donated by an anonymous benefactor to our "I Want my iPhone for Autism" fund - I knew I had to find a way to protect it in order to use it to demonstrate Grace App to Autistic and other Special Needs kids. (as requested by the donor)

The first test involved being bitten - then caught before it could be flung.
So I knew that the pink padded storage case was a non-runner.

Next I tried these rubber covers, within the Hard Candy Pink cover-
and one of the little book style covers that you make into a stand.

It makes the iPad less slippy, protects against bangs and knocks. But not really mobile.

Then after I reviewed the Otterbox Defender for iPod Touch,

my Mentor tweeted me to suggest I ask Otterbox about a cover for iPad.

The Otter Box Defender for iPad

So I did and the lovely Rhona Cashman from Otterbox's Cork Office sent me this and some other covers - For Free!

It's a little different from the iPhone and iPod cases. The screen protector is stick on.

But you get the same hard shell cover, with a thick rubber cover over that.

Quite tight fitting, and keep the box because you will need to follow the instructions,

but once on it won't be removed by little fingers (or teeth)

and there is a removeable slide to allow you to charge it without taking the whole cover off.

I didn't want to compromise the construction by adding lanyards, so I made a second cover out of a neoprene bag intended for a 7 inch portable dvd player.

It pulls very tightly over the Otterbox, a firm fit.

And I can undo the zip a little to switch it on or off.

To this I had hand sewn a very wide canvas strap. A wide strap is necessary to remove the temptation to twirl.

As you can see I can access the screen and turn it to face whomever I am communicating with.

It is not the prettiest of jobs. A commercial sewing machine or some kind of ready made neoprene case would be better - but it is a solution of some sort to the problem of portability.

But is it really "mobile"?

In the workshops I attended at the World Summit Awards for Mobile Content, they encouraged us to think about the difference. - and how our product was genuinely mobile. (or we wouldn't have won!)

From an Autism point of view, it is unethical to implement a system of communication and reward the pupil for using it, - Then take it off them at playtime because you are afraid they might break it.

Having said that - there are many mis-informed Autism Service Providers who only allow kids to use their pecs books at meal times. I have first hand experience of this. It is not recommended.

But that is not what Grace App is about. Grace App is about empowering the User to take control of their communication and use it independently.

As and when and WHEREVER they need it. Otherwise we force the user to resort to their previous methods of getting attention - like leading, tantrumming or aggression.

Personally, while I would allow the kids to carry the iPad around in this holder., I would not let them go unsupervised with it. It is just too expensive and precious.

Here is Liam complaining about having his picture taken with the case.

He is highly verbal but uses the iPad to "script" on Prolouque2Go

Since Gracie is primarily an iPhone user and with the Otterbox I let her take it everywhere, with or without supervision - the iPad is only really an "Add on" for us. We need the mobility.

But what I want to know is: Are you giving your child independent access to the iPad at all times?

- and if so, what cover are you using?

Or are you offering them a back up device for transitioning, like an iPod or their old portable pecs book?

Let me know.

What Grace App Does

2011-01-27T20:08:00.000Z

Ultimate iPod Touch Cover! Otterbox Defender from Amazon

2011-01-06T23:30:00.000Z

It has arrived and it is perfect. Just before Christmas a wonderful lady called Cloddagh contacted me to see if I could use an old iPod Touch as she was upgrading. OH Yeah I said and organised a drop off in Fonemenders in South Anne Street where I get all my devices repaired at Trade Prices.

The cover, an Otterbox Defender cover was only €23 on Amazon including delivery.

I have priced these in High Street Stores in Dublin and they run at €50 !! so if you are patient it is best to buy on Amazon. Check you are getting the right version though. The donated iPod touch was old generation with no camera - so I did not need to have the little lens hole. The new generation ones are a bit dearer.

As you can see I have looped the black thread part of my IRISH WEB AWARDS donated lanyards through the side clips of the hard plastic casing on the case. The case is completely covered with a screen protector built in.

I then cover it with the rubber outer cover, passing the thread through the holes and attach the metal clasps on the lanyard. I always use two lanyard looped together. to make a nice shoulder sash.

The case is sturdy, well secured to the lanyards and protected. I am absolutely delighted as this iPod is going to a challenging pupil to try out and I wanted a really good case on it.

Otterbox Defender Cases are CHEW PROOF, CHUCK PROOF and DIP PROOF! As tested by Gracie herself during a particularly challenging stage. I have a pink one on her iPhone 3G now for over 6 months and *knock on wood* she hasn't managed to destroy it or the iPhone.

One caveat: You need a genuine charger cable to charge the device while it is in the case. Generic cords or docking stations will not fit. Only a small quibble but as I had Gracie trained to plug her iPhone into the dock independently it was a new task. One I had to delegate to Daddy when I went away. (Stuck a note to his bedside table)

From now on I know I can tell people they only need buy an iPod Touch with camera (still best from Argos with insurance) and then go on to Amazon for the all in one case. I will mail out lanyards to anyone who comments that they want one.

A great find! Grace App is fully portable and affordable now with this. And all for less than I spent on my first Picture Exchange Course. And remember if you are in Ireland - you can claim back the VAT from Unregistered Vat at Revenue.ie. Just download Form 61A and send them your original receipts (keep a copy for warranty) and a screen shot of the Grace App.

xx

International m-Learning & Education award for Irish iPhone app

2010-12-28T19:22:00.000Z

From the Excellent Prosperity.ie Blog

Originally Published as an Ezine on  8/12/2010 

Written By Elaine Larkin

An iPhone app developed in Ireland has been awarded a WSA World Summit Mobile Content Award this week in Abu Dhabi.
Lisa Domican, a mother of two children with autism, travelled halfway across the world to collect the award for the Grace App for Autism which was recognised alongside apps like he Guardian, Marks & Spencer and Angry Birds.

Organised by the International Center for New Media (ICNM) in Salzburg, the World Summit Award Mobile is a global initiative within the framework of, and in cooperation with, the United Nations World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), in collaboration with UNESCO, UNIDO and UN GAID. The WSA-mobile is the only ICT event worldwide, which reaches the mobile community in over 160 countries and is able to promote the best mobile content and innovative applications out of this huge selection.

Developed by well-known app developer Steve Troughton-Smith, with input from Domican its creator, the app was inspired by the needs of Domican’s daughter Grace.
The Grace App for Autism helps autistic and other special needs children to communicate effectively, by building semantic sequences from relevant images to form sentences.

The WSA World Summit jury found: “Grace serves as a superb example of real-life benefits that only mobile technologies can bring to enhance the learning process.” It also said that “the application’s grounding in real-life experience, its usability, and simplicity and, at the same time, customization/personalization features are what make Grace an excellent example of mobile technologies’ contribution to the learning process, one for others to emulate.”

Domican explains that before the Grace App for Autism was developed she had pictures Grace used to communicate loaded onto the photo album of her first iPhone. “Gracie was using it but the correct way to use Picture Exchange is to put the pictures in a row because you’ve got three or four pictures on the screen. Because no one had an iPhone three years ago no one really knew how I could do that.”

The making of an internationally-recognised iPhone app

So how does one find someone to do that? At the time, explains Domican, she was doing social media for Irish Autism Action and regularly read Damien Mulley’s Fluffy Links blog which mentioned Steve Troughton-Smith, a very successful – and young – iPhone app developer. Domican contacted him via Facebook. “I described the project and he said ‘this is a good thing, I want to do it.’

”He was able to develop the app the way Domican wanted it to be developed. When they met, Domican had Grace’s big plastic A4 folders of pictures, what she had tried to do as regards a portable book and had also drawn what she had thought of in diagrams. “I was kind of embarrassed I didn’t have a big enough piece of paper so I went into Boots and got a Boots shopping bag and ripped it open so it covered the whole table.

He said ‘this is perfect because I have to have everything joined together so I understand what you want.’ He went home that afternoon and created the prototype.”
They had a long way to go from there – for example they had to source original artwork – but it was a quick start. The graphics had to be tested on children with autism through trial and error to ensure each image portrayed to them what it was supposed to.

Organic growth of an app
Then the app managed to grow organically through Grace’s use of it. “When we set up the prototype and Gracie was able to put her pictures in a row, I realised I could use the iPhone camera to add pictures on the spot. I would go out of the app to use the camera, take the picture and then be able to move it across.

“Gracie got hold of the phone one day – she’d been watching me do this – and she had found an old toy on eBay that I had donated to charity about three years before, it was a Teletubbies toy. She was holding the phone I could see that she was trying to take a picture. I realised if the picture was inside the phone she knew that I knew she wanted it. She could have just pointed to it on the screen but she was putting it in the app.”

Another little girl did something similar in her trial of the app so Troughton-Smith incorporated the feature to take photos from inside the app.

This facility teaches children with autism trust that they can express themselves and that a parent understands what they are expressing.

The Grace App is available on iTunes and a fund has been set up to help bring iPhones and iPod Touches to children with autism whose family cannot afford to buy them. To learn more about how you can help see:

http://graceapp.com/
http://www.mycharity.ie/event/i_want_my_iphone_for_autism/

Point, Pause, Prompt, Praise and Reward

2010-12-23T00:59:00.000Z

When I developed Grace App it was to be an extension of an already successful and highly effective method of prompting and supporting communication using printed and laminated pictures.

However, it seems that some of you have skipped the printers, laminators and velcro books and come straight to Grace App, without the basic training in introducing the Power of the Picture.

So here is an easy guide to follow on from your Six Steps to Success

Point and Pause

Once you have taught the user to open the App and select each picture they need in sequence, you tilt the device to make it big (in the case of iPod and iPhone) and hand over hand point at each separate picture, sliding them along.

In the case of iPad you do the same but point just below each one, and there is no need to tilt as the picture is big enough anyway.

Do this gently with your hand holding their pointing finger at first, building interaction.
When they are able to point nicely you can fade out your hand support and just hold the device with them. The device should always be presented to the person who is going to grant the request.

Pause

Give the user the chance to look at each picture with you and wait for them to make eye contact or attempt each word. The level is different for each user and should be agreed with all carers prior to starting using the Communication Contract. Language processing can take a little bit longer for some people, especially with regard to autism. So give them a chance to beat your prompt..

Prompt (or Model)

When you have waited a beat and given them a chance to look at you and/or attempt the word, say the word clearly. If they beat your prompt with an approximation, model the correct word - enthusiastically with a huge smile of encouragement. This is errorless teaching because with your help they always get it right.

For Example: The User says: "I Wah" - you smile and say "I WANT" then point to the next word.

Praise and Reward!
Hand over the agreed* request immediately with praise.

You can reward better attempts differentially but always hand over an agreed item if it is requested using the App. The more power you can give to using the Grace App the less power the inappropriate alternatives like self harm, aggression and tantrums will have.

If they beat your prompt and attempt the word independently, give them double what they have asked for.
If they can say the word clearly without you pointing at all then give them even more.

But always honor the picture request regardless of what they attempted last time. I cannot stress this enough. We all get tired. We are all capable of working to different levels according to how stressed or motivated we are. So one day you might get a 3 words spoken clearly and other days just a lacksadaisical point.

Always honor the agreed picture request, otherwise you will be teaching that picture communication only works sometimes, and resorting to inappropriate behaviours is the way to get what they really want.

You can work on developing articulation and vocal approximations in a separate drills using a different platform such as flash cards, games or an alternative phonetic app. such as Smarty Ears

But save Grace App for their communication of their needs and interests.

Point, Pause, Prompt, Praise and Reward.

*the agreed request is what you have decided they will get 99% of the time in response to a correct presentation of a sentence. Once you have successfully introduced Grace App, you can of course begin to say No.

Grace App for Autism Video for United Nations World Summit Award for m-Learning and Education

2010-12-10T12:05:00.000Z

Video by Stanislav Miller, World Summit Awards

Pictures that tell the story of Grace App

2010-12-06T21:36:00.000Z

BEFORE:

After!

Portable and Customizable

Ensures the social contract:
Interaction = Reward = more interaction

Smart Technology made Simple & Robust:
Gives power over communication to the User

Builds independence through prompting and rewarding users own voice

Grace App on the Road - From Skibbereen in West Cork...

2010-11-30T18:49:00.000Z

I have been kind of busy lately, traveling around to spread the word about Grace App in schools and centres for Autism.

Grace App was developed in partnership with O2 Telefonica's "Business Diversity" program and before they moved on from Autism Ireland they donated a set of iPhones to be loaned out to schools and groups for people to try out Grace App.

When the group or school gets in touch, I come out to the venue with the loan phone and do bit of a hands on workshop with staff and parents to ensure everyone understands how it works.

Training session with Senior Teacher and Speech Therapist at St Patricks Boys N.S. in Skibbereen, where they have an ASD unit.

If the group or school uses the device successfully they can then purchase an iPod Touch with Camera, knowing that it is going to be of benefit to the User and their family. If it doesn't work out, they can try something else.

There are a number of ways for groups and schools to obtain devices to use permanently in their school or centre.

Firstly there is the Grace App My Charity Campaign where members of the public have donated old iPhones and iPod Touch's to be reconditioned and fostered out to new homes. We have a cash fund for repairs and covers that Fonemenders supply at Trade Price.

There is also the Autism Ireland Recycling Campaign where for every 85 old or broken mobile phones you collect, BPI will supply you with an iPod Touch with Camera and an iTunes Voucher for Grace App.

The other way is to rally your community into good old fashioned cake sales, raffles and asking local community groups like The Lions Club or Rotary to support you.

Transition Year Mercy College in Skibbereen run a raffle for their "Amazing Grace YSI Project"

Speeches to open the Second Level Autism Unit at Rossa College in Skibbereen.

If you do decide to organise and run a campaign I will support you in anyway I can.
Niamh Cadogan and her friends in Mercy College Skibbereen have raised enough money to buy an iPod Touch with Grace App installed for every child in the St Patricks Primary School Autism Unit and the new Rossa College Second Level Autism Unit.

So I went down to Skibbereen last week to support the group and congratulate Niamh and her friends.

With Giant Grace iProp from Made in Hollywood

It can be done, you just need to set your mind to it. Please email affinityautismireland@gmail.com for fundraising equipment and me at graceappforautism@gmail.com for product support.

The Commitment Contract - You need them to need you!

2010-11-07T11:12:00.000Z

How many parents fall into the trap of giving their kids independent access to everything they need, and miss out on the opportunities to create and increase the frequency of demands and requests.

In Behavioural Science there is a made up word to describe requests, demands or commands made by a speaker by whatever means. B.F. Skinner called these "Mands".

And we must ensure that our language or learning delayed children have the ability to make a lot of Mands appropriately - as it is the most motivating way to teach language, for someone who isn't naturally socially motivated. And you can prompt it.

To paraphrase Cheap Trick; to get your kids communicating, by any means; you need them to need you!

You have to become an integral bridge between what they want and how to get it. And by association someone they want to interact with.

Because if you do this, and make yourself worthwhile and rewarding, the next step is that they will want to just share stuff with you, just for the joy of it. And isn't that what we have all been waiting for?

To do this in a basic way, you watch what the kid likes, you put it out of their reach and you prompt an appropriate way of getting it.

This can be showing them how to do a sign, or giving you a card with a picture on it, or using the word and getting them to repeat it.

It does not mean putting one chair on top of another and climbing that, opening the cupboard and throwing everything out by themselves, before climbing down and chewing through the packet to get what they want.

Or leading you by the sleeve to the general area and having a tantrum while you get everything out of the cupboard in a mad panic until they identify the item and the tantrum subsides.

Both of these methods are a great way to work out exactly what a kid likes.

Because this is about what THEY like, not what YOU want them to have.

You wouldn't work all month for an organic baked bean or some "school supplies."

So please don't expect them to.

Setting up any means of augmentative or alternative communication involves pairing it with what the user LOVES.

Get out the red and pink jellies. Get out the Belgian Chocolate Chip Cookies, Get out the Dark Chocolate Ferrero. This is a teaching phase. Give it all you got.

And, once you have your information you have to set up an opportunity to teach how to get it appropriately, by engaging your attention and making their specific need known.

Then, you want to ensure that they can do this as many times as possible. So only give them a little bit at a time.

This means putting child locks on cupboards and the fridge, awkward to open or even lockable boxes and containers in presses and general subterfuge - hide what they want.

And it doesn't have to be edibles. Take their favourite video out of the room, unplug the scart lead from the back of the DVD player or hide the remote and change their favourite channel to something boring like "The History Channel" (or the Hitler Channel as we call it in our house)

But ensure that you have the means by which they can request your help accessible so it can be quickly prompted.

If you are using picture exchange make sure they are stored where the child can grab them easily.

If it's sign, be sure everyone who is in your house can recognise it. - Put up photographs with you demonstrating those signs.

And if you are using the Grace App, have the phone on your person where you can hand over hand, prompt them to open the App, choose and share the request.

And having done that, do it again. And Again And Again.

Make your Child Need You. Because People Who Need People are the Luckiest (Autistic) People in the World...

Grace App on Autism Hangout

2010-10-27T18:15:00.000+01:00

You can watch us now on Autism Hangout's excellent "Apps for Autism" Series featuring the wonderful Moms *and DADS* With Apps.

Please check out the entire series as it will help explain which Apps suit which needs and what device might be an appropriate first purchase.

Leave a comment on the Forums if you like it - email me at Graceappforautism@gmail.com if you want to know more or perhaps have some constructive suggestions. (like telling me to wear less eyeliner)

Before you ask - Yes, we are working on Category Sorting at the moment and it will be available by the end of November. And Remember - Grace App is purely a Picture Exchange Communication system for prompting and modeling the user's own voice.

Craig guided me very expertly through describing exactly what Grace App is for and I should point out it was my first Skype call ever, so any quality issues are at my end.

Thanks Craig for the opportunity. And Lorraine for Everything else xx

How to Use (the original( Grace App - a beginners guide

2010-10-16T10:22:00.001+01:00

Please note: As of April 2011, If your device is older than iPhone 3G - do not update to version 2:0 because it won't run the latest iTunes software and it won't run the new Grace App with Category Sorting. Stick with the version you have until you can get a new device.

HERE ↑

This is what you see when you open Grace App on the two smaller devices. On an iPad it looks like this

You can see there are Eight categories and one empty one to start with at the bottom right. That is for your custom pictures. When you take, save and add pictures to the App they will live there. In our next update you will be able to put them into each category. But that is where they are for now.

So the categories are

Clothes:

Colours (Colors)

Food and Drink

My Body - for saying where it hurts

Numbers and Shapes

Places

Sentence Makers

Things I Like

And you then you have your custom button.

How to Customize Grace App

As you can see on the top right there is a Plus Button. To ADD anything to Grace App, press this:

You can choose to hold the camera up and take a photo of the item, if your device is an iPhone or the new iPod Touch with Camera

↑

Click on the picture of a little camera - It doesn't have to be perfect, but make sure the only thing in the picture is the item that you need. This is called Stimulus control - when you teach the user what the picture is called, you want to make sure that you are both talking about the same thing.

If you are happy with the picture:

click here ↑

And the App will squish it into a little square like the others and store it. It takes a few seconds.

You can also choose an existing picture that you have saved to the Album of your device - your only choice when you are using the older iPod Touch with no camera, or iPad.

↑ this little flower is where your saved photos live.

To get these pictures installed on your device, you can move them from your computer like I did here

"How to add pictures to an Album on iPad"etc

Or you can search for images on the internet using the wireless internet connection on your device. That's my next "How To" Post.

And remember you can ALWAYS email me for help on graceappforautism@gmail.com

Or phone me on +353 860486249 - but take into account I am in Ireland which is on Greenwich Meantime.

The Six Steps to Success with Grace App

2010-09-29T21:09:00.000+01:00

1. Do a Reinforcer Inventory*

Do it Honestly, writing down whatever you know the Client is really interested in. Observe their interests and make a note of all the existing cards in their picture exchange repetoire that are obviously well used.

2, Find, Take, Save and Load on to the app the most preferred items on that List.

If the item is not in the existing picture vocabulary, take photos of actual items, google them on Safari and save them to the device's album. You can even photograph existing well used cards from their book.

3. Make a commitment contract:**

Remove and Control access to EVERYTHING on your re-inforcer inventory that you can commit to handing over in response to a correct request, 99% of the time for the first 2 weeks***.

4. Take control of the device: Set up the iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad so that you have instructional control of it at all times, and the Client has to approach you in order to use it. Make sure you are competent in operating it and teach back up carers

5. Set up an opportunity to create demand for an item. Offer and then block access, prompting the request on Grace App using your hand to control the client's hand. Model and prompt the words as you point

6. Hand over the item immediately. Repeat. And Repeat and Repeat!

*For a Reinforcer Inventory; email me at graceappforautism@gmail.com

** For a Commitment Contract; email me at graceappforautism@gmail.com.
Get everyone involved with the client's welfare to agree to support the implementation of Grace App to sign up to building their future potential.

*** After 2 weeks if you have observed the Client taking control of the App to build their vocabulary, you can start to introduce the "No" and "Wait" Cards. Email me for more!

Tell me what's a happening

2010-09-21T19:53:00.000+01:00

Gracie usually goes horse-riding at Festina Lente, after school on Wednesdays. With her favourite baby-sitter: Vanessa.

Recently Daddy had a little bit of unplanned time off work, and we thought it would be nice if he went along instead. But we didn't want Grace to think he was picking her up from school to go for a walk, or McDonalds, or to the Supermarket. All the things she associates with her Daddy.

So we did this:

See, we all know that we should be offering visual supports to our autistic kids.

Because the activities we expect them undertake are so much less stressful if they know exactly what is happening, when, how, and who with.

If something is out of context, then it can be overwhelming for kids who rely on peripheral visual strategies to keep track of expectations. It can lead to tantrums.

So you need to replace those perceived cues - like the riding boots on a Wednesday - with structured Visual cues that they can understand.

This used to mean this:

With photographs saved, printed, laminated and velcro-ed ready to respond to any change of plans.

What's that Skip? You don't carry around a pouch full of pre-prepared schedule cards?Maybe you should try Grace App!

Go here to the Sentence Starter Tab - Grab a First, then go to Places, grab the place pictures you need, add in a Then or if you prefer Next and then finish it with some of your personal pictures from the stored pics button.

And Lovely Jubbly - Instant Visual Schedule!

Email me if you need to know more on graceappforautism@gmail.com.

Yep, there are a lot of specific apps for creating and saving planned out schedules that you use regularly. (links are below)

But this is for those times when there is a quick change of plans and you quickly want to put it in pictures to reduce stress. And it's easy for anyone in your child's life to do quickly. Vanessa herself used it last week to explain to Grace that she could go to the Supermarket and McDonalds, After Horseriding.
xx

What is Grace App For?

2010-09-15T12:40:00.000+01:00

For Independent Control
Grace App is intended as a Picture Communication System that the User controls independently to create sentences which discriminate their needs.
The app is deceptively simple as we want the user rather than the carer to take control of choosing and saving pictures, creating sentences and presenting the sentence to a Carer, Teacher, Tutor or Peer in order to have their needs met.

Verbal Behaviour
It is a Non-Voca - in that we require the user to present the visual sentence and interact with a listener who first models, then prompts the user's attempted pronounciation of each word. The App does not produce a recorded voice as we want the User and Listener to model and attempt each word.
This also ensures Verbal Behaviour - where the user, however articulate knows they must find and present their sentence to a listener in order to have their need met.

High Functioning Autistic Kids can and will say words and sentences to amuse themselves, and then revert to inappropriate behaviour to have their needs met as they do not innately understand this. Keep the Social Exchange, each and every time.

Grace App does NOT replace your child's voice.
It supports the consistent development of the user's articulation, however unintelligible it may be at the start.
Technology does not automatically have to mean voca - particularly with regard to Autism where the understanding of social communication can be very hard to teach. Voca Apps and Devices have their place with a range of disabilities. But be wary with Autism. You want to ensure the social exchange and development of independent communication as early as you can.

Consider this: If a child has difficulty holding a pen, you may want to teach them to use a laptop to do their school work. But you would still implement a hand writing program to ensure they have the ability to write in order to have an independent life.
They may use a keyboard for the majority of their work as we all do, but still be able to write their name and address legibly if reacquired.

The Aim of Grace App is to consistently develop the User's Verbal Ability - in order to build vocalisations that can be understood by anyone - independent of the App.

Differential Reinforcement:
Every exchange is granted but when the user attempts to speak after your prompt, you give extra encouragement, praise and "a bigger slice of the pie" - if they beat your prompt and speak independently, give them the WHOLE PIE!

And the day they use a full sentence independently without using the App - Go and buy a dozen pies!

Consistency
A well maintained hard copy picture exchange communication system will do all the above but the problem is, where the books are not being used consistently or correctly by all the Carers in the Users life.

I know how hard it is to ensure your learner always uses their sentences, when you are busy, you know what they want and the book is on the other side of the room, or worse: left behind or lost!

The difference with Grace App is that it is portable, discreet, personal; as the User can choose, take and add photographs and it can be replicated across as many devices as you use, simply by syncronising it to your iTunes account.

Get the Manual Part II - Trouble shooting with Grace App

2010-07-24T21:46:00.001+01:00

This chapter is particularly for tutors or teachers who have shown great commitment to introducing augmentative communication for their pupil, but are finding it hard to let go.

My message to you is from Parent Land: Once our kids get a little older, we do not like seeing them carrying a huge messy book with around on a twisted lanyard. We also hate the bent rings on the binder, we hate replacing lost or bent up sentence strips and lost or damaged cards.

Some of us may even get upset with The Book that makes our kids stand out as "different", especially as their vocabulary increases and their needs get more sophisticated. We want our child's communication to be as discreet and neat as possible. This is particularly true as we venture out into the "real world" where people may stop to look at our beautiful "normal" looking kids, and wonder why they have that big book on a strap.

Or when they are trying out Big School for a couple of hours a day - and they want to play with the other kids without lugging that thing around.

The good news is that the iPhone or iPod touch you gave us is discreet, cool and has endless storage for all the pictures we need to get What We Want Wherever We Go.

So why are we : Still Dragging that Book Around?

If I were to ask you, why do you still insist on bringing that thing out, what would you answer?

Make a list of all the pictures that are in that big aul' book which you think are missing from Grace App and then decide on the best way of adding them to the app.

But before you do, ask yourself; Do they need this item? Are they really going to use it independently and spontaneously in order to be understood.

For example, Does your Grace App User really need to tell you that they want to “EAT” popcorn? I mean, do they ever ask to “Sit” on Popcorn, or “Watch” Popcorn????

Would “I Want Popcorn” suffice as an independent spontaneous request that could be consistently rewarded by anyone who reads it??

Because we are not teaching these kids to play Shakespeare. We are teaching them to communicate their needs and interests in a natural way that is easily understood.

Putting in uneccessary verbs slows the sentences down and when they are verbalised, they will sound like those old fashioned “Second Language” exercises we had to do at school:

“I see the Window, I see the Cat, The Cat is on the Table, Please close the window, Please open the door.....”

I don't know about you but I have never shopped in a foreign shop where I felt the need to comment on where the cat was while asking someone to open a window/door.

I have needed to ask where the butter is or the toilet or for some ice for my drink.

So, if you really need to include the pics, Try this:

A) If they are part of an existing picture exchange vocabulary, you can save them as a photograph on your desk top computer, and then transfer them to the Users personal folder, then add them to the app's custom button. You can remind yourself how to do this here

Press + and then "Choose Existing" and select them from the photo library on your phone (which you saved when synchronising)

If you bought the cd rom to create and print these pictures then you are allowed to use them on your own device as much as you like. Obviously I am not so you won't see an example here.

If they are licenced by the creator, and you can't copy and save it to a picture folder you have three choices.
You can choose a similar version from Open Access Software (list at the end of the post)

Or You can take a photograph of the existing card either from the app if you have iPhone

or with another device which you saved to your desktop, synchronized and save using + and “Choose Existing” as before.

Or, if the user can read; Make a word card version using your computer's word processing software or go to picnik.com. For your reference I save all pics to 256 pixels square.

Save the card it to the desktop folder as before, Synchronize and save using + and “Choose Existing”

And for the best way to make the device truly portable, try these protective covers.

Please note: I don't recommend any particular retailer or supplier and I have included links for information purposes only. Please shop around..

In most instances I suggest using two covers to be sure. A shell case and a leather or rubber case to protect from impact and support a lanyard securely. Always make sure the lanyard is long enough to wear across the shoulder, NOT AROUND THE NECK! Make sure the phone can be turned to be shared when it is on the shoulder.

iPhone covers

Shell case with screen protector

Leather case to support a lanyard

Acrylic Bodyguard Case – slip a lanyard through the power/camera slot

Sport Shell

A super every thing shell and holder

For iPod Touch

Shell Case that protects screen

Leather Case to support a lanyard

I haven't owned my iPad long enough to devise a portable cover for it. I suggest you start with the one Apple offers and work up from there.

For Open Source Software for adding pictures to Grace App

http://www.freeprintablebehaviorcharts.com/

http://www.dotolearn.com/

http://www.pictoselector.eu/ AND www.PECSforAll.com *

http://www.practicalautismresources.com/printables

With thanks to Martijn van der Kooij for giving me permission to share Pecs For All.

Get the Manual!

2010-07-19T14:00:00.000+01:00

I am in the middle of writing a Manual for Using Grace App as a communication support for people with Autism and Developing Speech. Here is the first Chapter. There will be more so if you are interested, please email graceappmanual@gmail.comme for a draft. Would welcome your feedback!
graceappmanual@gmail.com

Step 1: Phasing in

Teach to the Taste!

Some people will tell you that you should only ever reinforce one method of communication. Not true.

Verbal Behaviour is defined by the speaker understanding they are having an effect on the Listener.

So whatever means the speaker chooses, as long as they know that they have to MAKE you understand them, it should be rewarded.

When you introduce Grace App – you will most likely be overlaying an existing Picture Exchange Communication Book.

Keep the big book accessible and continue to honor any request made with the pecs strip. Grace App replaces their portable or mini-book that they take on outings or into the playground etc.

Do an inventory * of the book and make note of all the most used cards (they will be obvious by the dog eared corners and encrusted velcro) and make sure there is an equivalent saved on the app. You should also do a reinforcer inventory in conjunction with their key workers and parents. Not what you think they like, but what they ACTUALLY like.

Make sure you have a picture or means to represent these saved on the app.

(you can email me for an inventory format to use when planning to introduce Grace)

Once you have the chosen handset loaded and ready, think about how you are going to make it accessible. Traditional Picture Exchange Books should be the property of the user; they should be taught to bring it everywhere independently, And carry it themselves when they are out and about.

You can't do this with an iPhone, iPod or iPad for several reasons:

1: You need to pair yourself as a communicative partner when introducing Grace App or any other augmentative communication device.

This is to ensure that the autistic user doesn't create sentences without sharing them with a listener.

Remember: Talking isnt always communicating!

Consider the Kids and Adults with Aspergers who may be able to recite an entire episode of of their favourite TV show, but may turn to inappropriate behaviour when they need a drink or something to eat.

People with Autism need to be encouraged to make the social connection with a listener that defines Verbal Behaviour.

Students with speech delay due to other disabilities such as Downs, Cerebal Palsy or other intellectual impairments understand this innately, but the Autie needs to be prompted and reminded to always approach a listener, if they want to be heard.

2: The iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch are so very entertaining and easy to use that they will be more likely to play with it than use it to communicate if given free access from the beginning. and this is before you have uploaded a single App!

The calculator, voice recorder, music and video players. maps, weather, notepad and clock functions will distract and engage the user happily for many hours. If you have wifi or 3G enabled on your device, be sure to go into Settings, General and Restrictions and lock all the non-essential apps with a passcode before you start.

3: At a minimum, the iPod Touch is a 200 euro device, considerably more if you have decided on an iPhone or iPad as your entry level.

Even if your child is NOT a chewer, spinner, twirler or likely to fling things across the room; they will need time to understand that this is a delicate piece of equipment that should be respected.

I know enough neurotypical adults who drop and spill things on their phones/blackberry/laptop so take my advice and maintain instructional control.

I suggest you get a strong cover that will support a lanyard clip and then attach a lanyard or strap long enough to go over one shoulder. You need to wear this all the time and make it accessible. I don't recommend a belt clip.

I use Otterbox Defender Covers on my iPhone and Grace's iPhone. My experience with these has been very good. And I bought and tried a lot of cases and paid for repairs when they didn't work. But this is my opinion.

Set up structured opportunities to prompt the use of Grace App to request favourite items in a natural setting. By that I mean a kitchen cupboard where things are out of reach, a vending machine, a corner store or cafe where sweets and crisps are behind the counter or somewhere with a visible menu but no access to the food.

When the child reaches for an item, block and prompt -Hand over Hand the opening of the app, and selection of the picture, and present the “sentence”.

Read it together with a finger on each picture and then immediately deliver the reward. Allow them to enjoy it.

Then set up repeat opportunities to request it again.

For more ideas – see the notes/blog entry on Increasing Mands

http://graceappforautismoniphone.blogspot.com/p/i-need-you-to-need-me-increasing.html

Hey! look at that....it's update time.

2010-06-21T14:49:00.001+01:00

Here are some of the new pics we are adding with our next update. As you may know my "market research" is entirely based on observing my daughter's interactions and she recently began leading me to look at things. Just to look at them. This kind of spontaneous sharing was miraculous and probably a lot to do with the iPhone videos we take of her preferred activities and entertainments.

So I decided I wanted to add a spontaneous comment sentence maker. My other research was based on what my friends told me their TYPICAL kids use to bring their attention to something.

This is for prompting Shared Attention.

When you are lucky enough to reach this stage in the natural environment (not a desktop discreet trial) where the Child is pointing out something, purely for the pleasure of sharing with you, they may be doing a single word or else incorrectly using the "I Want" card when what they really mean is "Hey, Look at that"

The reason I surveyed parents of typical toddlers is because I wanted it to be a naturally occurring phrase. Sure, we teach "What do you See?" at the desktop in discrete trials;
but have you ever heard anyone outside of an Language For Foreigners Program say:
"I See The Brown Dog" ?

Nope, little kids who are developing language at a normal rate will point and say "look" when they notice something.

To teach it - get down from the desk and put on a video or DVD of their favourite show. Grab the remote and pause it whenever the child is particularly excited about a character.
Say "What/Who's that?" and point at the character, then prompt them with the "Look!" and then a saved photo of the character which you downloaded and saved from google images using wifi on an iPhone or iPod/iPad, in preparation for the exercise.

So if you are watching Barney and the little girl dinosaur comes on (Grace loves her) you pause and say "Who's that?"
Then prompt with the phone: "Look" and "BabyBop"

and then follow that up with lots of cuddles and smiles. The sharing of the favourite should be reinforcing enough, but offer a tangible reinforcer if you need to make it more engaging.

You can try this somewhere like a Zoo, Aquarium or Open Farm - but you have less instructional control over those damn penguins who might rack off into their pond before you get a chance to prompt the sharing.

How to add photos to an album on iPod Touch

2010-05-20T15:16:00.000+01:00

First, upload your pictures to your desktop computer using your usual photo software. You can upload photographs taken with another phone or digital camera. You can also just save photos and pictures that are already on your computer or a disc. Or an image chosen from the internet and saved.

Choose the photographs and pictures that you want the user to access and save them all to a new album on the computer. In this example I have saved the album as:"Grace's Pics A" so I can recognise them.

Plug the white usb cord into your iPod touch and your computer - wait for the iTunes account to open and check that your iPod is registered.

At the top of the page, from left to right you will see a number of tabs, Summary, Apps, Movies, Music etc and on the far right you will see "Photos" - select that.

When you are in Photos - you will have the option to syncronise to an Album - check that.

Then choose which album, by clicking on that box and going through your albums to find the one Album you saved - "Grace's Pics A"

Check "All photos" to ensure the whole album comes across when you save.

Click Sync - in the bottom right corner and look at the iPod touch screen to see it syncronising - it will have a green image.

Wait for "sync complete" and then disconnect the iPod Touch.

Next go into the iPod Touch and check the Photo Album - the button with a flower on it.
Open it and see if your pictures loaded correctly.

Then - go to the Grace App. Click on the + button in the top right of the screen.

Click on Choose Existing - this opens the Photo Album. Then click on the photograph you want to save to the App.
The screen will return to the Grace App screen - open the bottom right category tab and your picture will be there.

Repeat as many times as you need to load the pictures the user will need.

If possible, do this step WITH the user. So they can began to build independent control around using their saved photos to supplement their Grace App vocabulary.

I Want YOUR iPhone

2010-05-18T18:45:00.000+01:00

Upgrading your iPhone?

Donate your old one & help teach a child with special needs to talk

The GRACE App for iPhones helps children communicate

but they need iPhones

So if you’re upgrading, please think about donating your old iPhone to us

Phone Lisa Domican: 0860486249 or email: graceappforautism@gmail.com

If you're not upgrading – think about making a donation on our Mycharity link

For every €200 we raise, we can buy a Brand New iPhone or iTouch for a child with Speech Delay.

Want to Help? Contact me for a Poster to put up in your workplace or email to friends.

Give yourself a good feeling when you buy the iPhone Version 4:0

Give your old phone to us and help someone with Autism or
Special Educational Needs learn to talk

Tell me whats a happenin'?

2010-05-02T21:42:00.000+01:00

Gracie usually goes horse-riding at Festina Lente, after school on Wednesdays. With her favourite baby-sitter: Vanessa.

Recently Daddy had a little bit of unplanned time off work, and we thought it would be nice if he went along instead. But we didn't want Grace to think he was picking her up from school to go for a walk, or McDonalds, or to the Supermarket. All the things she associates with her Daddy.

So we did this:

See, we all know that we should be offering visual supports to our autistic kids.

Because the activities we expect them undertake are so much less stressful if they know exactly what is happening, when, how, and who with.

If something is out of context, then it can be overwhelming for kids who rely on peripheral visual strategies to keep track of expectations. It can lead to tantrums.

So you need to replace those perceived cues - like the riding boots on a Wednesday - with structured Visual cues that they can understand.

This used to mean this:

With photographs saved, printed, laminated and velcro-ed ready to respond to any change of plans.

What's that Skip? You don't carry around a pouch full of pre-prepared schedule cards?

Maybe you should try Grace App!

And Lovely Jubbly - Instant Visual Schedule!

I should point out - since Visual Schedules are you - telling your child what is going to happen, they may not like you using "their phone" to do it with. If they don't like the plan they may delete it! (as one of the pupils in the test group did)

But if you are fortunate enough to have the Grace App on a device that only they use - like an iTouch, AND on your phone - you can use your phone for the Visual Schedules, and reserve their iTouch for the things they want to do.

Remember, you can load Grace App on to up to 5 devices, syncronised to the same iTunes Account. And individually load the picture albums that suit each user. And lock your phone so they can't delete stuff!

Email me if you need to know more on graceappforautism@gmail.com.

xx

How to get you Child to Need you and communicate

2010-05-01T09:39:00.000+01:00

Had a little feedback meeting with some parents this week who were trying out the Grace App for me in The Good School.

One of the parents said that she felt, she needed more opportunities to get her son to need her, in order to really get the benefit of showing him how to use the App.

And I couldn't help but wonder...

How many parents fall into the trap of giving their kids independent access to everything they need, and miss out on the opportunities to create and increase the frequency of their kid's "Mands?"

The inverted commas are deliberate as Mand is a madey uppy word coined by the king of behavourial science and madey uppy words B.F. Skinner.

Now don't run away, I promise the science ends here.

It is short for comMAND and deMAND and we must ensure that our language or learning delayed children have the ability to make a lot of Mands appropriately.

Why? - because it is the basis of almost all communication for someone who isn't naturally socially motivated. And you can prompt it.

To paraphrase Cheap Trick; to get your kids communicating, by any means; you need them to need you!

You have to become an integral bridge between what they want and how to get it. And by association someone they want to interact with.

To do this in a basic way, you watch what the kid likes, you put it out of their reach and you prompt an appropriate way of getting it.

This can be showing them how to do a sign, or giving you a card with a picture on it, or using the word and getting them to repeat it.

It does not mean putting one chair on top of another and climbing that, opening the cupboard and throwing everything out by themselves, before climbing down and chewing through the packet to get what they want.

Or leading you by the sleeve to the general area and having a tantrum while you get everything out of the cupboard in a mad panic until they identify the item and the tantrum subsides.

Both of these methods are a great way to work out exactly what a kid likes. Because this is about what THEY like, not what YOU want them to have.

You wouldn't work all month for a tin of baked beans or some organically grown gluten casein and virtually taste free lavosh crackers - don't expect them to.
Get out the red and pink jellies. Get out the Belgian Chocolate Chip Cookies, Get out the Dark Chocolate Ferrero. This is a teaching phase. Give it all you got.

And, once you have your information you have to set up an opportunity to teach them to get it appropriately, by engaging your attention and making their specific need known.

Then, you want to ensure that they can do this as many times as possible. So only give them a little bit at a time.

This means putting child locks on cupboards and the fridge, awkward to open or even lockable boxes and containers in presses and general subterfuge - hide what they want.

And it doesn't have to be edibles. Take their favourite video out of the room, unplug the scart lead from the back of the DVD player or hide the remote and change their favourite channel to something boring like "The History Channel" (or the Hitler Channel as we call it in our house, All Hitler All the Time...)

But ensure that you have the means by which they can request your help appropriately - accessible so it can be quickly prompted. If you are using pictures, make sure they are stored where the child can grab them easily. If it's sign, be sure everyone who is in your house can recognise it. And if you are using the Grace App, have the phone on your person where they can grab it easily and find the picture

And having done that, do it again. And Again And Again.

Make your Child Need You. Because People Who Need People are the Luckiest (Autistic) People in the World...

*Continuous mands can be a pain in the arse. As I found during the very interrupted writing of this post.

"I WANT 2 Drinks, I WANT Door Open, I want MONKEY Cootar (Yoko Jakamoto Toto) but once you get it happening you can then use it to teach them to discriminate their specific choices, as I will tell you next time. But now I have to go and plug the scart lead back into the DVD player... xx

Grace App - iTouch, iPhone and therefore iPad

2010-04-30T21:57:00.000+01:00

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. How much is the App and where do I get it?

The app is €30 on the iTunes store (about US$35 in the states or A$45 according to my little sister in Australia) Like any app you can download it once and install it on up to 5 devices sync'd to the one account.
If you have an iPhone, iTouch or iPad you will have an iTunes account.
That is where the "app store" is - online.

2. How much is an iPhone and how do I get started?

This obviously depends on your mobile phone store and what package they can put together for you.
But note: you can also put the app on an iTouch and just use another device to take, save and load the photographs.

It will run just as well on the older iPhones like the 2G, 3G and the 8G that came out 2 years ago.

Keep this in mind as you may have a friend or business associate who is due an upgrade on their iPhone - they can get the new 3Gs and pass on the old handset to you or your school.

They are simple to restore; deleting the previous users personal settings and to load with the App.

3. Why is the Picture vocabulary on the App so Simple/Complex?

Firstly - We had to create a unique set of pictures for the app in order to list it on iTunes. We commissioned a local graphic artist called Mary Moroney to do the drawings from my sketches; which I edited and labeled using the online software package at picnik.com

These were tested on Gracie - and if she labeled them correctly we went ahead and used the pic. And if she called it something else, I went back to Mary to try again.

When we did the "Pain App" pictures on "My Body" - Mary donated her time and the Facebook Group tested each picture with their kids. And again if it didn't work - it was a re-do.

The pictures chosen were the absolute minimum required to create good sentences without the need for much scrolling or searching. There are much more complex apps for people with a sophisticated vocabulary out there already so we didn't need to go there.

I was also determined that the app would work in real time on the simplest and oldest devices - without any delay. So you press it and it appears. This was to make it as accessible as possible for people who might have an older phone or for first time users.

I tried a good few apps out during testing and found that I wanted to throw them down the stairs with impatience at waiting for my selection to appear - let alone a child with autism or ADD.

After the first round of testing I was asked both to add vocabulary and strip it back further.

I feel very strongly that this app belongs to the User. - it's their voice so I still think you should be using a different handset to tell them what to do. So there are First and Then, No and Wait cards included in 'Sentence Starters' tab.

Extra vocabulary that is particular to the user can of course be added instantly using the + option on the top right corner, either by taking a photograph or using a saved photo from this or another device.

If you have taken photos - you can re-take or edit them yourself on Picnik.com and then save them to an album specific to the user.

On my phone I have also added in google images of favourite tv-show characters that my Gracie likes. All these are stored on the "photo" button on the app itself, and backed up in the camera album.

4. When I save photos they are all mixed up together in the "photo" button on the bottom right corner of the app. Why can't I sort these into categories?

When we were testing the prototype of the phone I was meticulous in creating categories like a picture exchange "page" which I prompted Gracie to use.
She wouldn't.

As a Picture Communicator she is a very speedy visual scanner and always went straight to the main picture album to scroll through hundreds of images to get what she wanted.
During the testing phase another little girl was exactly the same. And she took 3000 photos!

Yes, we will be updating the app to include a sorting option when Apple creates the software
- but no, you probably won't need to bother doing this for anyone other than yourself.

5. I like the app but find the pictures too small for my child or clients to manipulate - is there a way of enlarging them?

The size of the icons layout is obviously tailored to the device.

So the user has to have some competency around the iPhone or iTouch in order to make independent selections.

However - once selected you tip the phone on to its side to make a large sentence like so-:

So even your Granny can see what the sentence is (or me without my glasses on)

But from the very beginning of my discussions with Steve the iPhone Wizard Developer- he had it in mind for this:

That's right, Grace App is available right here, right now! for iPad - and at the same price.

I think that is enough for now. If you need more information please don't hesitate to email me on graceappforautism@gmail.com

xx