iCommunicate 4+

Gone are the days of taking a ton of photos, having them developed, cutting them out, laminating them, putting velcro on the back of them and organizing them in a way that makes sense to the special needs children you are working with. I am an OT and used to make storyboards by hand for children for use in every day life as well as in therapy. With this application you can make your own storyboards in minutes and best of all they are portable. So instead of showing your child at home all about the day and then 3 hours later they are having a meltdown because they don't remember, you can instead have the storyboard with you every minute as a reminder of what is to come. It also helps for making choices and I wish it was around when my daughter was learning to talk. Meal time was always so frustrating when I didn't know what she wanted. With this application I had created an entire menu of breakfast items in less than 2 minutes which could be used for your child to choose their favorites. Perfect for the visual learner who is still developing their language skills.

I bought this app for my almost-four-year-old daughter, and we both love it. I've been drawing schedules and social stories by hand - or creating them and printing them - and this app makes the same process SO much easier. I like being able to add images from google easily, and the audio is very easy to record. Every day, the first thing my daughter asks is to borrow my phone so that she can "see her schedule" for the day. Having this visual aid reduces her anxiety markedly.

The two features that I wish the app had and that are currently under development is the ability to backup storyboards and the ability to move items easily in the task completion list in case something needs to be changed. For now, I just leave a blank line between each task in the task completion list in case I need to add or switch something around on the fly. The spot doesn't show up when my daughter looks at the images, so it's a relatively easy solution.

I am a speech pathologist who works with many children on the Autism spectrum or with generalized anxiety. Myself and the other clinicians in our clinic use this application daily and have found it tremendously effective in helping children transition into, through, and out of their session. It is VERY USER FRIENDLY and can be customized to the individual needs of each child. The parents I have recommended it to have given it rave reviews. I would highly recommend it to any parent or special educator who is looking for a tool to help establish a routine or to ease anxiety and confusion in the life of a child who has difficulty moving through their day.