Here it is! Abbey’s Year video!! I don’t think I got around to doing one last year, but we have several older ones on our YouTube channel. It’s amazing to see how far she has come! She’s happier than ever, communicating more than ever and is really getting the hang of going new places and trying new things!
Celebrate with us as we look back and see how we have helped Abbey learn and grow!
Click here to watch Abbey’s Year 2014!
Here’s Abbey asking for the same thing over and over….she’s got a one-track mind today!
It’s been a rough week of not enough sleep for either of us. We’re doing much better now so I’m counting my blessings as she repeats herself over and over, so thankful that it’s in such a nice sentence!:)
Here’s Abbey trying to tell me something! The video of her is a bit hard to hear, sorry, should have turned up the volume on her iPad. I think you should be able to make it out, though.
She’s been doing a lot of talking lately…with her device, which has been very exciting! She uses Proloquo2Go to talk to us. And, she’s bringing it to us, which I explain in the video, is huge!
Click below to see the video!
There are so many apps out there that we have tried with Abbey that we feel help calm her, and let her explore her creativity. She loves water, I mean really loves water, so Koi Pond has been a big hit of hers for a long time. There are now several like this, but this remains her favorite one.
So, click on the video below to see Abbey’s favorite calming and creative apps!
It so exciting when you find something that motivates your kiddos to communicate!! It doesn’t come easy, but I think, gets easier as they start learning and start realizing how it works for them. Some days, she’s a communicating machine and other days, it’s like pulling teeth. It all depends on her mood and what she wants, how motivating it is for her and how motivated she needs to be that day. Some days she needs some prompting and other days, she just goes and goes…those days make me so happy!
So, this was a pretty good day! She was happy and very motivated by candy! This video shows the progression from the beginning, starting with me showing her what to do, to her figuring it out and going with it! Candy is extremely motivating, as you will see! So cute! I used one of the ‘expressions’ on Proloquo2Go for ‘thank you’, so that’s super cute too…
Click the video below to see her treat or treating, in action!
I love how creative the specialist that works with Abbey is. Abbey was having an off day, tired, not motivated, kind of day when she came over yesterday. I pulled out the moon sand like stuff, thinking she needed something sensory to do. So, the specialist, knowing Abbey loves to squish up things made out of moon sand, tried to find a way to work on using her iPad with playing moon sand….and this was the result.:) She’s using the keyboard in Proloquo2Go. I worked on it for a bit after she left, trying to get the most I could out of it!
Click on the video below to see how she did it!
So, have you used the cool new features of Expressions, Sounds and Macros?? If not, you’re totally missing out, so cool!! Here’s how to set them up and how we use them with Abbey! Wait til you hear your kiddo say “please” with expression, talk about tugging at your heart strings!
Click on the video below to see how to use Expressions and Sounds!
Click on the video below to see how to use Macros!
Here are Abbey’s fav puzzle apps! Obviously, puzzles are one of her strengths…look at her go! She loves puzzles! The app where you have to manipulate and turn the pieces has been a fav for quite a while, but know that this is the 3rd level, the first 2 levels lead up to that one. So, it doesn’t start out that hard. This one is great for fine motor skills and problem solving!
So, click below to see some fun puzzle apps that Abbey thinks are great!
So, I remember, oh so well, how hard it was to first get started! If we had first started out with Proloquo2Go, and oh, how I wish it was around when we were starting out, we would have had to simplify it, to start out with.
Here is THE TRICK TO GET STARTED: JUST DO IT! Yep, there’s no super secret absolute right way! Each child is different and each family is different. So, it’s kind of one of those things that you research the best you can, get therapists’ help and support, if possible, and then just have to learn as you go. You can’t learn as you go until you get started though!
So, I encourage you, to just get started and learn as you go. Start out with what you think will work and go from there, editing on the spot. This is what has worked for us, for Abbey.
Communication is key. Our kids deserve it! They deserve to be able to tell us what they want and what they don’t. And, it will, eventually make their lives more rich and yours much easier, lessening behaviors and understanding more about your child.
So, here is how to show less buttons, to get you started and how to add buttons and folders…quick, easy and to the point! Just click on the videos below…and look at our other posts with tips and how we started with Abbey, how we’ve customized it for Abbey…maybe you’ll get some good ideas that will help.
Hope these help you GET STARTED!
abbeysvoice 