So, auditory training has always been an important part of Abbey’s therapy and this is one way we’ve tried to work on it. In the past it was with a CD and cards, in speech therapy, but now we have cool apps for that! Abbey does better with using the iPad, plus she’s doing better with remembering sounds of things..AND big plus, she can tell us when she’s all done with a task instead of getting mad, well, most of the time!:)
Here’s a video of her doing ‘sounds’, auditory training almost 6 years ago and then I’ll post one below of it NOW!
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.
Here is a video of Abbey’s Fav reading and spelling apps. Mom’s favorites are the ones that are customizable that I can add words and pictures of words we are working on. Thankfully I have found some that are both of our favorites! So, check out the video and see what they are and watch Abbey playing them!
Proloquo2Go has an amazing feature called “List View.” It’s a way of putting the buttons in a vertical list instead of a grid. This helps Abbey figure out that it’s sequential, I think. It’s helped her most with directions, especially with how to cook boxed rice, like the video I posted on here in January.
Oh, and I also included how to “Hide” a button, and why, how we use that, very handy and easy!
So, here is a video of all the ways we use this feature, to help Abbey. Click on the video below to watch!:)
Yes, it’s been a long, hard road…but nothing has been more rewarding! Watching Abbey slowly, gradually be able to tell us more and more, nothing is more amazing! So, I get asked A LOT how we taught Abbey, how we started, what we used and how we have her Proloquo2Go set up. So, I tried to put it all together in a video, hoping that it will help and encourage people to get started and get some good ideas! Hope it helps!
Ok, first of all before you watch the video, be aware, there is a really loud squeal, so prepare yourself. No, it’s not from Abbey, it’s from me! Abbey has never, ever said the word “mom”, verbally before or on her iPad without prompting! Once again, had to do with food…but I so don’t care.:) Yes, hearing that was simply amazing, beyond words! I wish I could take credit for that one, but the school is where they have been working hard on her adding the person’s name that she’s talking to…I just love that! And, she’s not only figuring it out, her skill is transferring to home so well! I’m so proud of her! So, here it is, the short, but very sweet video…again, sorry if I hurt your ears.:)
Click on the very short, but very sweet video below, to watch the miracle!
Child Proof Proloquo2Go…please pass on to Proloquo2Go users!!
Also folks wanting to use Guided Access, Part 2 is a must watch!:)
I get asked very frequently how to child proof Proloquo2Go, so I made a couple of quick videos to show you how! Please share with anyone using Proloquo2Go, so that they can keep all of their work safe!
Here’s the first one! Just click on the videos to view them!
Here’s Part 2: Child Proofing Proloquo2Go, using Guided Access, disabling parts of the screen…anyone using apps with kids could use this one!!:) You learn how to use Guided Access, along the way, too!
I also end the video with how to enable restrictions so that kids can’t delete apps, install apps or in app purchases.
Hope this helps!
Check out our other videos of how we are helping Abbey grow and learn with Proloquo2Go and ‘her’ review on many, many apps!:) http://www.youtube.com/famof6
Ok, I’ve posted about Pictello before, how we use this app for social stories, teaching Abbey what to expect, what to do in situations. So, we’ve got stories about Going to the Dentist, for example.
We also love Pictello because it has opened up a new world for Abbey. She figured out that she loves to look at pics of herself and her family doing things. So, I make stories about our trips, about new things she does and experiences, so she can look at it all again!
Well, yes, Pictello just got even better! Not only is it very simple to use, for myself and for Abbey…but now, YES, you can ADD VIDEOS!! Wow, to see Abbey’s face, the first time she opened up one of her stories, clicked on a page and it was a video….priceless! She started off with a huge grin and then was just giddy! It adds another whole dimension! So, now to think about ways we can use this new feature to help her learn and grow….
Here’s a pdf, Growing Beans, of one short, simple story I made using Pictello, of us planting bean seeds. I hope to use it again next year and see what she can do without my help! The page in the story without words, is actually a video,:) If you have Pictello, we can share stories! I can send you a Pictello link of a story that you can put on your Pictello, to look at and use, if you’d like.:) Just let me know!
Abbey is doing it, she’s learning to use sentences! Here’s a video of her asking for waffles..
I’ve been talking to the gals working with Abbey about how to teach her to do this and we’ve been brain storming, then at our last school meeting, the school team and I came up with which words to add to start with, to start the process. It sure has been a long road to get here, but it’s so cool to see her catch on so well! It sure takes a village! Here’s a screen shot of Abbey’s ‘home page’ with the words we added.
Here’s the screen shot of her asking for waffles. In the video, you can see how easily she navigates to find what she wants, another long work in progress! Proloquo2Go is so amazingly easy to add whatever we want and however we need it on there!
So, we used to have just one button for ‘I want’, we started by separating that into two. The school had already really been working on having her add on ‘please’ to the end of her requesting sentences, to that part was easy for her. Then we added ‘to, a, and the’, which I think will take a bit longer for her to learn to use. So, what do you think?:)
Thank you so much for everyone’s help and support, including Abbey’s ‘team’ and the folks at Proloquo2Go!
Don’t forget to check out Abbey’s other videos, there’s a link to them on the home page!
Abbey’s Year, 2012 video, click here. It’s just a brief glimpse of what our world, Abbey’s world was like in 2012, of her triumphs and struggles. She’s growing and learning, she’s continuing to communicate more, initiate more, reference us more…it’s truly amazing, blessings abound!
In the video you’ll see glimpses of her communicating with her iPad, with Proloquo2Go. You’ll see her first trip to Disneyland. You’ll also see some FIRSTS that were so exciting for us, her birthday blew us away this year, no pun intended.:) Christmas was incredible, seeing a true desire to celebrate, remembering from past experiences and truly enjoying the tree and presents, not to mention her little Nativity Scene, even!
What you’ll also experience with us, with Abbey, are some struggles…ugh, those stinkin’ doorways, what is it about doorways? We may never know, for sure! And, elevators, yikes! She was so incredibly brave on a trip in the car to California this year. I really didn’t know how it was going to go, it took a HUGE leap of faith…and, she did it! She did so well! There were some tough times, but overall, she sure surprised us, like she loves to do!:)
I really do want to thank all the people working with Abbey, helping her and us and all the friends and family praying for us every day….without you all, Abbey would not be the happy girl she is, succeeding in so many ways! I also want to thank a totally amazing husband who had enough faith for both of us that Abbey could succeed on a very long road trip, you were right, honey! One more thank you, thank you Lord for all of your provisions for our family, especially for our Abbey, for the strength you give us every single day to make it through the hard days and succeed on the good days!
Enjoy, and please, let us know what you think! Don’t forget to visit the link at the top of the page to see all of Abbey’s other videos on youtube, to see more!
Thank you!
Apps Abbey’s using are Proloquo2Go, to communicate and Count TV, a Sesame Street counting app, to help her learn to count.
abbeysvoice 