WATCH Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M7HXCuV9qA or Here: WILL SOON BE POSTING VIDEOS OF OUR AUTISM ADVENTURES AND OUR LIVES...INCLUDING TEACHING, COMMUNICATING WITH ITM AND iPod, BIKING, HIKING, SWIMMING, ARTWORK, SPECIAL EDUCATION LAW, DANCING, NEUROLOGY, DIET, GREAT STORIES, HORSES, and MORE MORE MORE!!! So there was an overwhelming response to my post which suggested a few starter apps for the ITM system, so I decided I would feature a few Guru V Apps a week for the iPod touch. We do not have the iPad yet. Some apps are transferable and some are not. This week Jus got a surf app for fun and HE ROCKS IT!!! Rip/Curl LIVE the SEARCH. You choose a surfer, a board, a location and then go for it! Finger riding is really all you need, he rode the tubes, did 360's...DUDE. He loves surfing and the ocean so this app is like being at the beach. Well, not exactly, but the waves look real and he dug it. BENE's - (Benefits) FUN! OCEAN! HAS OCEAN SOUNDS. WAVES. Enhance choice making, hand/eye coordination, and finger tap and swipe manuevering on the touch screen for fine motor enhancement. Price - 3.99 SAMPLE VIDEO BELOW Another great choice for education is the Sea Creatures! app. A 106 card app that lets you browse the sea creatures and offers a multiple choice quiz to show what you know. Both kids loved this because they love underwater life. Also the pictures are real and very rich. Make sure to enhance communication you say the names of the sea creatures aloud initially and read the quiz answers aloud while pointing with something other than your finger that will not actually choose the answer. It is also very engaging to talk about each picture and be excited. Say what colors, shapes and things you like. What creeps you out. Where the creature might live. In fact, an add-on activity could be to make a map of the world and print out the names of each creature and do a search, then glue the name and pic on the map where they live!!! Go for it and be In The Moment!! More info on ITM is available here...click here...right here and be taken to the Guru V Products page...go to the PDF file at the bottom rt and watch the powerpoint brilliant bri helped me make. Have fun. BENE's - The names are written in upper and lowercase letters to enhance 'real' reading skills. The names are accurate and technical. A forward and back arrow browser is at the bottom of the screen for hand/eye and fine motor choice making.. You can get scores from the multiple choice quiz if you prefer, but it is not heavily emphasized. I like this one because it has a simple layout that doesn't look animated for children. Sometimes with simple apps they tend to cater to the little kids. Not this one. I would love to see more creatures...perhaps after they get our feedback. :) Price - only .99! This minute is dedicated to my very good friend Dan who after viewing the site said he is still waiting for the book. Thank you to all of our many Guru V People out there for the encouragement, love and support. This is fun and I hope you are all learning from my gurus.
Best, jen Click below to go to the guru v minute # 6 video!! <object width="352" height="220" ><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="movie" value="http://www.facebook.com/v/1699459722533" /><embed src="http://www.facebook.com/v/1699459722533" allowfullscreen="true" width="352" height="220"></embed></object> http://www.facebook.com/update_security_info.php?wizard=1#!/pages/Guru-V-People/133178846737178 Here is a video I took today of Jus and I playing the alphabet game we have engaged in for years. Currently it is our old faithful, but initially it was quite a task and was filled with many other aspects that eventually led us to here...where he now communicates using an array of methods...including the iPod touch - proloquo2go. My daughter Bri, who is also diagnosed on the Specturm did not speak until she was five years old...she spoke in sign language for over a year prior to that...then started increasing her expressive language by over 50 words per day. She came back to school after summer vacation, fully verbal with an incredible vocabulary. I firmly believe that alternative communication systems should be introduced early, diligently and with the most potential for the maximum creative expressive possibilities in mind. Please watch, post questions or comments...and let's get some Guru V communication rolling. Not only between us...the parents, the community, and the teachers...but with those kids who do not have a voice. They have so much wisdom to offer us. Let's do this!!!! Proloquo2Go - AAC in Your Pocket (The communication device & application that Guru V Justin uses... and one of the most user-friendly, affordable systems available. A great compliment and now essential component to the ITM teaching method jen designed.) Proloquo2go must be intricately programmed to meet the needs and level of each child and I can teach anyone how to operate it with time and coaching. If a 200 dollar app is not in your budget I would love to give you some simple starter tools, apps and activities you could start with with or without an iPod touch or iPad. The ITM teaching method was developed without high-tech devices and encourages the full creative use of the brain, language, both receptive and expressive, reading, writing, typing, sign...all for use in communication!!! Here are some Guru V beginner communication apps, because now technology is readily available for the iPod touch and/or iPad. The following are simple, fun, free and/or very inexpensive: 1 Plus 1 - math app First Then Visual Schedule Grace - a perfect bridge to ITM as well as proloquo2go iComm - FREE excellent beginning app Tap to Talk - FREE Spell Block with Sight Words - 99 cents great for young kids who are nonverbal Woke up at 3. Surrendered. Got up, got ready and we all took Tony to the airport. Left at 5:30 am. Saw the sliver crescent moon hanging in the sky on the way. In the darkness we spoke about 2010 moments we enjoyed and 2011's potential. I felt burdened initially by the weight of my year. After naming a few things and hearing Bri and Tony's, my memory switched on. Justin spoke for the first time using the iPod. Bri got A's and B's in High School Honors courses. I started a journey I had within me for years. We climbed a mountain daily. Swam, biked, laughed and sobbed. We loved one another and our friends. Tony visited and stayed in our house and it was pleasant. We all worked hard, grew and transformed. We remain alive, hopeful and energized in spite of our challenges. Life. Ha...again it is good. Goodbye. Be safe. Visit again soon. Departed...the car, the plane, the night. A red ball rose from behind the bare trees clinging to the snowy hills. Justin crushing toes, pushing my seat, grooving to the beat in his headphones. Stuck between discomfort and bliss. Stike a pose. aaaah FREAK OUT on the radio. We danced for a moment in the car. Bri spotted our first Massachusetts deer in 1.5 yrs. We stopped. Spoke. She paused to know us then pounced away. She's a White-tailed Deer!! A sign. Life death life cycle. Moments have no beginning or end. They have no expectations, no truth, no judgement. Alive. My Gurus again have taught me that this is the gift. Life. And death, endings, broken connections...they are also the gift. 2011...I surrender to your adventures.
This video shared by a close friend seems to accetuate the point: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGJuMBdaqIw Burn Bright in 2011! |
Zen JenA mom with passion, action and an inclusion revolution on her mind shares moments, mantras & wisdom gained from her autism adventures. A single mama of two children on the spectrum, whom she considers Archives
September 2015
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Please know that I am a poet and a scientist...so how I deal with discomfort is I ask questions, I manipulate words and rhythms and I dance around issues that I feel strongly about. When I use the word dance, please know that I am no ballerina...I prefer sharp, awkward maneuvers that express my passion. So when I dance around issues, there is no guessing how I feel about them...take nothing personal but please
take action. zen jen |