Compatible with iPhone
and iPod Touch
My Video Schedule
Picture schedules not enough? Try My Video Schedule, developed by Tiffany Fixter, for iPhone and iPod Touch. This app lets you harness the power of video modeling! And, as a parent of a child with autism, I know video modeling works. I've seen it first-hand.
This app has two modes: User and Admin. They are nicely, and appropriately, separated. Admin mode can be password protected. That's an important feature that keeps children with autism, or other special needs, from jacking up your settings.
Admin mode is where you make all the changes and customizations to the schedules. But, before you do anything, you'll want to shoot video of your child happily doing the various activities throughout the day that you want to include in My Video Schedule. Once you get that footage, then enter the Admin side of the app and make your schedule a reality.
Not only does this app allow you to build an excellent video schedule, it also allows you to associate each activity with a reward. Maybe that reward is as simple as a quick word of praise like, "Nice job!" Or maybe it's 30 minutes on the iPad! My Video Schedule lets you decide.
It's handy that this app comes with many activities and many rewards already loaded up and waiting for you. You can freely download them, within the app, and use them if you like. And, of course, you can add your own.
User mode is the 'front end'. Admin mode gives you lists and options while User mode is much more visual and geared for the kid who needs a video schedule.
In User mode you can flip forward or back and see what you've already done and what you still have to do in your schedule. You can watch any videos in your schedule for the current day to see what's coming up or what has already been done.
Touch 'Finished' after completing an activity on the schedule and the activity disappears. But be careful, and be warned, an activity cannot be reclaimed without going into Admin mode and jumping through a few hoops. So if a child decides to flip forward and touch Finished on each activity for the day, you have some work to do in order to restore the schedule.
Perhaps touching the Finished button should just put a big check mark on the activity but leave the activity there. I think Finished should be a toggle button so if you press it again the check mark will disappear and the activity becomes active again - no disappearing act.
With iOS 5 Apple is basically encouraging everyone to take pictures using the iPhone's 'up' volume control button. They've turned the 'up' button into the 'take a picture' button. This puts the iPhone upside down compared to the orientation most people snap pictures. Thanks to Apple I've gotten used to shooting video this way also. The first time I shot video for inclusion into My Video Schedule I shot it with the iPhone oriented this way. Everything looks good until I actually import the video into the app... then I noticed that my video footage is upside down! Big deal? Not really. Just shoot video with your volume control buttons on the bottom.
There's a start time and an end time for each activity in your schedule. That structure is good and it's frequently needed. Children with autism love structure. But sometimes an activity, like homework, isn't over till it's completed. I'd like to see My Video Schedule be a little more flexible there so I can end an activity when Daddy says it's over. And I'm Daddy.
My Video Schedule is nicely done. And once the Finished button issue is remedied I see this app being in the upper tier of iPhone apps for kids with special needs. Now if only there was an iPad version.
