Every app out there is designed in some way to make your life easier. So let me share with you my "First, Then" card.
To explain, "First, Then" is a behavior management tool for kids with Autism. It is used as a visual prompt for children to know what they must work on or accomplish before they get a reinforcer. The "First" is what the child needs to do. The "Then" is the reinforcer and what the child has to look forward to when they accomplish the task.
Here is a sad sad sad sad picture of my "First, Then" card that I've used this past year. The lamination is totally falling off. The card is bending. It looks awful.
You can see that there is a tiny piece of velcro on both squares so that I can put a visual prompt (a picture) on the card so that the child knows what to do. It will end up looking like this:
I have a PECS kit (Picture Exchange Communication System) that I use for the pictures on my "First, Then" card. The kit has about 150 stock photos in it. I think I use maybe 8 of the 150 pictures regularly. That isn't my toilet, but a stock photo of a toilet. And my kids have never seen candy that looks like that before in brightly colored wrappers. Kind of reminds me of the really crappy candy that's in those giant Costco bags at Halloween. Anyway, I've taught my kids that this picture means candy. So they know that if they use the potty, they will get a piece of candy. And more specifically, they will get 1 M&M of the color of their choice. Wouldn't it be nice if I actually had a picture of something that was useful to our specific world and routines?! I used to take pictures of everything, but that got old fast. I was taking pictures, getting them developed (who develops pictures anymore?), and then running to get them laminated. Plus I was running out of velcro or the velcro was falling off my pictures. It was a mess!!
This is all of my PECS photos. What a waste! I hardly use any of them!
Enter the greatest app that has made my life so much easier!
It's called "First & Then" and you can get it here!
This is a lovely screen shot from my iPhone. This is what the app looks like when you open it.
This app let's you take a picture of anything you want or use pictures that are already on your phone or iPad. Or it let's you use pictures that you have already used in the past on the app. It is AWESOME! You take a picture of something that your child doesn't want to do. In this picture above, Asher doesn't like brushing his teeth. He LOVES stories and being read to, so the bed time story is his reinforcer. If he let's us brush his teeth, then he will get a story before night night. IT WORKS!
Another thing about this app that my kids like is when they are finished with the "First" task they drag the picture to the checkered box and it completes the task. You'll here a big swoosh sound. It reminds me of the sound when you send an email on your phone, except much louder. My kids love dragging the picture to the completed box when they are finished! Also, see that clock in the middle of the app? You can also put a timer on any of the tasks. For example, if the reinforcer is an iPad you can put a timer on the "Then" card so that the child is only spending how long you want them to be spending on the reinforcer. It also makes transitions away from the reinforcer so much more easy!
I use this app probably 5 times a week. I just used it this morning. Asher did not want to get dressed this morning (he has issues with taking shirts on and off over his head). BUT Asher really wanted a cereal bar for breakfast. So I quickly took a picture of his shirt that I was trying to get him to put on. Then I took a picture of the cereal bar he was begging for. When I show him what I want him to do in this way, he understands it and the tantrums are not as severe! Hallelujah!
So there you have it! The greatest app I've discovered this year! Download it and try it out!
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