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Money Smarts: Using Scene Speak to Teach Monetary Values

8/30/2013

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Scene Speak is one of our most versatile, multi-purpose apps. In addition to creating social stories, digital scrapbooks, etc., it can also be used to teach everyday concepts, like money recognition and management. 


If the individual has not mastered basic monetary concepts, you can always begin by creating VSDs to define and identify different types of currency.
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Show front and back of each denomination to help the individual be able to recognize it in everyday situations.
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Highlight the name of the coin or bill by capitalizing it. This will help it stand out and will help with word recognition.
You can also combine different types of currency to help the individual learn how to count change, payments, etc.
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Showing the money up close, but in tangible situations will help the individual relate to the act of exchanging currency.
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Whenever possible, try to find clear and large images to highlight the size difference in appearance among coins and bills.
Once each denomination is mastered, you can show the value in practical settings.
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Start by introducing highly motivating and familiar activities that the individual will easily relate to.
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Showing money being used in real time can help the individual generalize it across environments.
Now, to work on spending wisely!
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Following Recipe Steps Using FTVS HD

8/19/2013

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For an easy, functional activity that encourages both family time and independent living skills, try using our First Then Visual Schedule HD app for recipes. 

To do this, find a simple recipe that is concrete and easy to follow, with minimal steps. Take pictures of each step and create a template for the individual to follow along with. At the end, you can either allow the food item itself to be the end reward, or you can choose another small token to encourage participation. 

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Create a schedule dedicated to the preparation and/or cooking of the recipe.
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Make sure the title is concrete and the corresponding photo represents the activity.
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Add as many items as you need to create steps that the individual can follow easily.
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Give the final step a motivating image, sound, or other "reward." In this case, the cookie itself would be the reinforcer, coupled with a preferred character.
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Once the schedule has the desired steps/appearance, enable timers and set them according to bake/cooling times, prep time, etc.
You can develop more complex recipe "schedules" as the individual learns to follow along with the steps and becomes more familiar with cooking tools. Happy eating!!!
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Creating Memories With Scene Speak

8/12/2013

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Summer is almost at an end! For those of you not in year round school or day programs, it's likely been a VERY long couple of months - full of the usual day-to-day activities, and maybe some fun day trips and vacations thrown into the mix. 

For a fun and interactive way to create a digital "scrapbook," take all of those pictures you've been snapping all summer long and upload them into our SceneSpeak app. From there, you can add text for a more book-like retelling of your summertime adventures, or take it to an interactive level by adding hotspots to your images that come alive when your loved one or client taps them. 

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Adding details about the trip to the images can bring them to life in the individual's memory.
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Hotspots can be added (with colored popup text, audio, or both) that can create an interactive and fun experience when recalling trips.
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Don't forget large family events! Include visiting friends and family to show the individual how many people care about them.
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Once you've created all of your summertime VSDs, you can then add them to a Book, creating your very own personalized digital scrapbook.

This way, the individual can look back upon all of the amazing things they did this summer and recall all of the fun they had. Who knows? It may even become one of their favorite leisure time activities.
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Remembering Important Dates Using Visual Schedule Planner

8/9/2013

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Our Visual Schedule Planner app is great for helping loved ones/clients remember important dates like birthdays and anniversaries. In addition to therapies, doctor appointments, school/day program schedules, routines, etc., it can be used as a tool to mark and remind the user of these dates, so they do not get overlooked. 

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When you create the event, you can choose to set up a reminder, make the event for the entire day, and add images/video.
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In Day View, you can see the event clearly and make any edits/changes to the details.
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In Week View, you can view the event along with all of the usual recurring events in your schedule. This can help the individual plan around pay periods to purchase a gift, plan a party, etc.
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To view special events in Month View, simply click the star that corrsponds to the date you wish to view, and a list of that day's events (including the special event) will be displayed to the right.

It might also help us remember too! 
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Is This Person OK, Or Should I Stay Away? - Teaching "Stranger Danger" Using Scene Speak

8/8/2013

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Do you have a love one/client that fails to recognize the difference between "stranger" and "friend?" 

Everything from inappropriate touching (i.e., hugging strangers, talking to people in public they do not know, etc.) can lead to misunderstandings - and sometimes worse.

To help with this, you can create flashcards/books using our Scene Speak app that address and reiterate who is safe to approach and who should be kept at a safe distance. Mix in familiar people (doctors, teachers, aides, therapists, family members, and friends) with randomized pictures of people the individual has never met before, and pair them with questions (or use language of your choice to describe "stranger danger") in order to establish familiarity with those who are all right to approach while separating them from people who are unknown. 

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Use pictures of familiar people paired with "stranger danger" language of your choice.
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Use diverse and random images of unfamiliar people to teach the individual how to distinguish between "safe" and "stranger."
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Using an image of the individual's household members is a great way to provide a concrete example of who is "safe" to touch.
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Use images of places/people that the individual may gravitate toward during public outings. This will help them learn more quickly how to interact with strangers in public.
This can also be used for young children, who can benefit from learning the difference between "familiar person" and "stranger."
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Creative Tips for Long Road Trips

7/22/2013

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Taking a trip this summer? Whether it's a few hours or a few days, we've got apps to help maintain structure and make transitions on vacation much easier. 

For example, use Scene Speak to take pictures of car logos, then use the VSDs to create a book of cars to look for on a long road trip...or First Then Visual Schedule HD to create a travel itinerary, complete with stopovers. Our apps are so versatile, the potential uses are only limited by your imagination!

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Create books of VSDs with different things you can easily spot on the road for a fun road trip game.
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Find motivating and interesting images to import into your book that will keep the individual occupied while traveling.
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Create a travel itinerary for the individual to follow along with as the trip progresses.
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Knowing what comes next on the trip can alleviate a lot of stress from the unknown while traveling.
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Levels of Friendship & Bullying

7/22/2013

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Discussing Levels of Friendship and Bullying:

Scene Speak can be used to create social stories and other exercises that address the issue of bullying. This is an important issue for many of our younger individuals (and adults too, in some situations). 

The concept of "levels of friendship" is hard for many individuals to understand. Sometimes the most damaging bullying occurs in less obvious scenarios. Teaching these individuals how to advocate for themselves, when to report a situation to adults/higher authorities, and the difference between "acquaintance," "friend," and "toxic person" can help protect the individual from emotional and/or physical harm in the future.

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Use caps to create emphasis on the concept being taught/expressed.
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Use images that clearly convey the desired target emotion.
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Focus on real-life scenarios that the individual may face.
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Use a variety of images to accentuate the theme being discussed.
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Surviving Vacation Transitions

7/20/2013

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Summer Trip Survivial Tip:

If you're taking a big trip to a theme park or other large area requiring many transitions this summer, try using our apps to alleviate some of the stress involved in changing activities. 

Scene Speak can be used to give your loved one complete visual access to the entire facility/area, and hotspots can be created to allow them to have input over where you go next and what comes next. Simply label the desired area with a hotspot, make several "places" available, and allow the user to touch the space they wish to visit next. This will foster an excitement and involvement in the chosen activity, and give them the power of choice during an activity.

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Easily upload a map into the app, add hotspots, even link to another VSD of individual places within the theme park.

You can also simplify it for an individual who may already be familiar with the vacation spot by using My Choice Board to offer them a choice between activities, rides, etc. To avoid indecision, it may be helpful to offer one preferred and non-preferred place. That way, the individual still feels they are having a "say" in the day's activities, and pictures can be taken and used quickly.

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Create an individual choice board with rides, restaurants, etc.
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Give the individual as many or as few choices as they are able to use.

For lunchtime, toileting, and any other shorter activity, First Then Visual Schedule can be used to create a step by step guide for your loved one to know exactly what is coming next within a specific activity. For users who are good at generalizing, you can also use the app to plan out each activity beforehand, and offer choices (or even a video of a rollercoaster or other applicable activity) to further enhance the experience/choice making. 

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FTVS HD can be used to compliment the other two apps by providing an outline for the day's events & activities.
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Try to create a schedule that is clear, contains all possible events in the day (including toileting and meals), and has an ending/departure time.
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Choosing Recreation & Family Activities

7/19/2013

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Encouraging Family Time/Recreational Activity Participation:

Every individual in a household or family should feel that they are active participants in the recreational/leisure activities of the house. It's easy to include a loved one, roommate, or client in these activities using our My Choice Board app.

You can create a choice board for each individual activity type (example: board games), or simply have a "Recreation" board, where the field of choice contains several different types of options/activities. The options offered should always include available, tangible items to avoid confusion or disappointment.

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Create a choice board that reflects choices within one specific category.
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Offer a variety of options within the specific category that are engaging and interesting for the entire group/family.
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For more a diverse set of options, create a choice board that features multiple types of activities.
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Individual choice boards can always be used to compliment the activity, when there are multiple options involved. Using this example, you might want to have a separete choice board for movies.
These types of activities encourage active participation in family/group activities, and allow for the individual to know that they are just as valuable and important to the family/group as every other member. Having influence over the structure of recreational activities can be empowering for our loved ones/clients and helps include them in meaningful ways. This can also work in a school setting, when it comes to choosing classroom chores, recess games, or any other activity in class where the individual can make a concrete choice and guide the group's activity.
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  • Home
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