Exclusively for iPad
Visual Schedule Planner
Good Karma Applications, the developer of Visual Schedule Planner, offers lots of functionality in this iPad app. They also developed First Then Visual Schedule for iPhone, but Visual Schedule Planner offers many more features. As you might expect, it's not quite as simple to use though.
This app is, in essence, a visual schedule app that also incorporates video into the mix if you choose to use it. If you have a kid with autism you might know how helpful a visual schedule can be. Add video to it, and you've really got yourself a powerful app. Visual Schedule Planner merges visual schedules and technology into one package, but you may find a slight learning curve. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and after using it a bit you'll get more comfortable.
The layout is simple and refreshing and does a good job taking advantage of the iPad's large screen. The default library of icons is very large and very beautiful. I wish it opened up a larger window so I could see more of it at once. You can, of course, use your own images and audio and video with this app.
Set up reminders. Use the visual countdown timer with your activities. Choose from several different views including day, week, or month. Keep little hands from changing things by using the optional passcode to lock down the settings. Visual Schedule Planner packs all these features and more. You can hide practically anything on the screen and even write notes.
Name a certain routine and add steps to it. You decide what time you want the routine to occur. You can make it recurring too. And you can add your voice to it every step of the way. As I said, even attach video to a task. Video modeling can have a serious impact.
It's nice that Visual Schedule Planner automatically saves your routines and activities as well as all pictures, audio and video that you've put into the app. You can access those resources for inclusion into another routine later on.
During my testing the app crashed several times while I was doing different things. So it's not as stable as it should be under iOS 5 on a second generation iPad. I'm sure Good Karma is working on that as you read this review.
If I set up a night time schedule and cue it for a certain time, all is good on a typical night in our house. But what if my son, who has autism, is misbehaving and we decide bed time is earlier? Although I can easily pull up the night time schedule on the fly and even check off items as they are completed, the visual timer won't start. And I'd like to be able to change the amount of time also. My son's night time schedule usually allows him time to play on his iPad. But if he's misbehaving I would probably omit that activity and so I'd want to reduce the amount of time for his night time routine.
Setup of Visual Schedule Planner, the interface, is word oriented. It's easy to figure out after you spend a little time with it. And if you have a child with autism you'll want to spend a little time to get it set up right for your child. It's one of those apps that can make a big difference in the life of a kid with ASD.
