Compatible with iPhone
and iPod Touch
First Then Visual Schedule
The First Then Visual Schedule was the very first app I purchased for my son, who has autism. And it changed our lives. (Results may or may not be typical, but that hardly matters since kids with autism aren't typical.)
We had been having problems getting our boy to eat, take a bath, etc. And then I created a visual schedule on this app that illustrated the steps of his night time routine. That includes tubby time, dinner time, video game time, and bed time. He was a happy "go with the flow" kid in no time. First Then helped my son to understand that if he cooperated and did what we wanted he could play Need 4 Speed or Mad Skills Motocross as a reward for that good behavior.
In my opinion this is a great app for audio/visual prompting. It's easy to understand and features a pretty seamless interface. I love the 'chalk board' design it has which gives us parents the idea that anything on the app can be changed quickly and easily as we see fit. You can add as many different picture schedules as you like, and even choose from three different ways to present those schedules. First Then allows me to show my son the steps he needs to complete for his night time routine. It makes transitions much easier. He actually asks to see his schedules on here! He loves it! Each step has a picture and there's an arrow pointing to that next step. You can record your voice and attach it to specific pictures also, so when you or your child touch a picture it talks! You can add your own pictures to a schedule too!
Wanna check off a step as completed? No problem. Just go to settings and flip that feature on. Then return to the app and you have your wish. Wanna rearrange the steps in a routine? No problem. Just go to Edit Schedules and have at it. First Then gives you total control over visual schedules. I don't see how an app could do picture schedules on the iPhone any better.
With that said, no app is perfect. Recording your voice and attaching it to a picture is a little tricky at first. You have to hit "Save" a couple times and also restart the app before it works. But once you figure it out it's a breeze.
Many people may find First Then Visual Schedule easier to setup than some of the competing visual schedule apps. It's very straight forward. And to make it even easier, you can search the web from within the app to find images for your schedule.
Bottom line is that First Then Visual Schedule is a dynamite app. If you need an app expressly for visual schedules you'd be a fool not to consider this one.
