Eric's RSS Feed

What's in a name?

eric@ericsailers.com — 2014-04-09T06:50:11-07:00

On March 6, 2014, my wife and I welcomed our first child, Levi James Sailers, into this world. Since his birth, we have been asked about his name. People have speculated that Levi was named after Matthew McConaughey’s son, or that his name was picked from the bible. Although I’m sure that Levi McConaughey is a great kid, and Levi is a biblical name, we selected his name from another place.

Levi was named after a child I worked with in Tucson, AZ during the summer of 2001. At that time, I was a research assistant in a study at Wings on Words preschool, and one of my participants was named Levi. He had several speech sound errors that made him difficult to understand. He reminded me of myself when I was his age because I had similar difficulties. Throughout the 4-6 weeks of the study, I watched Levi improve his speech and language skills.

One day toward the end of the study, the preschool’s speech-language pathologist (SLP) asked me to watch Levi practice his speech sounds. He accurately produced his speech sounds in words, one flashcard after another. I was floored by his progress. Then, after the study had completed, I returned to the preschool to do paperwork. I walked through Levi’s class, and he ran up to me. His teacher was nearby and she told him that I would not be seeing him. Our time together was over. Immediately, he ran into the corner and cried. I went over to console him and to tell him how much he meant to me. As I was talking to him, I thought about how much he really touched me, and how speech-language pathology was a career that I wanted to pursue. So, without any hesitation, I went on to become an SLP.

Over the years of being an SLP, I thought about Levi and how much I liked the name. So, when it came time for my wife and I to name our son, I strongly encouraged the name, Levi. After some convincing with a story similar to the one here, my wife agreed with the caveat that she gets to pick our second child’s name. And she repeatedly said that she wanted it in writing, so her wish is my command. :-)

I just wish I would have stayed in touch with Levi from Wings on Words, as it would have been cool to see him grow up and to tell him how I named my son after him. Unfortunately, that was not to be. Oh well. At least I will always be reminded of him by my first born child, who my wife and I named Levi.

2014 CSHA District 9 Achievement Award

eric@ericsailers.com — 2014-03-30T07:52:40-07:00

At the 2014 California Speech-Language and Hearing (CSHA) Convention in San Francisco, CA, I was awarded an achievement award by District 9. I was fortunate to have my sister and mom attend the ceremony. My mom pleasantly surprised me by capturing my acceptance speech on video. The video allows me to share the speech with friends, family, and colleagues who could not attend.

The free version of LinguaPix is now available

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-11-25T19:49:59-08:00

Expressive Solutions LLC is pleased to announce that the free version of LinguaPix is now available for iPad: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/linguapix/id694730835?mt=8&at=10lcso. LinguaPix is an engaging iPad app for individuals to practice expressive language skills in three activities: Flashcards, Matching, and Pick or Spin. In the activities, users practice naming, describing, formulating sentences, and more. The free version of LinguaPix includes the Health and Safety deck, which has 77 cards with real photographs depicting nouns and verbs. LinguaPix has the following 14 additional decks available as in-app purchases: Animals, Around the House, Body Parts, Clothing, Cooking and Cleaning, Food and Drink (a-m), Food and Drink (n-z), Hygiene and Personal Care, Occupations and People, School, Sports and Recreation, Tools, Toys and Games, and Travel and Transportation. Overall, LinguaPix has 15 decks with an average of 70 cards per deck and a total of 1,035 cards.

If you like LinguaPix, please rate and review it on the iTunes App Store.

LinguaPix - Full was released

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-11-10T21:35:50-08:00

My company, Expressive Solutions LLC, is pleased to announce the release of LinguaPix - Full for iPad: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/linguapix-full/id701111984?mt=8. LinguaPix - Full is an engaging iPad app for individuals to practice expressive language skills in three activities: Flashcards, Matching, and Pick or Spin. In the activities, users practice naming, describing, formulating sentences, and more. Users interact with real photos from 1 or more of the 15 decks in categories such as Health and Safety, Toys and Games, and Tools.

Device Requirements
* Compatible with iPad
* Requires iOS 6.0 or higher
* 95.4 MB

Pricing and Availability
LinguaPix - Full 1.0.0 is available on the iTunes App Store in the Education category for an introductory price of $29.99 (USD).

For more information, visit the LinguaPix page at http://expressive-solutions.com/linguapix/.

Introduction to LinguaPix

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-11-06T05:59:17-08:00

Check out this introductory video for LinguaPix, my company’s upcoming iPad app for Expressive Language.

The introductory video provides an overview of LinguaPix, including how to get started with adding a user and implementing the user in the Flashcards activity. In the Flashcards activity, you will learn how to navigate the tasks (Say It, Repeat It, Expand It, Describe It) and features.

Please note that we're hoping to release LinguaPix around the time of the 2013 ASHA Convention, which is scheduled for Nov. 14 - 16.

LinguaPix - Upcoming expressive language app

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-10-24T06:37:15-07:00

My company, Expressive Solutions, and I have been working hard for the last several months on an expressive language app we're calling LinguaPix. We are currently in the final testing phase in preparation of submitting the app to the iOS App Store. To learn more about LinguaPix, check out the updated website page, which has information and screenshots to get you up-to-speed on our exciting new app!

Slope unboxing

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-07-28T04:54:23-07:00

After a long wait, I finally received the Slope, an iPad stand that I purchased on Kickstarter. In the following video, I captured my wife, Kelly, unboxing the Slope for use with an iPad. My hope is that you’ll have some laughs as you learn a little about this cool, new iPad stand.

Summer speech for little Eric

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-07-10T05:12:47-07:00

Image from the US Air Force

My mom was reading this blog post for expanding language on holiday, when she got the idea to email a story about how I practiced speech as a little guy. She shared the following with me:

I read this and remembered how we seized the opportunity to work on your speech while on vacation. The summer after you turned 4 years old, your speech therapist wanted us to practice your speech. To maintain the “f” sound that you had learned during the school year, we practiced it as we drove up the California coast to Monterey. You really liked firefighters and firetrucks, so I created flashcards for those words and others. I had the cards prepared in advance for the coastal trip, and we brought markers, too.

In the car, I sat in the backseat with you so that we could practice your words. I would show you a card and ask you to say the word. Once you repeated a word, you were allowed to draw a picture of it. The speech therapist had said, “First you say it, then you draw it!” You loved drawing pictures, so that helped motivate you to practice your sounds.

As we were driving along the beautiful coast, hard at work practicing in the back seat, the traffic on the freeway suddenly started to slow down. Upon looking up, we saw thick clouds of grey smoke, and several policemen standing in front of a blockade. The traffic came to a stop. A policeman approached our car and told us that we needed to get off the freeway due to a severe fire ahead. It looked like our trip to Monterey had hit an unexpected detour.

We exited the freeway and decided to stop off at a hotel for the night since it was unlikely we would be able to travel any further. The front desk clerk at the hotel informed us that firefighters working in the area would be using part of the hotel to take breaks between shifts. Even though the hotel would be busy and a bit noisy, we said that was fine and we went to our room.

Once we arrived in our room and looked out the window, I could tell this would be a great opportunity for you to gain some speech practice with real life images. We could see all kinds of “f” sounds right in front of us: firefighters walking around, fire trucks in the parking lot, and flames in the distance.

Keeping in mind what the therapist said, “First you say it, then you draw it,” the unexpected detour of the fire that day led to more valuable practice and quality time with you.

Shortly after I read my mom’s email, I contacted her to ask if I could use the story in a blog post. I thought the story was great and I also felt that SLPs and parents would be interested in reading it. In this age of technology, when parents can easily be overwhelmed by thoughts of how to help their children effectively practice speech, this story offers a reminder that even the simplest of activities can make a big difference.

Mr. Potato Head app tops the list of things I recently learned

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-05-23T14:38:30-07:00

After finishing a round of trainings in May with a two-day stint in New York and two Ablenet webinars, I have thought about what I learned. Here are just a few things gleaned from the preparation and audience participation:

There’s a visual timer in the built-in iPad Clock app

Books made in the Book Creator iPad app are best viewed in the iBooks app

In the built-in Photos iOS app, re-order an image/video thumbnail by tapping the Edit button, then dragging the thumbnail to a desirable location.

But, above all, the coolest thing I learned about was the Mr. Potato Head iOS app. It’s a free universal app (with a $.99 in-app purchase for removing ads) that allows you to choose a theme and a Mr. or Mrs. Potato Head. It is so neat! You get to drag and drop the body parts, which almost seems easier than interacting with a traditional Mr. Potato Head. And the best part, in my humble opinion, is that you’ll never lose another Mr. Potato Head piece ever again! To learn more, check out the video below from CrazyMikesapps.

ArtikPix 2.5 Update

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-05-31T14:30:45-07:00

ArtikPix and ArtikPix - Full version 2.5 were released today as free updates. Here's a list of the new features:

Deck sharing feature for users with all of the decks. If you have the full version or all of the decks in the free version of ArtikPix, you can now share custom decks via email attachment or iTunes File Sharing.
Bug fixes related to the Create module
If you like the new features, please leave a comment on the iOS App Store listing for ArtikPix. If you have feedback, please email support@expressive-solutions.com.

Below is a video tutorial showing how easy it is to share custom decks in ArtikPix. Note that when sharing a custom deck, the deck can be accessed on any iOS device (e.g., iPhone, iPad, iPod touch) that has ArtikPix with all of the decks. After a little bit of experience with the ArtikPix sharing feature, you will realize the possibilities of sharing a custom deck to colleagues, parents, and even among your own iOS devices.

Story app

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-05-10T07:27:11-07:00

Yesterday, Disney announced a new iPhone app called Story. Story is a free storytelling app that allows you to add text and a theme to a collection of your photos and/or videos. After you’re done with your story, you can share it via email or Facebook. The recipient of your story is then able to view it on the app’s website.

I like the Story app because it has a clean design and is easy to use. However, I do have a few requests to make the app even better for everyone (including individuals with special needs):

iPad version
Record audio
Select text to speak with highlighting
VoiceOver accessibility for the in-app help and images in stories

iPad Secrets app

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-05-06T07:06:27-07:00

Last week, I posted about training beginning iPad users and creating a tutorial for them. Shortly after posting, one of my blog subscribers emailed me about an app, iPad Secrets ($.99), which has tips and tricks for using the iPad. Well, I got a chance to download the app, and I have to say that it provides a lot of great information in an easy to understand manner. I liked the app so much that I’m planning to use it as part of trainings next week in New York. Thank you to Paula M. for suggesting this app to me!

What Causes Speech Disorders in Children?

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-05-03T03:29:07-07:00

The following is a guest post from Erica L. Fener, Ph.D. at Progressus Therapy.

All children go through periods where their speech is not perfect. That's true of any skill as it's acquired and then perfected. However, concern about a true speech disorder in your child is warranted. What causes childhood speech disorders and how can they be remedied?

Environmental reasons:

Lack of proper speech models

If children are around people who do not model appropriate speech, they won't learn how to speak properly. For example, children whose parents use "baby talk" for too long often don’t know how to speak properly.

Remedy: As a child grows, the speech patterns he or she hears should mature also so that the child learns to mimic and then fully understand language and appropriate pronunciation.

Too little time spent in conversation with older children and adults

From two to five years old, most children chatter nonstop if given the chance. This is actually an important part of their speech development. If they are not allowed to speak freely or if language is discouraged in some way, speech disorders may result.

Remedy: While good socialization skills necessitate children being quiet at times, parents should allow children to engage in conversation as much as possible, for full speech development. These conversations also provide great opportunities for adults to appropriately model proper speech.

Physical or developmental reasons

Structural abnormalities

If a child cannot hear properly or has structural abnormalities in the mouth or throat that affect speech, such as cleft palate, speech does not develop normally.

Remedy: Surgery and/or use of assistive devices can restore hearing and speech capabilities, so that speech can develop normally. For example, young children often have frequent ear infections and buildup of fluid in the ears, making it difficult or impossible to hear others’ language so that it can be imitated correctly. Surgically implanting ear tubes can resolve fluid buildup, so that hearing is possible. Similarly, correcting a cleft palate makes normal speech development possible.

Developmental language and speech disorders

Learning disabilities, such as developmental speech and language disorder, may cause children to have difficulty with or be incapable of producing speech, communicating through spoken language, or understanding what other people are saying. Unfortunately, such developmental disorders often coincide with other learning disabilities such as dyslexia. It should be noted that this in no way reflects on a child's intelligence, and early intervention is key to remediation.

Remedy: As children get the assistance they need with their disabilities and acquire the tools they need to manage their disabilities, they learn to express themselves clearly, acquire new vocabulary and concepts as quickly as their peers do, and understand written and spoken direction so that learning proceeds at a normal pace.

Developmental disorders such as autism can cause speech delays to varying degrees. Children who are severely affected may speak very little, or when they do, may simply "echo" what someone else says using the same tone, inflection, etc., with no real understanding of what's being said. Special, intense language therapy is required.

Remedy: Early intervention is key to minimizing developmental speech delays.

Neurological disorders

Children with neurological conditions such as cerebral palsy may have difficulty with speech because of brain damage that occurred during birth. This speech difficulty is not structural in nature and usually does not affect receptive language, only communicative language.

Remedy: Similar to an adult who has had a stroke, these children can learn to speak with varying degrees of success, or can use assistive devices that create speech for them, at their direction, much like the voice device famed physicist Stephen Hawking uses to communicate.

About the author:
Erica L. Fener, Ph.D., is Vice President, Business Development Strategy and Analysis at Progressus Therapy, a leader in connecting their candidates with school-based SLP jobs and early intervention service jobs.

A Birthday Wish for Eric

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-05-02T03:34:15-07:00

I decided to hijack my husband’s blog today in order to wish him Happy Birthday! There have been many early mornings when I awake to him typing away about iPad accessories, a great app, or a teaching strategy he wants to share. So, this is my chance to share a little bit about Eric. (Though, I’m a night owl, so my crazy typing happens late at night!)

Eric is one of the most caring, dedicated people I have met in the field of education. The time and energy he devotes to helping colleagues through training, app development, and email support is admirable; even more than that, his love for making a difference in the lives of children with special needs is inspiring. I am always in awe of how he finds a way to help every child communicate and to have fun while working to overcome obstacles. As an educator, I know first hand how many challenges we face in our field today, and Eric embraces all of them with a positive attitude, a compassionate heart, and a remarkable spirit. I so often wonder how he manages to do it all and still put up with me ;) Honey, here’s to an incredible 33rd birthday and hope for many more happy days to come!

All my love, always

Kelly

Photo of Eric and Kelly Sailers was captured at the 2012 ASHA Convention.

Gerty Makes a New Friend

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-05-01T03:44:31-07:00

Story Title: Gerty Makes a New Friend
Author: Written by Vicki Sailers, read by Eric Sailers
Story Description: After being scared at first, Gerty becomes friends with a spider.
Quiz: Yes
Quiz Questions: 5 (Who, What, When, Why, How)
Voice Recording: Yes
Download Link

With the StoryPals app installed, tap the download link on your iPad. Then, choose to open this file in StoryPals. The story will be imported to My Stories on the Table of Contents screen in StoryPals, where you can open the story to view it. Note that you must have the StoryPals or StoryPals - Basic app on your iPad to view the story.

This story and all contents contained within are for non-commercial use only. The author of the story has provided permission for use in StoryPals for non-commercial means only. The author has also acknowledged that the story and contents within do not infringe upon the copyright or rights of a third party. If the content posted raises infringement issues, this post will be deleted.

To automatically receive additional free stories as they become available, please subscribe to my blog by entering your email address above in the right sidebar.

To share your stories, email them to support@ericsailers.com and submit a request to share your stories by completing the following form: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFV4cnUzMmFxRXZYM2FkWUhkWnloakE6MQ#gid=0.

Tutorials for built-in iPad apps

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-04-29T15:30:33-07:00

I have found myself doing more iPad workshops with users who consider themselves to be beginners. As a result, I spend time demonstrating basic use of iPad. I also show how to use the built-in iPad apps (e.g., Photos) for images and videos.

When teaching the built-in apps, I noticed that beginning users have difficulty grasping the concepts immediately, and they wish to have tutorials for future reference. So, I created tutorials for important features in the following built-in iPad apps: Safari, Camera, and Photos. See below for the tutorials:

Tutorials for built-in iPad apps

Note that the tutorials are for an iPad running iOS 6.

3 ways to use the ArtikPix video camera

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-04-22T06:36:23-07:00

The latest versions of ArtikPix and ArtikPix - Full 2.41 for iPhone and iPad include a video camera feature that can be used in multiple ways to aid children during speech sessions. Here is a quick guide for three easy ways to use the video camera in ArtikPix:

1. Use it as a mirror

The video camera can easily be used as a mirror to allow a child to view his/her mouth movements during speech productions. Simply activate the video camera by tapping the camera button (in Flashcards or Matching); there is no need to press the record button. When you’ve finished practicing, tap the Cancel button to get back into ArtikPix.

2. Record a video and play it without saving

It’s easy to record speech productions for immediate review. After tapping the camera button (in Flashcards or Matching), tap the record button (once to record and a second time to stop), then the play button to preview the video. You can continue to record over each video by tapping the Retake button. For users who choose to preserve storage space on their iOS device, ArtikPix does not require you to save each video. Just tap the Cancel button to return to ArtikPix.

3. Save a video for later review

Of course, you can also save videos from ArtikPix to access later in order to track and share student progress. Once you have recorded a video (in Flashcards or Matching), tap the Use button to save the video. A prompt will appear in ArtikPix to save the video to your iOS device Camera Roll. You can choose to play the video by tapping the play button in ArtikPix, or by accessing your Camera Roll via the Photos app. Saved videos can be emailed from the Camera Roll by tapping Edit, choosing the video, then tapping the Share button and Mail.

Using the video camera in ArtikPix is easy and there are multiple possibilities for incorporating it in speech sessions.

Autism Awareness Month Giveaway: ArtikPix - Full or iTunes Gift Codes

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-04-15T14:14:49-07:00

Enter to win:

ArtikPix - Full
iTunes gift codes

For Autism Awareness Month, I wanted to do something to benefit individuals with autism and special needs. After considering a few ideas, I decided to do a giveaway on my blog. Since ArtikPix - Full was recently updated, I thought I would include it as part of a giveaway. I also wanted anyone who previously purchased the app to be eligible, so I’m including an alternative option to win a $15 iTunes gift code. Consequently, three winners will have the opportunity to choose either a promo code for ArtikPix - Full or a $15 iTunes gift code.

To participate, please enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below. You are eligible to receive multiple entries for completing the various tasks listed.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ArtikPix 2.4 Update

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-04-09T14:43:13-07:00

Update: ArtikPix 2.41 update is now available with fixes for crash bugs. If you own the app, please update via the App Store Updates tab.

ArtikPix and ArtikPix - Full version 2.4 were released today as free updates. Here's a list of the new features:

iPhone 5 support
Enhanced design for increased user friendliness
Configurable option for word and sentence level in flashcards
Target word is now underlined at the sentence level in flashcards
Video recording feature that allows you to save videos
If you have all of the decks, you can create your own decks and cards. Use a photo or one of the nearly 2,000 illustrations.
iOS 5.0+ support. Install this update only if you have iOS 5.0 or higher.
Bug fixes

If you like the new features in ArtikPix and ArtikPix - Full 2.4, please rate and review the apps on iTunes. If you have feedback, please email support@expressive-solutions.com.

If you want to learn more about ArtikPix, please check out the new Expressive Solutions website at http://expressive-solutions.com/artikpix.html.

Note that Eric Sailers is a co-creator of ArtikPix, which was previously sold under RinnApps. In 2012, ArtikPix was migrated to a company called Expressive Solutions, which is now owned and operated by Eric Sailers.

5 ways to use Apple voice dictation

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-04-07T20:19:28-07:00

As I've had access to voice dictation on my Apple MacBook Pro and iPhone for the last year or so, I have been using it more and more to increase productivity (as long as it’s working properly). I use voice dictation several times each day for leisure and professional purposes. Here are 5 ways that I use voice dictation on the MacBook Pro and iPhone:

1. Composing multi-paragraph documents

Since it can be difficult for me at times to begin writing a multi-paragraph document, voice dictation gets me started and keeps me going when writing blog posts, reports and proposals. I just have to remember to dictate formatting (e.g., “new line,” “new paragraph”) and punctuation statements (e.g., “comma,” “period,” “question mark”), then proofread the document carefully for dictation errors. Otherwise, the document appears as a poorly formatted written composition with typos.

It’s also important to note that voice dictation can only convert a limited amount of speech (approximately 30s) to text. It takes some time to feel comfortable with continually activating voice dictation after each chunk of text is converted. Just remain patient and you will soon see how composing sentences and paragraphs via voice is significantly faster than typing.

2. Brainstorming and reminding

When I have a thought that I don’t want to forget, I use voice dictation to brainstorm ideas and set reminders. Whether I have a good idea for an app feature, or I need to remember to take out the trash, voice dictation enables me to do either quickly. The efficiency is great because I’m typically in the middle of doing something else.

3. Calendaring events

Using Siri (the intelligent iOS assistant), I can quickly and easily schedule an event such as a staff meeting. For example, I can activate Siri and say, “Schedule a staff meeting for Tuesday, April 9th at 2 PM.” Then, all I need to do is confirm the event and configure additional options such as an alert.

4. Finding contact information for businesses

If I’m somewhere unfamiliar, I can use Siri to help me find a business. For example, if I’m on a work trip and I want to go out for food, I use Siri to ask, “Where are nearby restaurants?” The results provide nearby restaurant information with hours, a map, and reviews from Yelp to help me find quality food.

5. Texting and emailing

Texting is very easy with voice dictation, especially since abbreviations are acceptable input and punctuation is rarely necessary. Emailing with voice dictation has a slightly higher learning curve, but it’s not impossible. Similar to writing multi-paragraph documents, it’s important to use dictation commands for formatting and punctuation. Additionally, it may seem a little strange at first to dictate emails when others are around, but it soon feels similar to talking on the phone in public.

GoNow case review

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-04-08T04:02:01-07:00

I just received the GoNow case for iPad, made by Attainment Company, Inc. Below is information and a review of the product:

GoNow Case

Description - Lightweight, plastic constructed case with one handle, foam insert, and sound amplification.
Price - $59.00
Colors - Silver only (as far as I know)
Population - Children with special needs
Pros - Sleek design, fits device snugly, lightweight, portable, and non-skid pads
Cons - iPad must be secured in the case with screws, which limits the ability to easily move the iPad in and out of the case.

The GoNow case has an attractive, sleek design. External controls on the iPad are easily accessible with it inside the case. The GoNow case can easily fit into a bag or backpack for portability. It is made of lightweight plastic with a foam pad on the inside to act as a shock absorber. While Attainment Company, Inc. says in their promotional literature that the case “will help protect your iPad, it is not guaranteed to prevent damage.” I found from my use that the iPad seemed adequately protected, though not as well-protected as with cases made of EVA foam that I have used.

The GoNow case has a few unique features that may be appealing for some clientele. There’s an acoustic sound channel built into the case to amplify the sound of the iPad without using batteries. For a practitioner working in a noisy environment, this is a great feature. In my trials with the device, I noticed the amplified sound mostly when the iPad was at maximum volume. The difference in loudness seemed minimal when using the iPad in the case at 50% volume. The case also features a magnetic lock/unlock switch which allows the user to bypass the unlock screen on the device. While this is a useful feature, I had an issue with the magnet coming loose from the case when I removed the iPad. The switch could also pose a problem for students with sensory issues who may play with it. The case has a handle to help when transporting the device either in a classroom or from class to class, and non-skid pads which help the case to stay in place while in use. Additionally, there’s at least one hole for attaching a lanyard to the case if a student needs the case anchored around his/her neck.

For me, the GoNow case had one major drawback. I was really hoping that I could just slide the iPad in the case. In reading the product information, I saw that a small Phillips screwdriver is necessary to insert the iPad. This is unfortunate. I wish there was a way that I could quickly and easily put the iPad in the case without any tools. As a professional on-the-go who regularly needs to remove the iPad in order to use it with children requiring various solutions, the GoNow case poses some difficulty. In my opinion, the GoNow case is more useful for children - especially children with special needs who don’t need to remove the iPad from the protective case.

Overall, the GoNow case has some nice features that could work successfully for children with special needs. Unfortunately, it has limited use for me since I need to be able to easily move my iPad in and out of different cases when using a variety of products to work with children.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary case from Attainment Company, Inc.

Gripcase review

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-04-03T04:04:40-07:00

Recently, I received an iPad mini case and stand from Gripcase USA. Below is information and a review of each product:

Case

Description - Lightweight, foam constructed case with four handles that are soft and bendable.
• Price - $34.99
• Colors - Black, red, blue, purple, green
• Population - Children (with special needs), but could be expanded to more populations.
• Pros - Durable construction, sleek design, fits device snugly, lightweight
• Cons - Handles could be sturdier, but Gripcase suggests that the case bends without breaking.

From my experience in using the Gripcase USA case, it appears to be very durable and well-designed. It is constructed of a lightweight, soft, bendable EVA foam that is shock absorbent, non-abrasive, and bacteria resistant. I physically dropped the case with the iPad mini inside on both hard and carpeted surfaces. The result was a bouncing effect in which the case bounced on the rounded corners before landing flat on the ground; the iPad mini remained fully intact and unaffected. This is an important consideration for any product used with children and this case seems to pass the test. The lightweight, sleek design also makes the case easy to store in a child’s backpack without adding extra bulk.

Gripcase USA ensures, through construction and manufacturing, that the case is highly durable if soiled, placed in the sun or in the event bacteria forms on the apparatus. The bacteria resistant, washable material is definitely an advantage when working with children and adults with special needs, especially, if multiple individuals are using the device. Plus, the spongy construction may provide sensory stimulation for some users.

Stand

Description - Lightweight, hard plastic stand compatible with iPad and iPad mini Gripcase.
• Price - $19.99
• Colors - Black only
• Population - Professionals, parents, and children (with special needs)
• Pros - Durable construction, versatile design, compact size, and non-abrasive on surfaces
• Cons - Stand could benefit from suction cups to hold it in place on a surface. A locking mechanism for holding the case in place on the stand would also be a nice feature.

Upon testing the stand, I found it to be a great addition to the case. The stand is very lightweight and non-abrasive, so it can be moved around without fear of scratching any surface. The stand is very versatile as it can easily hold an iPad mini (in portrait or landscape orientation) or iPhone/iPod touch (in portrait orientation). In my experience with the product, the iPhone did not fall out of the stand. While the iPad mini was also very secure in the stand when it was stationary, I think a great additional feature would be a locking mechanism on the stand to hold the iPad mini in place. The stand is beneficial when you want to prop up the iPad in the event it cannot be held or during instruction when you want to be hands free.

All in all, I was very pleased with the use of both the Gripcase USA case and stand, and I would highly recommend the products, especially if you are a practitioner working with children with special needs or a parent of a child with special needs.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary case and stand from Gripcase USA.

Communication board for a party

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-04-01T03:49:48-07:00

At the transition center, we had a party before spring break. In order to provide an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) support for the nonverbal students, I created a party communication board using the Go Talk Now app for iPad. I used the communication board on an iPad, and I printed it out for staff and parents to use.

You’ll see below that the party communication board has 9 buttons comprising pronouns, verbs, comments, and requests. It also has core vocabulary buttons for greetings (e.g., Hi, How are you, Bye) via the exclamation point button. Consequently, the communication board is an AAC support for communicating a variety of language structures beyond simple labeling of objects like food.

Visual menus for restaurants

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-03-27T04:00:32-07:00

At the transition center where I work, there are students who buy lunch at nearby restaurants including McDonald's and Panda Express. After recently going to lunch with the students, I noticed that the individuals with limited communication didn't have a good system for independently ordering their food. They would attempt to point at the big menu in the restaurant, or a staff member would write down an order for them in advance.

Since one of the primary goals at the transition center is learning independence in the community, I didn't think the existing methods for ordering were exemplary. Instead, I thought it would be better for the students to choose their selections using a visual support with the cashier at the restaurants. So, I created visual menus for the students to choose items within their budget. See below for the menus that I created:

Visual Menus

Substitute SLP

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-03-25T04:02:40-07:00

For the past month, I was a substitute SLP at a local speech clinic in San Diego, CA. I covered for a couple clinicians while they were out. It was interesting because I never substituted like that, plus I was asked to provide therapy to different age groups and do it in a private practice setting. One of the age groups is two-year-olds.

It had been a couple years since I provided therapy to two-year-olds, and even then, I only worked with them for a year during my six years as an SLP employee of a school district. Prior to that, I received some experience with two-year-olds during grad school, but I usually gravitated to working with older children. So, I felt the need to prepare for the little guys.

After reviewing goals, I realized that I needed to practice signs and phrases appropriate for fun activities. I went to YouTube almost immediately to search for child-friendly ASL signs, and discovered great video demos from a woman with a business called My Smart Hands: http://www.youtube.com/user/SmartHandsCA/videos?view=0. The real-life and animated videos reminded me of signs for finished and fish, but also taught me signs for farm and songs like Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Viewing the signing videos led me to thinking about activities I would do, and what I would say during the activities.

During the speech sessions, I targeted signs in activities with toys, songs, and books as I sat on my cushion with the child nearby on the ground. I also found myself modeling words with VC (Vowel-Consonant e.g., “up”), CV (Consonant-Vowel e.g., “go”), and CVC (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant e.g., “pig”) combinations in 1-3 word utterances. It all came back to me as I demonstrated self-talk (talking about what I was doing) and parallel-talk (talking about what the child was doing) strategies to facilitate communication. Despite occasional tantrums, it was very fun and rewarding therapy with the two-year-olds. I also liked sharing strategies with the parents during or after sessions, so they could enhance progress at home.

Preparing in advance for the sessions seemed to help me a lot. Overall, I enjoyed my substitute SLP stint that consisted of a fair amount of therapy with two-year-olds. I look forward to upcoming opportunities as a substitute SLP. Luckily enough, I was recently asked to cover again at the private practice in April.

Image source: YouTube page for My Smart Hands.

StoryPals free download - Monkey's Tail Tale

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-03-21T19:17:36-07:00

Story Title: Monkey’s Tail Tale
Author: Written by Brooke Folk, read by Eric Sailers
Story Description: Monkey and Mouse have an interesting chat about each other’s perspectives.
Quiz: Yes
Quiz Questions: 5 (Who, What, Where, Why, How)
Voice Recording: Yes
Download Link

With the StoryPals app installed, tap the download link on your iPad. Then, choose to open this file in StoryPals. The story will be imported to My Stories on the Table of Contents screen in StoryPals, where you can open the story to view it. Note that you must have the StoryPals or StoryPals - Basic app on your iPad to view the story.

This story and all contents contained within are for non-commercial use only. The author of the story has provided permission for use in StoryPals for non-commercial means only. The author has also acknowledged that the story and contents within do not infringe upon the copyright or rights of a third party. If the content posted raises infringement issues, this post will be deleted.

To automatically receive additional free stories as they become available, please subscribe to my blog by entering your email address above in the right sidebar.

To share your stories, email them to support@ericsailers.com and submit a request to share your stories by completing the following form: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFV4cnUzMmFxRXZYM2FkWUhkWnloakE6MQ#gid=0.

ArtikPix 2.4 video preview

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-02-19T07:24:20-08:00

A major update for ArtikPix version 2.4 is coming soon! Get a preview of the new features by viewing the video below. If desired, you can configure the video for HD and/or captions.

Summary of a video modeling tutorial

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-02-04T03:04:43-08:00

While preparing for a recent workshop in San Diego, I discovered a video modeling tutorial, “Incorporating Video Modeling Into a School-Based Intervention for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders” by Kaitlyn P. Wilson. The article - in the January 2013 edition of Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools (LSHSS) journal - described the steps for Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) to effectively implement video modeling for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). I thought the content was excellent for including in my workshop and a blog post.

For this blog post, I’d like to summarize the five procedural phases presented in the tutorial:

Phase 1: Preparation

Choosing an appropriate target skill - Choose a skill that is clearly modeled and easily observed, as well as individualized to the student’s needs. Internal skills such as receptive language (e.g., comprehending vocabulary words) or social understanding (e.g., recognizing others’ emotions) are not appropriate targets for video modeling. However, observable external skills such as greetings, requesting, taking turns in play, or initiating interactions are the most appropriate targets for video modeling.
Choosing a model type - Intervention has been proven effective using all types of models, including peers, adults, and self (i.e., the student). Studies have shown that using the student as the self model is most effective when the goal is to reduce problem behaviors or increase compliance.
Choosing a setting - The ideal setting for the video model will be the setting in which the student is expected to perform the targeted skill. Using the natural setting has been shown to produce greater intervention effects and higher levels of skill maintenance and generalization.
Scripting the video model - The optimal length of the video model is 3-5 minutes, but studies have shown intervention effects with videos ranging from 35 s > 5 min. To determine the optimal length for a given student, consider the student’s attention span or arrange a trial viewing. There are additional considerations for scripting the video model such as whether to add a voiceover narration. For some students, the added narration can pose an auditory processing problem that reduces the intervention’s effectiveness.

Phase 2: Recording of the Video Model

Choosing equipment - Choose a video recorder that will provide adequate video and audio quality during playback to the student.

Phase 3: Implementation of the Video Modeling Intervention

Determining setting and frequency of viewing - In regard to the setting for video playback, it is best to choose a setting that is quiet and free from distractions. In regard to the frequency of viewing, research suggests repeated viewing (two to four times per session) increases intervention effects for some children with ASD.
Determining timing of viewing - The video model can be played immediately prior to the child demonstrating the expected behavior (to target imitation of the behavior). Or, the video model can be played at a time removed from the situation in order to target learning, maintenance and generalization of the skill.
Determining who will implement the intervention - With some instruction from the SLP, any of the student’s caregivers or classroom staff can implement the video modeling intervention.

Phase 4: Monitoring of Student’s Response to the Video Modeling Intervention

Choosing methods of data collection - Since few standardized tests are sensitive to changes in targeted behaviors, an adequate form of progress monitoring is behavioral observation. A predetermined criterion can be used in the behavioral observation to assess the student’s progress based on their goals. You may also choose to include the student in the data collection via self-monitoring of the targeted skill.
Promoting and evaluating generalization and maintenance of skills - Generalization of video modeling intervention in different settings and with different people has been demonstrated for students with ASD. Generalization has been shown following as few as three video modeling sessions; plus, maintenance of acquired skills has been observed for as many as 15 months following video modeling intervention.

Phase 5: Planning of Next Steps

Next steps if video modeling is effective - If a student demonstrates progress in the targeted behavior, the SLP may wish to expand on the skill. For example, if a student displays progress on a pointing skill, the SLP may choose to expand the video modeling to pointing and a vocalization.
Modification options if video modeling is not initially effective - If the student initially demonstrates little or no progress with the targeted skill, the SLP may choose to modify the intervention based on the individual student’s preferences, strengths, and needs. Modifying the video modeling intervention could include changing the individuals modeling the targeted skill (if the student doesn’t like the individuals), or silencing the sound during video playback (if the auditory information is posing a processing problem).
Alternative intervention options if video modeling is not effective - Video modeling will not be effective for all students. If modifications to the video modeling intervention have not resulted in progress of the targeted skill, there are alternative treatment options. Alternative effective interventions include self-monitoring strategies, individual work systems, peer-mediated strategies, social skill groups, and social stories.

In this blog post, I summarized five procedural phases of implementing video modeling in a school based intervention for students with ASD. If you want to learn more, I recommend that you read the journal article in LSHSS: http://lshss.asha.org/cgi/content/full/44/1/105. Note that you must have access to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) online journals in order to view the full article.

Tweet and greet video from the 2012 ASHA Conference

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-01-29T16:34:41-08:00

At the 2012 ASHA Conference, I participated in a “Tweet and Greet” hosted by Pediastaff and the #slpeeps. The “Tweet and Greet” involved a brief interview that was caught on video. I thought I would share my video, since it was recently posted by Heidi from Pediastaff.

Apps list template

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-01-28T07:17:22-08:00

I have been presenting on iOS topics for some time now, so I’m continually considering how I can improve upon previous presentations. One thing I’ve been thinking about is how participants are always feverishly writing down the names of apps learned during presentations. The apps might have been mentioned by the presenter or someone else at the session; either way, participants write down app names on any piece of paper they can get their hands on. I imagine that after the session, participants don’t want to spend time looking through all their papers for the app names, or even worse, the papers are lost. With this “problem” in mind, I decided to create an “Apps list template” for participants to write the apps down via various categories. The template will be distributed (electronically or paper-based) with the handouts by the coordinator of the event. My hope is that if participants write the apps in my template, it’ll be easier for them after the session to find the apps for downloading.

Since I like to share with anyone interested beyond my sessions, I thought I would include the Apps list template here on my website. You can view the document below in Scribd, or you can save the document using the Download Link. If you save the document, here are ways to access it:

If you have Adobe Acrobat Pro on your computer, you can type in the interactive fields, save your work, and/or print.
If you have Adobe Reader on your computer, you can type in the interactive fields and print.
You can simply print the document from your computer, then write in it.
If you have an iOS device with an annotation app such as GoodReader, you can type/write in the document, save your work, and/or print.

There could be other ways to access the document that I’d be happy to hear about. Please let me know if you have other ideas for accessing it, or if you have suggested revisions to the document.

Download Link

Apps list template by Eric Sailers

Disneyland materials

eric@ericsailers.com — 2013-01-26T04:23:47-08:00

Yesterday, I went to Disneyland with staff, parents, and students for a class field trip. During the trip, I distributed materials (for communication and learning) to the adults and I also used the materials with students. One adult asked me if the materials would be available somehow after the trip, in case she wanted them for future use. I said I could put them on my blog so that anybody involved in the trip (or anybody else interested) could have access.

The main item I used for augmentative communication at Disneyland was this communication board created in Proloquo2Go. I created the communication board for use on my iPad during the field trip, and to print it for everyone else to use it as a paper communication board. Since it was raining on the field trip, I provided sheet protectors to keep the paper boards dry.

I also used a couple apps for Disneyland. One of the apps is called Disneyland Maps Free, which we used for determining our location in the park and deciding which direction to go for given rides. We also used it to talk about what rides we previously rode. The other app called Disneyland Explorer also helped us with navigating directions at the park, but it additionally had activities to interact with while we waited for things such as lunch. Among the activities, our favorite was the Haunted Mansion game, which required us to play a sequence of organ keys previously played by an invisible ghoul.

All in all, I think the materials were helpful in facilitating learning and communication for our students with disabilities. And I hope that anybody interested in using the materials for a future trip to Disneyland will also find them helpful.

*Disneyland photo courtesy of Sean MacEntee on flickr

StoryPals free download - Lighter than Air

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-12-07T01:20:15-08:00

Story Title: Lighter than Air
Author: Written by Uncle Brooke, read by Kelly Sailers
Story Description: Tina eats sandwiches in hopes they’ll make her fly. But, flying is not all it’s cracked up to be.
Quiz: Yes
Quiz Questions: 5 (Who, Where, When, Why, How)
Voice Recording: Yes
Download Link

With the StoryPals app installed, tap the download link on your iPad. Then, choose to open this file in StoryPals. The story will be imported to My Stories on the Table of Contents screen in StoryPals, where you can open the story to view it. Note that you must have the StoryPals or StoryPals - Basic app on your iPad to view the story.

This story and all contents contained within are for non-commercial use only. The author of the story has provided permission for use in StoryPals for non-commercial means only. The author has also acknowledged that the story and contents within do not infringe upon the copyright or rights of a third party. If the content posted raises infringement issues, this post will be deleted.

To automatically receive additional free stories as they become available, please subscribe to my blog by entering your email address above in the right sidebar.

To share your stories, email them to support@ericsailers.com and submit a request to share your stories by completing the following form: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFV4cnUzMmFxRXZYM2FkWUhkWnloakE6MQ#gid=0.

Triple A for iPad - ASHA slideshow

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-11-20T14:09:00-08:00

Last week, I presented an iPad session at the ASHA convention in Atlanta, Georgia. I wanted to provide a .pdf version of my slideshow for anyone interested. See the embedded slideshow below. Note that there are some images and videos removed to maintain privacy for individuals.

Triple A for iPad: Apps, Accessibility, and Accessories from esailers

iPad mini giveaway at ASHA

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-11-14T02:58:19-08:00

I will be doing an iPad mini giveaway at the ASHA Conference held this week in Atlanta, Georgia. Using Rafflecopter below in this post, you can begin submitting entries tomorrow, November 15, for the giveaway. In order to be eligible to win the iPad mini (and promo codes for StoryPals and ArtikPix - Full), you must attend the giveaway at ASHA booth #1319 on November 17 at 1 PM local time.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

2012 ASHA Convention

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-11-12T04:02:09-08:00

I will be participating in the ASHA Convention scheduled for November 15-17, 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia. If you’re attending the conference, come see me at booth #1319 to learn about the latest (and upcoming) features in my apps (StoryPals, ArtikPix, PhonoPix, and Percentally) and enter to win prizes.

At the booth, you will be able to get StoryPals and ArtikPix stickers for the chance to win iTunes cards. You’ll just need to put on the stickers, then my staff or I will give out $10 iTunes cards to three people wearing the stickers each day during the convention.

You will also want to visit the booth because you can enter to win an iPad mini (16 GB) and iTunes codes. You will need to make sure that you enter before the giveaway is announced on Saturday, November 17 at 1 PM, and you must be present at the giveaway to be eligible to win.

Aside from the booth, you can attend my session titled Triple A for iPad: Apps, Accessibility, and Accessories, which is being held on Saturday, November 17 from 9:30 am – 10:30 am in Omni/Omni Ballroom F. I hope to see you there!

StoryPals free download - Bee the Difference

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-11-11T10:25:51-08:00

Story Title: Bee the Difference
Author: Written by Uncle Brooke, read by Eric and Kelly Sailers
Story Description: After a bad dream, Beeware wakes up to his sister laughing at him. Then, his sister, Beehappy, points out a lesson that Beeware has learned.
Quiz: Yes
Quiz Questions: 5 (Who, What, Where, When, Why)
Voice Recording: Yes
Download Link

With the StoryPals app installed, tap the download link on your iPad. Then, choose to open this file in StoryPals. The story will be imported to My Stories on the Table of Contents screen in StoryPals, where you can open the story to view it. Note that you must have the StoryPals or StoryPals - Basic app on your iPad to view the story.

This story and all contents contained within are for non-commercial use only. The author of the story has provided permission for use in StoryPals for non-commercial means only. The author has also acknowledged that the story and contents within do not infringe upon the copyright or rights of a third party. If the content posted raises infringement issues, this post will be deleted.

To automatically receive additional free stories as they become available, please subscribe to my blog by entering your email address above in the right sidebar.

To share your stories, email them to support@ericsailers.com and submit a request to share your stories by completing the following form: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFV4cnUzMmFxRXZYM2FkWUhkWnloakE6MQ#gid=0.

iPad mini vs. 3rd generation iPad

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-11-03T05:41:09-07:00

Yesterday, my pre-ordered iPad Mini was delivered to our house. I wasn’t sure how much I would like it and immediately wanted to compare it to my existing 3rd generation iPad. I was pleasantly surprised with how well the iPad mini stacked up to its bigger counterpart, particularly in terms of speed and performance. See below for a video of side-by-side tests with the two devices.

StoryPals free download - Trick or Treat Safely

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-10-30T04:53:21-07:00

Story Title: Trick or Treat Safely
Author: Eric and Kelly Sailers
Story Description: Pete reminds Joey that they need to think about safety when trick or treating.
Quiz: Yes
Quiz Questions: 5 (Who, What, Where, Why, How)
Voice Recording: Yes
Download Link

With the StoryPals app installed, tap the download link on your iPad. Then, choose to open this file in StoryPals. The story will be imported to My Stories on the Table of Contents screen in StoryPals, where you can open the story to view it. Note that you must have the StoryPals or StoryPals - Basic app on your iPad to view the story.

This story and all contents contained within are for non-commercial use only. The author of the story has provided permission for use in StoryPals for non-commercial means only. The author has also acknowledged that the story and contents within do not infringe upon the copyright or rights of a third party. If the content posted raises infringement issues, this post will be deleted.

To automatically receive additional free stories as they become available, please subscribe to my blog by entering your email address above in the right sidebar.

To share your stories, email them to support@ericsailers.com and submit a request to share your stories by completing the following form: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFV4cnUzMmFxRXZYM2FkWUhkWnloakE6MQ#gid=0.

StoryPals - Basic is now available

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-10-19T06:16:24-07:00

StoryPals - Basic is now available on the App Store for $9.99. The difference between StoryPals and StoryPals - Basic is that the basic version does not have text-to-speech (aka synthesized speech) with word highlighting. Although stories in the basic version can be read aloud with recorded audio, they are not read using text-to-speech with word highlighting. Similarly, quiz questions and answer choices in the basic version are not read aloud with text-to-speech.

StoryPals - Basic is a lower cost version of the original StoryPals. Other than the difference in price and text-to-speech, StoryPals - Basic has all the same features as StoryPals. You can still configure the text size, text justification, animations, quiz answer choices, and a lot more. Plus, you can share stories among users of StoryPals and StoryPals - Basic. For example, if you own StoryPals - Basic and your friend owns StoryPals, you and your friend can share stories across the different versions of the app. How cool is that?

Car accident implications on the Closing The Gap Conference

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-10-02T17:26:17-07:00

I was in a pretty bad car accident on Thursday, September 27. I had slowed to a stop behind several vehicles in a freeway exit lane, when someone’s car slammed into the rear of mine. Shortly thereafter, I was rushed to the ER, and to make a long story short, I sustained a gash in my left elbow that required stitches, a fractured tailbone, neck and back pain, and several abrasions.

Yesterday, I went to my general practitioner to follow up on my injuries. My doctor told me it would take about 6 to 8 weeks to recover. During the recovery process, he recommended that I rest, take pain medication and other over-the-counter medications, sit on an inflatable donut, and do physical therapy.

I asked my doctor about attending the upcoming Closing The Gap Conference which would involve flying for several hours. Due to the discomfort I'm experiencing in my lower back, he highly discouraged me from flying. The discomfort is quite an issue, as I have to stand regularly because it hurts to sit for an extended period, even on the inflatable donut.

This means that I had to make a difficult decision and withdraw from the 2012 Closing The Gap Conference. As a result, I canceled a StoryPals session and withdrew participation from an iPad pre-conference session and corresponding lab. I feel very bad about doing this because I put in a lot of preparation thus far, and I was really looking forward to presenting. However, I understand the priority right now is to recover fully from the car accident.

I notified my co-presenters and the coordinator of the Closing The Gap Conference, and it's my understanding that the participants have been notified of my withdrawal from the pre-conference session. Although I will not be participating, I am 100% confident that my co-presenters, Cathy Kingeter and Luis Perez, will provide an extraordinary experience during the sessions. My co-presenters will also provide several prizes that I procured for the pre-conference session. I would like to recognize the companies who graciously provided those prizes:

Wacom
Speck
Studio Neat
Big Grips
Trident

I hope to recover as I pursue all recommended treatments in the coming weeks.

StoryPals free download - Where's Sally?

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-09-25T19:03:56-07:00

Story Title: Where’s Sally?
Author: Eric Sailers (read by Bob Schulze)
Story Description: Jerry tries to find Sally during a game of chase.
Quiz: Yes
Quiz Questions: 5 (Who, What, Where, When, Why)
Voice Recording: Yes
Download Link

With the StoryPals app installed, tap the download link on your iPad. Then, choose to open this file in StoryPals. The story will be imported to My Stories on the Table of Contents screen in StoryPals, where you can open the story to view it. Note that you must have the StoryPals or StoryPals - Basic app on your iPad to view the story.

This story and all contents contained within are for non-commercial use only. The author of the story has provided permission for use in StoryPals for non-commercial means only. The author has also acknowledged that the story and contents within do not infringe upon the copyright or rights of a third party. If the content posted raises infringement issues, this post will be deleted.

To automatically receive additional free stories as they become available, please subscribe to my blog by entering your email address above in the right sidebar.

To share your stories, email them to support@ericsailers.com and submit a request to share your stories by completing the following form: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFV4cnUzMmFxRXZYM2FkWUhkWnloakE6MQ#gid=0.

Apple iOS 6 update - considerations and issues for apps

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-09-18T20:41:59-07:00

On September 19, 2012, Apple will have their iOS 6 update available via the desktop iTunes app, or over-the-air on iOS devices. The update is compatible with the iPhone 3GS and newer, iPad 2, iPad 3, and the fourth generation iPod touch. If you plan to update to iOS 6, be cautious about doing it immediately because your 3rd party apps could have issues. In many cases, developers need to update their apps to be compatible with iOS 6. If their apps are not updated for iOS 6 support, bugs and crashes can occur. The problem for developers, including myself, is that the iOS 6 gold master (final beta for testing) was released one week ago. This means that developers only had a week with the gold master and their apps to test, fix, submit, and receive Apple approval. Well, that can be quite difficult when the average app review time is currently 9 days!

For users, choosing to update to iOS 6 is appealing, but it’s important to think carefully about when to update. Like other people, I’m eager to get the great new features from Apple including Maps, Passbook, Guided Access, and more. But, if I wasn’t a developer and I had to do a presentation in the next week or therapy that required extensive iOS device use, I likely would wait at least a couple weeks to update to iOS 6. That way developers have a sufficient amount of time for Apple to approve app updates supporting iOS 6.

As an app developer, I have four apps that needed to be updated for iOS 6 support. StoryPals, ArtikPix, and ArtikPix - Full updates have been submitted to Apple and are currently waiting for review. And an update for PhonoPix - Full will be submitted in the coming days. The updates will resolve the following known issues in the existing versions of my apps running iOS 6:

StoryPals (On 9/20/12, Apple approved the update for iOS 6 support)
- Text-to-Speech does not play continuously in stories
- Taking/using photos cause a crash

ArtikPix/ArtikPix - Full/PhonoPix - Full (On 9/22/12, Apple approved the ArtikPix and ArtikPix - Full updates for iOS 6 support. On 10/5/12, The PhonoPix - Full update for iOS 6 support was approved by Apple.)
- Voice recording causes the apps to freeze
- Unnecessary comma in timestamps for scores

StoryPals free download - The Lonely Fish

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-09-18T11:31:40-07:00

Story Title: The Lonely Fish
Author: Miss Speechie
Story Description: This story is about a fish that cannot find friends. It incorporates adjectives and other vocabulary words. It uses basic sequencing to help with comprehension.
Quiz: Yes
Quiz Questions: 5 (Who, What, Where, When, Why)
Voice Recording: No
Download Link

With the StoryPals app installed, tap the download link on your iPad. Then, choose to open this file in StoryPals. The story will be imported to My Stories on the Table of Contents screen in StoryPals, where you can open the story to view it. Note that you must have the StoryPals or StoryPals - Basic app on your iPad to view the story.

This story and all contents contained within are for non-commercial use only. The author of the story has provided permission for use in StoryPals for non-commercial means only. The author has also acknowledged that the story and contents within do not infringe upon the copyright or rights of a third party. If the content posted raises infringement issues, this post will be deleted.

To automatically receive additional free stories as they become available, please subscribe to my blog by entering your email address above in the right sidebar.

To share your stories, email them to support@ericsailers.com and submit a request to share your stories by completing the following form: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFV4cnUzMmFxRXZYM2FkWUhkWnloakE6MQ#gid=0.

StoryPals free download - Starry Night

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-09-13T16:27:10-07:00

Story Title: Starry Night
Author: Joel Nash
Story Description: Doug was eager to see a shooting star using his telescope.
Quiz: Yes
Quiz Questions: 6 (Who, What, Where, When, Why, How)
Voice Recording: No
Download Link

With the StoryPals app installed, tap the download link on your iPad. Then, choose to open this file in StoryPals. The story will be imported to My Stories on the Table of Contents screen in StoryPals, where you can open the story to view it. Note that you must have the StoryPals or StoryPals - Basic app on your iPad to view the story.

This story and all contents contained within are for non-commercial use only. The author of the story has provided permission for use in StoryPals for non-commercial means only. The author has also acknowledged that the story and contents within do not infringe upon the copyright or rights of a third party. If the content posted raises infringement issues, this post will be deleted.

To automatically receive additional free stories as they become available, please subscribe to my blog by entering your email address above in the right sidebar.

To share your stories, email them to support@ericsailers.com and submit a request to share your stories by completing the following form: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFV4cnUzMmFxRXZYM2FkWUhkWnloakE6MQ#gid=0.

ArtikPix 2.3 updates include three new decks

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-09-10T07:44:21-07:00

ArtikPix and ArtikPix - Full version 2.3 were released today as free updates. Here's a list of the new features:

Three new decks for w, y, and h sounds
Improved screen rotation
Bug fixes

If you like the new features in ArtikPix and ArtikPix - Full 2.3, please rate and review the apps on iTunes.

StoryPals free download - Snorkeling Hare

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-09-05T21:25:38-07:00

Story Title: Snorkeling Hare
Author: Eric Sailers (read by Bob Schulze)
Story Description: Hare is snorkeling when he finds himself in need of help.
Quiz: Yes
Quiz Questions: 6 (Who, What, Where, When, Why, How)
Voice Recording: Yes
Download Link

With the StoryPals app installed, tap the download link on your iPad. Then, choose to open this file in StoryPals. The story will be imported to My Stories on the Table of Contents screen in StoryPals, where you can open the story to view it. Note that you must have the StoryPals or StoryPals - Basic app on your iPad to view the story.

This story and all contents contained within are for non-commercial use only. The author of the story has provided permission for use in StoryPals for non-commercial means only. The author has also acknowledged that the story and contents within do not infringe upon the copyright or rights of a third party. If the content posted raises infringement issues, this post will be deleted.

To automatically receive additional free stories as they become available, please subscribe to my blog by entering your email address above in the right sidebar.

To share your stories, email them to support@ericsailers.com and submit a request to share your stories by completing the following form: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFV4cnUzMmFxRXZYM2FkWUhkWnloakE6MQ#gid=0.

Back to School

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-08-30T08:12:44-07:00

Photo by thebassoonist12

My wife is a middle school humanities teacher and I was talking to her about her first week back with students after summer break. Since I no longer work for a school district, I wanted to know what she liked about being back. She said five things that I’ll do my best to accurately list here:

Getting back to a daily work routine
Seeing the staff
Contributing to society
Having fun with the students
The overall fulfillment from helping students and collaborating with colleagues

I think the last item involving overall fulfillment was the main motivation for me to return (when I previously worked at a school district). Having fun with the students was great, too. However, the other items weren’t as important to me, and the thought of scheduling student speech times or doing IEP meetings was depressing.

Working at a school is a labor of love that requires you to remember all the positive reasons for being there. So, if you’re going back to school, relish in what fulfills you.

StoryPals video tutorials

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-08-22T18:12:14-07:00

Below are StoryPals video tutorials that show how to comprehend, create, and share stories in the iPad app. The videos are fully accessible with captions that can be viewed in the YouTube players by clicking CC. You can also view the YouTube videos in HD and full-screen mode.

2012 Closing the Gap Conference

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-08-20T10:37:07-07:00

I will be participating in the Closing The Gap Conference scheduled October 15-19, 2012 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. If you’re attending the conference, come see me at one or more of the following sessions:

Pre-conference session (Must register in advance here)
PC-3 Preconference hands-on iPad workshop (presented by Eric Sailers, Luis Perez, and Cathy Kingeter) - iCreate: Customizing iPad Content for Students with Special Needs. Monday, Oct 15 8:00 am – 4:30 pm.

Main conference sessions
Lab by Eric Sailers, Mark Coppin, Cathy Kingeter, and Luis Perez - Using iPad Apps to Create Content for Students with Special Needs. Wed, Oct 17 from 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm.

Session by Eric Sailers - StoryPals: iPad App for Story Comprehension. Thurs, Oct 18 from 11:00 am – 12:00 pm.

StoryPals free download - Feeling Green

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-08-15T20:52:54-07:00

Story Title: Feeling Green
Author: Jessica Chase
Story Description: Nadia is a little girl who is singing in a talent show. She accidentally gets green paint on her nose before going on stage, but learns in the end that it's okay to make mistakes.
Quiz: Yes
Quiz Questions: 10 (Who, What, Why, How)
Voice Recording: Yes
Download Link

With the StoryPals app installed, tap the download link on your iPad. Then, choose to open this file in StoryPals. The story will be imported to My Stories on the Table of Contents screen in StoryPals, where you can open the story to view it. Note that you must have the StoryPals or StoryPals - Basic app on your iPad to view the story.

This story and all contents contained within are for non-commercial use only. The author of the story has provided permission for use in StoryPals for non-commercial means only. The author has also acknowledged that the story and contents within do not infringe upon the copyright or rights of a third party. If the content posted raises infringement issues, this post will be deleted.

To automatically receive additional free stories as they become available, please subscribe to my blog by entering your email address above in the right sidebar.

To share your stories, email them to support@ericsailers.com and submit a request to share your stories by completing the following form: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFV4cnUzMmFxRXZYM2FkWUhkWnloakE6MQ#gid=0.

StoryPals free download - The Great Magic Hat

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-08-10T17:50:23-07:00

Story Title: The Great Magic Hat
Author: Joel Nash
Story Description: The story is about a magic baseball hat that a young boy, Sam, finds on the beach. He wishes for everyone to have fun everyday.
Quiz: Yes
Quiz Questions: 6 (Who, What, Where, When, Why, How)
Voice Recording: No
Download Link

With the StoryPals app installed, tap the download link on your iPad. Then, choose to open this file in StoryPals. The story will be imported to My Stories on the Table of Contents screen in StoryPals, where you can open the story to view it. Note that you must have the StoryPals or StoryPals - Basic app on your iPad to view the story.

This story and all contents contained within are for non-commercial use only. The author of the story has provided permission for use in StoryPals for non-commercial means only. The author has also acknowledged that the story and contents within do not infringe upon the copyright or rights of a third party. If the content posted raises infringement issues, this post will be deleted.

To automatically receive additional free stories as they become available, please subscribe to my blog by entering your email address above in the right sidebar.

To share your stories, email them to support@ericsailers.com and submit a request to share your stories by completing the following form: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFV4cnUzMmFxRXZYM2FkWUhkWnloakE6MQ#gid=0.

StoryPals 1.1 update released

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-08-07T11:19:09-07:00

StoryPals 1.1 was updated and the price was reduced from $24.99 to $14.99 (through Sept. 8th) for Back to School. After receiving great feedback from users, one of the major additions in this update is the voice recording feature. In the Included Stories, professional voice recordings are read aloud via the play button, and text-to-speech (TTS) is accessed by tapping the TTS button on the player. In My Stories, recording your voice is more intuitive. Plus, your voice recording is shared when emailing your story or using iTunes File Sharing.

Here's a list of all the new features in the StoryPals 1.1 update:

Professional narrations added to Included Stories
Improved voice recording feature for My Stories
Increased volume for animation sounds
Improved word highlighting
Improved spacing in stories
Added configurable option for edit mode
Added configurable option for displaying recording first in stories. When this option is turned off, the TTS displays first in stories.
Multi-select feature of illustration elements when creating My Stories
Text to Speech pronunciation improvements for a few titles in the Included Stories
Voice recordings for My Stories are now shared via email attachment or iTunes File Sharing
Bug fixes

If you like these new features in StoryPals 1.1, please rate and review the app in iTunes.

For information on how to use StoryPals, please refer to the in-app help tutorial.

StoryPals free download - Windsor Castle

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-07-11T06:41:06-07:00

Story Title: Windsor Castle
Author: Eric Sailers
Story Description: This is an informational text about Windsor Castle in England.
Quiz: Yes
Quiz Questions: 8 (Who, What, Where, When, Why)
Voice Recording: No
Download Link

With the StoryPals app installed, tap the download link on your iPad. Then, choose to open this file in StoryPals. The story will be imported to My Stories on the Table of Contents screen in StoryPals, where you can open the story to view it. Note that you must have the StoryPals or StoryPals - Basic app on your iPad to view the story.

This story and all contents contained within are for non-commercial use only. The author of the story has provided permission for use in StoryPals for non-commercial means only. The author has also acknowledged that the story and contents within do not infringe upon the copyright or rights of a third party. If the content posted raises infringement issues, this post will be deleted.

To automatically receive additional free stories as they become available, please subscribe to my blog by entering your email address above in the right sidebar.

To share your stories, email them to support@ericsailers.com and submit a request to share your stories by completing the following form: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFV4cnUzMmFxRXZYM2FkWUhkWnloakE6MQ#gid=0.

StoryPals free download - Gaming Friends

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-07-06T06:01:13-07:00

Story Title: Gaming Friends
Author: Eric Sailers
Story Description: Doug finds a friend who likes the same game as him.
Quiz: Yes
Quiz Questions: 10 (Who, What, Where, When, Why, How)
Voice Recording: No
Download Link

With the StoryPals app installed, tap the download link on your iPad. Then, choose to open this file in StoryPals. The story will be imported to My Stories on the Table of Contents screen in StoryPals, where you can open the story to view it. Note that you must have the StoryPals or StoryPals - Basic app on your iPad to view the story.

This story and all contents contained within are for non-commercial use only. The author of the story has provided permission for use in StoryPals for non-commercial means only. The author has also acknowledged that the story and contents within do not infringe upon the copyright or rights of a third party. If the content posted raises infringement issues, this post will be deleted.

To automatically receive additional free stories as they become available, please subscribe to my blog by entering your email address above in the right sidebar.

To share your stories, email them to support@ericsailers.com and submit a request to share your stories by completing the following form: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFV4cnUzMmFxRXZYM2FkWUhkWnloakE6MQ#gid=0.

Free story download for StoryPals

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-07-03T04:05:20-07:00

Story Title: A Surprise Party for Mouse
Author: Kelly Sailers
Story Description: Mouse's friends want to throw him a surprise party for his seventh birthday. But, how will they manage to surprise him?
Quiz: Yes
Quiz Questions: 11 (Who, What, Where, When, Why, How)
Voice Recording: No
Download Link

With the StoryPals app installed, tap the download link on your iPad. Then, choose to open this file in StoryPals. The story will be imported to My Stories on the Table of Contents screen in StoryPals, where you can open the story to view it. Note that you must have the StoryPals app on your iPad to view the story.

This story and all contents contained within are for non-commercial use only. The author of the story has provided permission for use in StoryPals for non-commercial means only. The author has also acknowledged that the story and contents within do not infringe upon the copyright or rights of a third party. If the content posted raises infringement issues, this post will be deleted.

To automatically receive additional free stories as they become available, please subscribe to my blog by entering your email address above in the right sidebar.

To share your stories, email them to support@ericsailers.com and submit a request to share your stories by completing the following form: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFV4cnUzMmFxRXZYM2FkWUhkWnloakE6MQ#gid=0.

20 tips for getting started with StoryPals

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-07-03T04:03:58-07:00

1. Read one of 24 included stories by tapping the title in the Table of Contents on the home screen.
2. Using the animation hints (hands), interact with the illustration.
3. Tap the play button to read the story with text-to-speech (TTS) and word highlighting.
4. Tap the Rec. button, then the red circle to record your voice reading the story. Next, play it back.
5. Swipe from right to left on the bottom of the right page to interact with the next story.
6. Tap the Quiz button then New Student to setup a student for quizzes.
7. Choose the student and/or the Sample Student, then tap Begin for the quiz.
8. Take the quiz by tapping each question, followed by an answer choice then the Next button.
9. Tap Done if you want to exit the quiz before it's finished. Tap Done again to return to the story.
10. Tap the Options (gears button), then Visual. Next, adjust the Story Text Size and turn Justified Story Text OFF.
11. Go back to the first level of Options, then tap Audio to turn TTS OFF or to change Voices.
12. Exit the Options and tap the Table of Contents (to the right of the Options button), then tap New Story.
13. Create a new story with an image (via tapping the Image button and choosing illustration elements), title, and story text.
14. Tap Quiz and follow the directions to create quiz questions.
15. After you're finished creating the quiz, tap Done.
16. If you know someone with StoryPals, tap the Options and Share Stories to email your new story and quiz.
17. Visit http://ericsailers.com/blog.html to install (for free) a shared story with quiz in StoryPals.
18. After the story has been imported, go to My Stories in the Table of Contents, and tap on the story's title.
19. Interact with the story and illustration, then take the quiz.
20. Tap the Help (question mark button) to learn about several other features in StoryPals.

Eric Sailers LLC releases StoryPals for iPad

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-07-03T00:01:01-07:00

Press Release
StoryPals for iPad is a robust, fun-filled story comprehension application for children. StoryPals provides a user-friendly experience for children to practice listening and reading comprehension independently or in a small group. The app features reading supports and several configurable options that allow users to individualize the experience to meet a student’s specific needs.

San Diego, CA - July 3, 2012 - Eric Sailers LLC is pleased to announce the release of StoryPals for Apple iPad. StoryPals is an engaging story comprehension app with 24 original, whimsical stories designed to help children practice listening and reading comprehension. Each included story is accompanied by a 10 question quiz featuring WH questions. Utilizing colorful graphics with animations, the app is highly interactive and engaging. Bridget Gilormini, a speech-language pathologist, said, "It is exciting to see an app for comprehension come to the market created by professionals with the background and experience to understand literacy and language."

StoryPals includes a number of features that make it user-friendly for both children and educators. Children will love the humorous characters and animations as they interact with the story text in a variety of ways. StoryPals allows the user to customize the experience, so a child can read independently, record his/her voice, or listen to the story using the highest quality text-to-speech with word highlighting available. Quizzes can be modified to allow for multiple students to take a quiz in the same setting, and to alter question types and the number of answer choices. Best of all, scores are automatically collected, saved, and easily exported outside the app so tracking student progress is simple. Speech-language pathologist Jenna Rayburn says, "StoryPals will be a great benefit to SLP's in school settings. Reading comprehension skills are so important in elementary aged students and StoryPals collects data from the SLP point of view!"

But, what happens when your students read all of the included stories? StoryPals has you covered! StoryPals allows you to create your own stories and quizzes to further meet student needs. Choose from included illustrations, build your own original images using illustration elements, or add a photo. With StoryPals, you are encouraged to create and share stories with your pals. Easily build a story library targeting the specific comprehension skills your students need. Or, have students create their own stories. Anything you create will have the same built-in supports for listening and reading comprehension, and the ability to collect scores for tracking student progress. Meg Wilson, a special education teacher said, "I am very excited to share StoryPals with fellow teachers, it is a wonderful app!"

Device Requirements
- iPad
- Requires iOS 4.0 or higher
- 401 MB

Pricing and Availability
- StoryPals 1.0.1 is available on the iTunes App Store for a promotional price of $14.99 on the first day of sale, then $24.99 thereafter.
- English
- StoryPals download link

Eric Sailers LLC is a company owned and operated by Eric Sailers, who creates mobile applications for Apple’s platforms. StoryPals was co-authored by Eric Sailers, a speech-language pathologist, and his wife, Kelly Sailers, who is a language arts teacher. Eric Sailers worked six years in a school district as a speech-language pathologist and assistive technology specialist. Although Eric no longer works for a school district, he continues to help children with special needs via private therapy and his apps.
Copyright (C) 2012 Eric Sailers LLC. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

For more information, visit the StoryPals website at http://ericsailers.com/storypals.html.

Contact
Eric Sailers
Owner, Eric Sailers LLC
619-881-7495
eric@ericsailers.com

iTunes gift certificate giveaway

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-06-24T10:20:20-07:00

Giveaway time! For the ISTE Conference, I am raffling off 5, $10 iTunes gift certificates to be used on apps, music, movies, etc. in the iTunes store. You can earn up to 5 entries by entering below. Anybody can enter the giveaway, even if you're not attending the ISTE Conference.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Status of StoryPals

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-06-13T06:30:51-07:00

Recently, beta testing for StoryPals was completed. I really appreciate all the positive comments as well as constructive feedback received from beta testers. StoryPals will be a great story comprehension app thanks to feedback received during testing.

To help beta testers get started with StoryPals, I previously did a webinar on May 24th. I would like to now share the video recording below with everyone.

And in case you're wondering, StoryPals was submitted yesterday to Apple. When it's available on the iOS App Store, StoryPals will be offered at a TBD promotional price for the first day, then $24.99 thereafter. I'll provide more information around the time that the app is available.

StoryPals announcement

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-05-21T06:45:38-07:00

I would like to announce my new app called StoryPals. StoryPals is a story comprehension app coming soon for iPad. Check out the video trailer below to get a first look. You can also learn more about StoryPals by visiting the website page at ericsailers.com/storypals.html.

Unboxing of the Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-05-16T08:39:28-07:00

This video is an unboxing of the Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover. I purchased the Bluetooth keyboard cover from logitech.com for $99. The accessory provides protection to the iPad as well as a keyboard for typing. I think the keyboard works well, plus it conveniently attaches to the iPad. There isn't a need to carry the keyboard separately. So, I'm looking forward to using the Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover, especially when I'm working away from home and my laptop.

My iTunes podcast

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-05-04T10:36:18-07:00

I created an iTunes podcast for my videos. My podcast channel can be found here in iTunes. So far, I only have a few of my video blogs posted. Stay tuned for more videos to come.

Interview with The Social Express

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-03-29T05:45:08-07:00

I am pleased to have Marc Zimmerman and his company The Social Express participate in an interview. The Social Express™ is engaging, educational software for children and young adults with social learning challenges. The software - available for iPad, Mac, and PC - is designed to teach users how to think about and manage social situations, helping them to develop meaningful social relationships and succeed in life. The iPad app for The Social Express™ is being offered at a promotional rate of $44.99 through the end of April, celebrating Autism Awareness month. That’s 50% off the introductory price of $89.99!

I asked Marc and his company to answer five questions regarding The Social Express™. Below are the questions that were answered:

What was your company's inspiration for creating The Social Express?
The founders Marc and Tina Zimmerman are parents of identical twin boys who were diagnosed 10 years ago with Autism. Teaching them social awareness has always been their #1 goal. Their inspiration came when a therapist introduced her laptop into therapy. The twins were very interested in the technology but the program was not holding their attention. That’s the day they chatted about leveraging technology with engaging content.

What kind of research was done to create the content in The Social Express?
According to the content director Mary Anne MacLellan, M.A., CCC-SLP, The Social Express™ is based on best practices and programs that feature cognitive behavioral techniques and visual strategies. The lessons presented in the software adhere to California State Board of Education Content Standards and the Common Core Standards. References incorporated in The Social Express™ include the following:

Buron, K.D., & Curtis, M. (2004). The Incredible 5 Point Scale: Assisting students with autism spectrum disorders in understanding social interactions and controlling their emotions. Shawnee Mission, KS: Autism Asperger Publishing Company.

Crooke, P., Hendrix, R., Rachman, J. (2007). Brief Report: Measuring the Effectiveness of Teaching Social Thinking® to Children with Asperger Syndrome (AS) and High Functioning Autism (HFA). Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2008

Gray, C. (2010). The new social story book: Revised and expanded 10th anniversary edition. Arlington, TX: Future Horizons Inc.

Gray, C. (1994). Comic Strip Conversations. Jenison, MI: Jenison Public Schools.

Myles, B.S., Trautman, M.L, Schelvan, R.L., (2004) The Hidden Curriculum: Practical Solutions for Understanding Unstated Rules in Social Situations. Shawnee Mission, KS: Autism Asperger Publishing Company.

Williams, M.S., & Shellenberger, S. (1994). “How does your engine run?” A leader’s guide to the alert program for self-regulation. Albuquerque, NM: TherapyWorks, Inc.-the Alert Program

Winner, M.G. (2005). Think Social! San Jose, CA: Think Social Publishing Inc.

Winner, M.G. (2007). Thinking about YOU Thinking about ME. San Jose, CA: Think Social Publishing Inc.

Winner, M.G. (2008). A Politically Incorrect Look at Evidence-Based Practices and Teaching Social Skills: A literature review and discussion. San Jose, CA: Think Social Publishing Inc.

Zins, J. (2004). Building Academic Success on Social and Emotional Learning: What Does The Research Say? New York: Teacher’s College Press.

How did your team collaborate to create The Social Express?
There were over 20 people collaborating on this project. Skype, conference calls, and personal interaction is how the team stayed in touch.

How did The Social Express fill any kind of void in the app market?
In addition to using a cognitive behavioral approach, it has been stated that The Social Express is the highest quality production app made to date. The company exhausted it’s resources to present animation that meets Hollywood’s standards and content that would be effective in teaching people social-emotional skills.

Describe a success story using The Social Express with a child.
Mandy Nite, the creator of Welcome to Their World blog, shares encouraging results about her young daughter’s progress since working with The Social Express. Nite posted the following assessment on her blog: “This app has everything imaginable about social skills learning except Nite’s daughter, who will turn eight years old soon, has significant social skill problems, high functioning autism and ADHD. Nite explains that after her daughter completed just half of The Social Express lessons, “She is starting to use what she learned in The Social Express in the real-world.”Nite continues, “I’m amazed everyday by the progress she’s made. She has even started to talk with other children one on one slowly with a little prompting and a few reminders of social skills but is getting the hang of it.”

CUE Live 2012

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-03-22T19:48:35-07:00

I was honored to recently present at the CUE Conference as a spotlight speaker. During the conference on Friday, March 16th, I was asked to participate in a CUE Live interview with Mark Hammons. The video interview above includes a memorable experience using Proloquo2Go with one of my students, and my favorite apps for special needs with a mention of my app, ArtikPix. Check it out!

iTunes gift certificate giveaway

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-03-16T12:56:20-07:00

Giveaway time! This one is for 3, $10 iTunes gift certificates to be used on apps, music, movies, etc. in the iTunes store.

Please complete the following two steps now to become eligible for the giveaway:
1. Like my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/EricSailersLLC
2. Comment on this post

Winners will be selected on Sunday, March 18 at 5 PM PST. Three names will be randomly chosen using the Names in a Hat app, then announced on my Facebook page.

ASHAsphere best speech-language pathologist blogs

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-03-16T12:34:56-07:00

ASHAsphere did a blog post today regarding the best speech-language pathologist blogs. I was honored to see my blog included in the short list. It's quite special knowing that my blog was selected by my peers using a stringent criteria. Thank you to those of you who chose my blog, and thank you to all my blog readers for following me. I'm definitely motivated to blog to continue sharing with all of you!

CUE Conference

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-03-14T06:52:44-07:00

I’m delighted to be presenting at the CUE Conference as a spotlight speaker. The conference will be held March 15 - 17 in Palm Springs, CA. If you’re planning to attend the event, please come to one or more of my sessions below. Not only will you learn a lot about iOS apps and devices for special needs, but you could also win cool stuff!

My CUE Conference sessions:

Friday, March 16, 2012 at 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM PST
Implementing iOS apps for communication: ArtikPix, Proloquo2Go, and Pictello
Hilton Hotel, Rm. Tapestry

Saturday, March 17, 2012 at 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM PST
iOS apps for AT
Hilton Hotel, Rm. Tapestry

Saturday, March 17, 2012 at 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM PST
iPad accessibility
Hilton Hotel, Rm. Tapestry

Interview with the Speech Ladies

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-03-01T06:36:43-08:00

I am pleased to have Cindy (right in the photo) and Kristina (left in the photo) Young - a mother-daughter pair of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) otherwise known as the Speech Ladies - participate in an interview. I interviewed Cindy and Kristina to learn more about them and their interests in the field of speech-language pathology. Cindy has been an SLP for about 31 years and has worked in the schools with kids in preschool through high school, as well as nursing homes, private practice and teaching undergrad classes at a local university. This is Kristina's first year in the schools and she is in the middle of her clinical fellowship year (CFY) as an SLP. Cindy and Kristina also co-author a blog at http://thespeechladies.blogspot.com/, where they share their experiences and insights in the world of speech language pathology.

Without further ado, below you will find five interview questions that Cindy and Kristina answered:

1. Why did you decide to become SLPs?

Cindy: As with most college students, I went through several career choices before discovering Speech Language Pathology. I was encouraged by a friend to shadow a lady at our local hospital that was an SLP. I did and I was captivated by the clients she saw and the rapport that she had established with the clients and their families. She also told me that the hospital was not the only setting for an SLP, so I then observed a SLP in a school setting. I was totally hooked and knew I had finally found something where I felt I could make a difference in the lives of others.

Kristina: It took me awhile to come to that decision. In college I had many different majors, but ultimately I knew I wanted to go into a service profession and my mom suggested speech language pathology. At first I was hesitant because all I knew of her job was that it included a lot of paperwork! However, I took a couple of classes and really enjoyed what I was learning. I was sure that speech was for me when I was able to enroll in an undergrad clinic class that allowed us to do direct therapy with clients. Though I’m still not big on the paperwork, I love getting to interact with my clients! I was also drawn to the field because I knew that once I graduated there would be a variety of job options.

2. What are the strengths of you being SLPs as a mother-daughter pair?

Cindy: Kristina keeps me up on the latest technology and has encouraged me to incorporate technology in therapy. She has just begun her first job and is very excited about being an SLP. Her enthusiasm is contagious! It is great to have someone to discuss ideas and brainstorm various approaches.

Kristina: The biggest strength for me is that I have a fabulous source of information right at my fingertips! I am able to call my mom at anytime to ask how she would handle a certain situation, tips for getting a child to produce a difficult sound, or questions about paperwork. I have a wonderful CF supervisor, but it is nice to have someone else to bounce ideas off of especially since she has so much more experience than I do.

3. What are the challenges of you being SLPs as a mother-daughter pair?

Cindy: So far we have not encountered any challenges.

Kristina: So far I can’t think of any big challenges we have faced. I think it helps that we work in different school systems. My mother is always very respectful of my opinion and is encouraging if I want to try out something new or different. She reminds me that there is always “more than one way to skin a cat”!

4. What's your favorite population to work with and why?

Cindy: I love the young ones. I spend most of my day dealing with preschool speech and language issues.

Kristina: My favorite population to work with is Pre-School to 5th grade. I just love the little ones! I think they are my favorite because they get so excited about anything. If I walk in and say today we are going to do speech therapy standing up, they are like “WOOHOO!” It is easy to get them motivated about good speech and language.

5. What's your favorite technology to use with students and why?

Cindy: The iPad has been my favorite. The device is portable and so far appears pretty indestructible. It has lots of versatile and affordable apps and many are even free. And, best of all the children love it!

Kristina: Right now I am loving my iPad! There are so many versatile apps to try out and it is easy to carry with me from school to school. I have also started using the promethean board with some of my language kids. The interactive whiteboard gives them a chance to be very interactive during the lessons and I hope that helps the material really sink in.

ArtikPix - Full Giveaway

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-02-28T07:47:27-08:00

To coincide with my upcoming CSUN presentation, I’m doing an ArtikPix - Full giveaway for 3 promo codes, valued at $30 per code. ArtikPix - Full is a fun speech articulation app for iPhone and iPad.

Please complete the following two steps now to become eligible for the giveaway:

Like my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/EricSailersLLC
Comment on my post, “To enter the ArtikPix - Full giveaway, please comment on this post.”

Winners will be selected on Wednesday, February 29 at 5 PM PST. Three names will be randomly chosen using the Names in a Hat app, then announced on my Facebook page.

CSUN Conference details:
Wednesday, February 29, 2012 at 10:40 AM PST
ArtikPix & PhonoPix on iPad for speech groups
Hyatt Hotel in San Diego, CA, Rm. Emma AB

Webinar for What's new in Proloquo2Go 1.8

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-02-20T10:26:11-08:00

AssistiveWare announced their webinar for What’s New in Proloquo2Go 1.8 is going to be held on February 23 at 8 AM PST. Click here to get more information and to sign up now for free. Spots are available on a first come first serve basis. There will be no repeat webinar of What’s New in Proloquo2Go 1.8. Recordings of the webinar will be available on iTunes as a video podcast a few days after the session.

2.25.12 Update: The video podcast for What's New in Proloquo2Go 1.8 webinar is now available here on iTunes.

Disclosure: I do work for AssistiveWare and I’m the presenter for this Proloquo2Go webinar.

Typing test with iKeyboard

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-02-13T15:47:32-08:00

In the embedded video, I did an iPad typing test with the iKeyboard, an accessory designed for touch typing. I wanted to see how my speed and accuracy of typing with the iPad on-screen keyboard compared with that of the iKeyboard. So, I used the TapTyping app to do a speed test of typing on my iPad.

The results indicated that my typing accuracy was equivalent for the on-screen keyboard and iKeyboard, but my typing speed was 11 WPM slower with the iKeyboard. I think the slower typing rate with iKeyboard is due to me needing to get used to it, plus the plastic that covers the letter keys. The plastic is relatively rigid which requires hard presses that could slow down typing speed. If the plastic can be manufactured to be more flexible, I believe my typing speed would have increased. With that said, I think iKeyboard is a good step toward touch typing on the iPad.

Disclosure: The author was provided with a complimentary iKeyboard.

My new Facebook company page

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-02-04T07:35:53-08:00

This will be one of my shortest blog posts. I just want to announce that I created a company Facebook page to post business related information. If you’re reading this, I would appreciate it if you could please Like my new Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/EricSailersLLC. Thank you!

Lasered Pics keyguards

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-01-31T05:30:23-08:00

Lasered Pics is a company that specializes in creating keyguards for iPad AAC apps. The keyguards can be especially helpful for individuals with physical disabilities who demonstrate unintentional mis-hits during augmentative communication. Lasered Pics offers keyguards for several iPad AAC apps including Proloquo2Go, TouchChat, Tap Speak Choice, Sono Flex, Assistive Chat, Grace - Picture Exchange, MyTalk Tools Mobile, My First AAC, and many others. A majority of the keyguards are made of clear acrylic, and they have suction cups to attach to the iPad screen for given apps.

Lasered Pics provided me with a Proloquo2Go keyguard (retail price: $19.95) for the medium item size in landscape orientation. I’m intentionally mentioning the specifications because customers choose the item size, landscape orientation and other options when ordering on the Lasered Pics website. The company states that it’s important to choose the appropriate options when ordering a keyguard, otherwise there will be a delay in the ordering process. I’d like to add that choosing the appropriate options is also important for the user’s experience. If the keyguard specifications aren’t appropriate, physical access to the AAC app can be hindered rather than facilitated.

I personally tested the Lasered Pics keyguard designed for the latest 1.7 version of Proloquo2Go. Using the default factory settings in the app, I attached the keyguard to align with the medium sized buttons in landscape orientation. It was easy to achieve a firm suction to the device via the four suction cups. Plus, I liked how the home button on the device was covered by the keyguard, which is especially helpful to keep users from “accidentally” exiting the app. When accessing the items, I was easily able to tap them via the cutouts in addition to scrolling pages when necessary. I was also able to rest my hand on the keyguard and then touch an item, similar to the access manner of many users with physical disabilities. One thing I realized during testing was that it’s very important to accurately align the keyguard with the app’s buttons. At first I didn’t, so it made access much more difficult.

All in all, I liked the Lasered Pics keyguard because it’s a well made product and it’s very intuitive to use. There’s really no instructions necessary to use the keyguard. As I mentioned before, it’s just important to have an accurate alignment between the cutouts and the app button. If you want to learn more about the Lasered Pics keyguards, please visit the website.

Featured App of the Week

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-01-24T05:01:00-08:00

I am honored to have ArtikPix featured as the app of the week on speechlanguageneighborhood.com. Amanda Backof, who runs the website, informed me yesterday of this honor. When you visit the home page of Speech Language Neighborhood, you will see ArtikPix featured. You will also see several free downloadable homework sheets for various sounds that coincide with the content in the ArtikPix iOS app. Since the last time I blogged about Amanda’s ArtikPix homework sheets, she has added practice materials for the following sounds: initial r, vocalic r, l blends, and s-blends. Plus, it’s my understanding that more ArtikPix homework sheets will be coming soon. So, please check out Speech Language Neighborhood this week while ArtikPix is featured!

Thanks to Amanda and Symbolstix for allowing personal use of these homework sheets. Under subscription terms, the homework sheets are not for re-sale.

Apple education event

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-01-19T06:53:25-08:00

Today, Apple held an education event where three announcements were made: 1) An updated iBooks app for reinventing the textbook, 2) A brand new app called iBooks Author for anyone to easily create interactive books, and 3) An updated iTunes U for making it free and simple for anyone to take courses anywhere. I followed the event via live blogging on Engadget, and I’m going to summarize the first two announcements:

1) iBooks app for reinventing the textbook
The first announcement is regarding iBooks for reinventing the textbook. As students are beginning to use iPads, there are remarkable things happening. But, there are challenges in education including increased class sizes and reduced budgets. Nonetheless, Apple wants to help accelerate the use of iPads in education and make it even easier to integrate the iPad into the curriculum. They plan to do this for textbooks because they understand the problems with textbooks. Textbooks are heavy, they're expensive, they wear out, and they’re not durable, interactive, searchable, or updatable. The iPad, however, is portable, more durable than paper, interactive, searchable, and current. And, until now, the main obstacle for the iPad as a textbook is the lack of content. Fortunately, the main textbook companies including Pearson, McGraw Hill and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt have joined forces with Apple to create interactive textbooks that look great and are aggressively priced at $14.99 or less. As many of you know, textbooks can traditionally be very expensive, so $14.99 is quite a bargain. The major textbook companies are launching high school textbooks first for math and science. And, I can confirm there are titles available as of today. Just download the free iBooks app, then go to the iBooks store and download the free samples or the full books.

2) iBooks Author app for anyone to easily create free interactive books
The second announcement is regarding iBooks Author for anyone to easily create interactive books. Apple wants everyone to have the opportunity to create their own interactive books (not just the textbook companies), so there will be more book content available. Any Mac owner will be able to create interactive books using a Mac app called iBooks Author. This app is available for free today and is compatible with OS 10.7, Lion (if you don’t have 10.7, you must update your operating system in order to use the iBooks Author app). Traditionally, it’s hard to create books, but Apple is hoping to change that with iBooks Author. A number of templates are included in the app that can be used to help people get started. You’re able to use templates that include text (from a word processing file such as Word), photo, and video placeholders. You can also create cool interactions, but it appears you’ll need to know how to write code in Javascript and HTML. Before you finish your book, you can utilize an easy to create glossary tool. Finally, you’re easily able to do a preview on the iPad and then submit to the iBooks store for publishing.

Apple ended the education event by discussing research showing that student achievement is largely based on student engagement. It looks like Apple is going to facilitate student engagement with their two iBooks initiatives. I can’t wait to see how it all unfolds.

Interview with Alex Dunn

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-01-10T19:30:46-08:00

I am pleased to have Alex Dunn participate in an interview in which I asked her five questions regarding her involvement with interactive whiteboards. Alex Dunn is a Speech-Language Pathologist for the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB), located in Oxford Mills, Ontario. She has been devoted over the last 16 years to exploring creative service delivery models to ensure ALL students, including those with severe communication challenges achieve the goal of meaningful educational and social participation. Most recently Alex has led the team that created Smart Inclusion, an initiative that combines assistive technology with emerging technology (i.e., interactive whiteboards, iPads, SMART Table) and theory to support inclusion – making the impossible, possible for ALL students. Alex has shared her passion for the inclusion of ALL students across Canada, United States, UK, Spain, Germany and Puerto Rico and has just been named the Smart Exemplary Educator of the Year for 2012.

Below you will find the five interview questions and her responses:

1) What types of students are you using interactive whiteboards with?
Smart Inclusion, research, which included the use of interactive whiteboards (IWBs) began four years ago when we were challenged to try to include several students who had severe communication challenges into the general education classrooms. Smart Inclusion involved using SMART products and other assistive and emerging technologies, coupled with critical speech language pathology and educational pedagogy to increase participation and achievement for ALL students including those with severe disabilities. Smart Inclusion is spreading throughout the world, and although originally designed to meet the needs of students with a range of disorders who were nonverbal or minimally verbal (e.g., Autism, Developmental Disability, Cerebral Palsy, Angelman’s Syndrome), we have discovered that the IWB as part of a universal design for learning (UDL) toolkit facilitates learning for all, “necessary for some, good for all.”

2) How do you use an interactive whiteboard with your students?
IWBs are generally used to facilitate academic and social participation, in whole class or small group, for my students with communication challenges in regular education and system classrooms. The IWB is used as part of a UDL Toolkit in combination with other emerging technologies (iPads, Document Cameras, Nintendo DSi, SMART Table, laptops, manipulatives like WikkiStix and paper pencil tasks) to facilitate a centers-based approach that spans kindergarten to high school. In education, the pendulum appears to be swinging to iDevices and other tablet technology but I am believer in maintaining a toolkit of approaches to allow for the most flexibility when offering multiple means of representation, engagement and expression. The critical piece that IWBs continue to offer my students is the ability to apply Carole Goossen’s Aided Language Stimulation principles, which I struggle to do with the tablet or other technology supports.

3) How do you feel interactive whiteboards are beneficial to student learning?
From research data collected from 2007-2009 (research articles and graphic data can be found at smartinclusion.wikispaces.com).
Special needs students participated with peers in small and large group classroom activities to a greater degree in 2008-2009 compared to the previous school year.

All students in the classrooms were highly engaged in classroom activities using Assistive and SMART Technology. Engagement was defined by teachers as “attentive, interested in activities, not disruptive, excited about learning.”

Teachers reported that they were doing “more teaching, less behaviour management” with the entire class. There were significant decreases in referrals to the school office and serious behavioural incidents for several students (including some of the Smart Inclusion target students) whose behaviour had significantly impacted classroom participation and learning in previous years.

Special needs students were not only more engaged and participating to a greater extent in classroom activities with peers, but teachers felt students were meeting their Individual Education Program (IEP) goals sooner than expected. Some teachers made more adjustments to the IEPs than they felt was typical compared to their past practice.

Standardized language assessment pre- and post-data reveal that all students demonstrated growth in their speech and language skills; all students’ communication skills had improved to a greater degree when compared to growth over previous years1.

Teachers felt that diagnostic and on-the-spot assessments were enabled and helped inform their programming (i.e., precision teaching).

Classroom teachers began using what was previously thought to be “special needs” software with all students during both small and large group instruction.

Principals reported in interview that piloting the project in a small number of classrooms throughout the district created “proof of concept”, enabling them to plan on taking “the calculated risk” of integrating Smart Inclusion theory and technology into more classrooms within their schools.

4) What's one tip for using interactive whiteboards with students?
Do not be afraid to put any technology, including interactive whiteboard technology in the hands of your students = amazing things happen. If I can only give one tip I would suggest that we as educators see our roles as facilitator, taking advantage of teachable moments as they occur and that we need not limit our students by being “sage on the stage”; we all have something teach and we all have something to learn. When students complete tasks themselves, they are more invested in the outcome. During a recent assignment on animal classification, parents and educators watched in amazement as ALL students made one discovery after another as they explored Notebook in groups, (Notebook is SMART Technologies software that ships with the IWB). One boy discovered animation while another girl uncovered creative pens, and as both students announced their discoveries proudly, other students raced to over to learn how to apply these “finds” to their own group project.

5) How did you and your colleagues receive funding for interactive whiteboards?
Initially in May of 2008, 10 students with severe communication challenges were identified as eligible for a Ministry of Education Special Equipment Allowance (SEA) grant in Ontario Canada to purchase equipment for the fall 2009. This equipment included a SMART Board along with a variety of application software and AAC tools2. With SEA funding the purchased equipment follows the student anywhere they move within the province. Many Districts in Ontario continue to fund IWB through SEA. For us at our District, once we had proof of concept, Principals started funding using peripheral budgets. Charitable organizations and local companies began to support local schools with equipment. We also obtained some SMART Technology and as well as other emerging technologies through research grants.

"New Year, New You"

eric@ericsailers.com — 2012-01-01T07:39:36-08:00

As my wife has been watching an increased amount of QVC this holiday break, she's been repeating a slogan, “New Year, New You.” I have a hunch that QVC says this to promote their products, but I think there are other perspectives regarding this slogan. As the new year is now upon us, a “New You” could involve a new diet, a new workout regimen, or what I’d like to pursue for this blog post: a new professional development plan.

A new professional development plan ought to include taking ownership by following online resources. I’d like to think that I contribute a fair amount of resources you can utilize. For example, I frequently share information regarding iOS apps and accessories, in addition to speech-language intervention strategies. Here’s how you can follow me to receive professional development:

Subscribe to my blog at http://ericsailers.com/blog.html
Add me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/eric.sailers
Add me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/esailers

Of course there are many other online resources besides mine to follow. If you have a hard time knowing where to begin, you might want to check out online resources that I follow frequently for professional development:

Just like a new diet or workout plan would be discussed with your friends, a new professional development plan ought to also be shared with your friends. You may choose to suggest me as a Facebook friend, share this blog post on Twitter, and/or tell a colleague about an online resource using traditional word of mouth. It’s up to you as you begin the New Year with a New You!

Note: The above image was used via a Creative Commons license, and the original image can be found here on flickr.

ArtikPix 2.2 adds landscape mode

eric@ericsailers.com — 2011-12-23T14:37:06-08:00

ArtikPix and ArtikPix - Full version 2.2 were updated prior to the holidays. The major new feature is landscape mode for iPad, which was heavily requested by users. Version 2.2 also adds a feature to the matching activity that involves pressing the Done button after all matches have been made. Users had also requested this feature for enabling more practice at the end of matching, particularly when the configurable option of Hide Matched Cards is turned OFF. If you like these new features in ArtikPix and ArtikPix - Full 2.2, please rate and review the app on iTunes.

On behalf of Eric Sailers and RinnApps, thank you to all ArtikPix users. We appreciate receiving feedback to make ArtikPix a leading speech articulation app. We’re looking forward to working more with users in 2012. Happy Holidays!

Sailers video blog: Episode 3

eric@ericsailers.com — 2011-12-24T06:16:29-08:00

My wife and I started a video blog series on Apple technologies, education, and special needs. Episode 3 includes CNN Student News, the BigGrips frame and stand, and an app demo. Watch the video to learn about the information covered and to see me demonstrate one of my new favorite apps.

To receive the next video blog automatically, please subscribe to my blog at http://ericsailers.com/blog.html.

Note that it's best to view the video in 720p HD and full screen mode. You can do this by changing the controls found in the bottom toolbar of the YouTube video.

Disclosure: The author was provided with a complimentary BigGrips iPad frame and stand.

Sailers video blog: Episode 2

eric@ericsailers.com — 2011-12-17T05:35:31-08:00

My wife and I started a video blog series on Apple technologies, education, and special needs. Episode 2 includes BrainPOP, an iPad stand, and an app demo. Watch the video to learn about the information covered and to see us demonstrate one of our new favorite apps.

To receive the next video blog automatically, please subscribe to my blog at http://ericsailers.com/blog.html.

Note that it's best to view the video in 720p HD and full screen mode. You can do this by changing the controls found in the bottom toolbar of the YouTube video.

Sailers video blog: Episode 1

eric@ericsailers.com — 2011-12-14T05:37:05-08:00

My wife and I started a video blog series on Apple technologies, education, and special needs. Episode 1 includes Apple Siri, DS Action (a non-profit organization for Down Syndrome), and an app demo. Watch the video to learn about the information covered and to see us demonstrate one of our new favorite apps.

To receive the next video blog automatically, please subscribe to my blog at http://ericsailers.com/blog.html.

Note that it's best to view the video in 720p HD and full screen mode. You can do this by changing the controls found in the bottom toolbar of the YouTube video.

New AssistiveWare webinar for Proloquo2Go is now available on iTunes

eric@ericsailers.com — 2011-12-12T03:57:17-08:00

AssistiveWare announced their webinar for What’s New in Proloquo2Go 1.7 is now available on iTunes as a free video podcast. Click here or go to iTunes and search for “assistiveware webinars.” You will also be able to view the previous webinars from the July-August series.

Please subscribe to the AssistiveWare Webinar Series on iTunes to stay updated and join in the webinar discussions at the Webinar Forum.

Disclosure: I do work for AssistiveWare and I’m the presenter for this Proloquo2Go webinar series.

BubCap home button covers

eric@ericsailers.com — 2011-12-11T07:18:07-08:00

I want to share the BubCap home button covers for iOS devices. A BubCap is like a rigid sticker that is placed over the home button so children (especially children with sensory needs) cannot accidentally exit an app. Although the BubCap protects the home button from children, adults are still able to press it for navigational purposes–though, my wife seemed to have a hard time with this.

The BubCap cover comes in a pack with three different rigidities based on the child’s age and the type of iOS device used. The company suggests that the regular BubCap is for toddlers with iPhone and iPod touch; the BubCap Ultra is for toddlers with iPad or older children with iPhone and iPod touch; finally, the BubCap Max is for older children with iPad. However, my preference is to use the BubCap Ultra on any iOS device. The BubCap Max feels too rigid even for an adult to press.

The BubCap works by peeling off the backing and then placing it on top of your iOS device home button. Once the BubCap has been adhered, let it sit for about 15 minutes before use. Then, you’re ready to go. When you no longer need the BubCap, you can peel it off with you fingernail (applying slow steady pressure) and dispose of it or save it for future use.

As the company website says, BubCaps make a great stocking stuffer and they start at $5 for a 4-pack. BubCaps are well made and a good solution to help children stay within an app.

Disclosure: The author was provided with a complimentary 6-pack of BubCaps for demonstration purposes.

Blue2 Bluetooth Switch by AbleNet

eric@ericsailers.com — 2011-12-05T09:44:00-08:00

Since I recently posted about an iPad accessory for physical access, I would like to share another one. I want to discuss the AbleNet Bluetooth switch called Blue2, which provides single or dual switch access to the iPad for individuals with physical disabilities. The Blue2 has a switch interface and two switches built in the same device. The built-in switches are accessible by your hands or feet. You can also plug additional switches in the available right and left ports if you wish to use your own.

Since the switch is Bluetooth enabled, no cords are required for use. You connect and use it wirelessly beginning with the iPad settings. Here are the following steps for setup:

With 2 AA batteries in the device, slide the Power switch to ON
Press and hold the Reset button on the rear part of the device until the red light cycles
On the iPad, open the Settings app, tap General then Bluetooth. Turn Bluetooth ON.
In Bluetooth Settings, choose Dual Pedal to connect it
On the switch, enter in the four digit code using the Mode buttons (note that digits 6-0 require the Shift button plus the Mode button)
Press Enter and you will see the red light flash next to the 1/6 mode button
Finally, press the 5/0 mode button for the Space/Enter function and you will see the red light flash next to it

After the Blue2 switch is connected to the iPad via Bluetooth, you can use it with switch compatible apps. At this moment in time, there are a select number of apps that are compatible, and they are mostly for augmentative communication. The switch compatible apps (that I’m aware of) include the TapSpeak series (Button, Sequence, Choice), Predictable, SoundingBoard (iPhone only), GoTalk Now, Alexicomm AAC, and RJ Cooper apps.

My personal experience with the Blue2 switch has been mostly with the TapSpeak series of apps. At conferences, I have focused on demonstrating the switch with TapSpeak Choice. I used the First page sample board in TapSpeak Choice and began with configuring the in app Settings (the gears button). I selected Scanning Settings and 2 Switch Step scanning. After that, I exited the in app Settings and constructed a message (e.g., “I like dog”) using 2 switch access. In order to construct the message, I had to press the left switch to scan by rows and the right switch to choose a given row or item. Finally, I was able to select the message window to speak the entire message.

There are known limitations at this current time for iPad switch access. First, as I mentioned previously, there are only a select number of switch compatible apps. Second, you cannot use the on-screen keyboard while a switch is connected via Bluetooth. Also, with TapSpeak Choice, you can only utilize one type of access at a time. For example, when 2 Switch step access is enabled, Direct Select touch access is disabled.

Although I discussed Blue2 use with an iPad, it can also be used with switch compatible apps on iPhone and iPod touch. To purchase the Blue2 switch, visit the AbleNet online store. It’s $149.

Disclosure: The author was provided with a complimentary Blue2 switch for demonstration purposes.

Beyond Adaptive iPad Arm Kit

eric@ericsailers.com — 2011-12-01T08:48:00-08:00

I would like to share an iPad Arm Kit from a company called Beyond Adaptive. The kit provides an excellent iPad mount for individuals with physical disabilities – even though it can be used by anyone. If someone with a motor impairment (such as an individual with cerebral palsy) wants to access an iPad, the arm kit is a great solution for keeping the device in a stable position.

The kit works by fastening the quick action clamp to an object (e.g., a table), tightening another knob, and placing an iPad (original iPad or iPad 2) in the cradle. As simple as it sounds, it’s that easy to setup.

Since receiving the Beyond Adaptive iPad Arm Kit almost two months ago, I have demonstrated it during various workshops as a high-quality solution for physical access to iPad. When firmly clamped, the kit enables a very sturdy position for the iPad, regardless of where it’s mounted. I attached it to podiums, tabletops, and table legs without any worries of my iPad falling and breaking. I also attached it to wheelchair tray tables for my students with physical disabilities who successfully accessed the iPad independently. It didn’t matter where I clamped the kit or how much pressure was applied to the iPad, the device remained steady. The Beyond Adaptive iPad Arm Kit is wonderful and I highly recommend it for individuals with the need.

The kit pictured above is the Deluxe iPad Arm Kit. The regular price is over $400, but the company is running a special of $351 until the end of 2011. Contact the company for more information and purchasing details.

Disclosure: The author was provided with a complimentary iPad Arm Kit for demonstration purposes.

NY Times article regarding apps for autism

eric@ericsailers.com — 2011-11-30T04:49:10-08:00

Yesterday, the New York Times ran an article about the iPad and apps for autism. I was proud to see that my blog, slpsharing.com, was mentioned in the company of other great websites. It's an honor to know that people look at my blog and resources to learn about apps for autism and special needs.

Homework sheets for ArtikPix

eric@ericsailers.com — 2011-11-17T02:21:07-08:00

Amanda Backof, Speech-Language Pathologist who runs speechlanguageneighborhood.com, has created homework sheets for ArtikPix. The sheets can be downloaded on her website at http://www.speechlanguageneighborhood.com/articulation/. I also thought I would provide the download links here to the homework sheets:

Initial/Medial/Final P
Initial/Medial/Final B
Initial/Medial/Final F
Initial/Medial/Final K
Initial/Medial/Final G
Initial/Medial/Final S
Initial/Medial/Final Z

The downloadable documents are available as of 11.17.11. Check Amanda’s website in the future for updates. She is planning to add more homework sheets.

Terms of use stated by Amanda: Thanks to Symbolstix for allowing us to make these available for personal use [not for re-sale] under the terms of our subscription.

App Gap

eric@ericsailers.com — 2011-11-15T16:03:23-08:00

I was asked to share a link to an article titled 15 Telling Facts About the App Gap: http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2011/11/14/15-telling-facts-about-the-app-gap/. The "App Gap" refers to children of low socioeconomic status who do not have access to mobile devices and apps. Affluent children who have more access to apps might be receiving a more enriching learning environment. I believe that there's likely truth to this notion, however the article proceeds to explain that more time with apps can be harmful to child development and learning. Harmful, huh? That's pretty strong language which I question.

In the article, apps are consequently compared to TV and DVDs, a comparison which I disagree with. I feel that apps provide active learning environments vs. passive environments provided by TV shows and DVD movies. Due to the various interactions in apps (e.g., tapping, dragging, shaking, tilting, etc.), children immerse themselves in very enriching learning environments. This rings especially true for many disabled children who prefer to read and write with technology including mobile devices due to the motivating platform, not to mention built-in supports.

Although I don't agree with everything in this article, I still wanted to share a link to it because it does pose food for thought. It provides some interesting ideas to consider when determining the use of mobile devices and apps with children.

Remembering Steve

eric@ericsailers.com — 2011-10-06T06:54:02-07:00

Recently we all received the very sad news that Steve Jobs passed away. He built and revived Apple Inc. into the greatest technology company of all time. Almost everyone owns an Apple product, whether it's a Mac, iPod, iPhone or iPad, and none of it would have been possible if it wasn't for Steve Jobs. We all have a lot to be thankful for.

We can all share our thoughts, memories, and condolences by emailing rememberingsteve@apple.com. I plan to email about how Steve Jobs facilitated educational adoption of Apple computers. It was in school where I first began using a computer, an Apple II, because my parents could not afford to buy one. And ever since those days in the late 1980's when I was typing and playing Oregon Trail on the school's Apple computer, I have loved Apple. I cannot imagine my personal or professional life today without Apple.

And if you haven't looked at the Apple website recently, I strongly recommend that you do. It is with great class that the company has replaced all product images on their front page with a picture of Steve Jobs. If you click on the picture, it will link you to a page with the aforementioned email address for remembering Steve.

New AssistiveWare video for an Introduction to Pictello

eric@ericsailers.com — 2011-09-28T13:41:26-07:00

I want to share a new AssistiveWare video for Pictello, the storytelling app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. We created an Introduction to Pictello video divided in three chapters: playing a sample story, creating a story, and importing a story. Learn how to utilize all of the story features via demonstrations in the iOS simulator. The video is fully accessible with captions that can be viewed either in the YouTube player below (click CC) or on the Pictello website. You can also view the YouTube videos in HD and full-screen mode.

Disclosure: I do work for AssistiveWare and I am the author of this Introduction to Pictello video.

My path to working from home - Part 2: Apptastic therapy - “When we ask for something, we say ‘please’”

eric@ericsailers.com — 2011-09-18T20:21:03-07:00

Working with Proloquo2Go was the first experience I had that showed me the power of using apps. Although there weren't any other special needs apps on the market for iOS devices, there were reading, music, writing and math apps that my students with special needs could use. I was amazed to see how engaged my students were by the apps. They learned much more because the fun involved with these apps encouraged more learning. I could see that that the apps were going to completely change the way that education was delivered to students with special needs. The iOS touchscreen had incredible sensitivity in such a low cost device. It was head and shoulders above anything else available on the market for special needs. I could see that the field of special education was going to change forever.

One of the first apps I used with my students (other than Proloquo2Go) was Wheels on the Bus. The app is a musical book which involves the bus in fun, interactive pages as the classic song is played. Just like a traditional book, I realized that I could use the app for language therapy. The first time I used Wheels on the Bus with my preschool and kindergarten groups, they were immediately engaged and more interested in the speech therapy I was delivering. Using the app, I could target the expansion of sentences, grammatical structures, social language, and more. For an example of social language, there is an instance in the app when a frog swipes a cupcake from the chef without asking. I used this as an opportunity to model social language by demonstrating how to ask politely when you want something: “When we ask for something, we say ‘please’.” I would follow up by asking my students, “What do we say when we want something?” in order to elicit the response “please.” Since many of the skills contained in my students’ IEP goals could be addressed in a fun, effective way with the use of apps, I saw great value in using them. It was amazing to see the difference this cutting edge technology was making for my students.

I began wondering if the delivery of intervention could entirely involve apps. I started using other apps for reading and writing and then Proloquo2Go was released in the spring of 2009. After that, many types of special needs apps followed. There were apps for organization including reward charts; apps for dictating speech to text; and several augmentative communication apps to follow Proloquo2Go. I learned about as many apps as I could and I used them with as many students that I could to meet their IEP goals.

One of the first special needs apps I used was iReward. iReward is a visual chart that reinforces positive behaviors using rewards. For example, a star chart could be configured in the app so the child receives a toy after performing a set of positive behaviors. One of the charts I created for a student with autism was a star chart for remaining seated. He took to the app immediately and it definitely motivated him to successfully remain seated without much prompting from me. Although he couldn’t use too many words to express himself, his fingers on the iPod touch and his eye gaze told me what I needed to know: he wanted to use the device to achieve his goal. I hadn’t seen that level of interest from him previously with a standard paper chart.

After trying different apps with my students, I noticed they were increasingly more attentive. As a result, they would practice more and I was able to see progress a lot faster. Taking into account their tremendous interest and progress, I began gravitating away from all of the traditional therapy materials including traditional flashcards, paperback books, games, etc. and really focused on exploring the possibility of app-based therapy.

As my knowledge base of apps grew, I began to seek out ways to share my experience and tips with other speech-language pathologists and professionals. It seemed people were interested in using apps, but didn’t quite know how to approach them. So, I started speaking about apps and my experiences using them in therapy, and this led me in an unexpected direction.

Click here to view part 1 of "My path to working from home"

Closing the Gap Conference

eric@ericsailers.com — 2011-09-12T10:04:47-07:00

I will be participating with AssistiveWare in this year’s Closing The Gap Conference scheduled October 10-14, 2011 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. You can come see me at the AssistiveWare booth or join us for one or more of the following sessions.

Pre-conference sessions
Preconference hands-on iPad workshop 1 (presented by David Niemeijer, Mark Coppin, Eric Sailers, Jennifer Marden, Martijn Leopold, Cathy Kingeter): PC-2 An Introduction to the iPad and iPod touch as Assistive Technology Solutions. Monday, Oct 10 8:00 am – 4:30 pm.

Preconference hands-on iPad workshop 2 (presented by David Niemeijer, Mark Coppin, Eric Sailers, Jennifer Marden, Cathy Kingeter): PC-13 In-Depth Exploration of Some of the Most Advanced Assistive Technology iPad Apps. Tuesday, Oct 11 8:00 am – 4:30 pm.

Main conference sessions
Lab by Mark Coppin, Cathy Kingeter, Jennifer Marden, David Niemeijer, Eric Sailers: In-Depth, Hands-On Exploration of Leading iPad Assistive Technology Apps (Two Block Session). Wed, Oct 12, 2011 from 8:00 am – 10:30 am.

Session by Mark Coppin, Jennifer Marden, David Niemeijer and Eric Sailers: Effectively Using the iPad 2 with Communication Apps: Proloquo2Go, ArtikPix and Pictello. Wed, Oct 12, 2011 from 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm.

Lab by Jennifer Marden, David Niemeijer, Eric Sailers: In-Depth, Hands-On Exploration of Leading Speech Sound and Story Apps for iPad (Two Block Session). Wed, Oct 12, 2011 from 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm.

Lab by Mark Coppin, Cathy Kingeter, Martijn Leopold, Jennifer Marden, David Niemeijer, Eric Sailers: AAC on the iPad: Hands-On with the Latest Proloquo2Go (Two Block Session). Thu, Oct 13, 2011 from 8:00 am – 10:30 am.

Lab by Mark Coppin, Cathy Kingeter, Jennifer Marden, David Niemeijer, Eric Sailers: In-Depth, Hands-On Exploration of Leading iPad Assistive Technology Apps (REPEAT) (Two Block Session). Fri, Oct 14, 2011 from 8:00 am – 10:30 am.

Lab by Mark Coppin, Cathy Kingeter, Martijn Leopold, Jennifer Marden, David Niemeijer, Eric Sailers: AAC on the iPad: Hands-On with the Latest Proloquo2Go (REPEAT) (Two Block Session). Fri, Oct 14, 2011 from 11:00 am – 1:30 pm.

Source: AssistiveWare events page

My path to working from home - Part 1: Beta testing Proloquo2Go

eric@ericsailers.com — 2011-09-10T10:40:23-07:00

Prior to working from home, I began constructing the groundwork a while ago. And I didn’t even know it at the time. Back in the winter of 2008, I got involved in testing Proloquo2Go (an augmentative communication app for iOS devices) before the app’s release. I became a beta tester along with one of my students who has augmentative communication needs. Once my student started using Proloquo2Go on an iPod Touch, I began to think about how an app could completely change not only my student’s life, but also my life as a speech-language pathologist. I soon realized that I could use iOS apps to facilitate communication for my students.

When testing Proloquo2Go with my student, I saw that it was a very sophisticated, yet easy-to-use solution via a mobile device. It had a lot of features while the interface was very user friendly. Additionally, the mobility factor was very important for this particular student because he walks and needs to communicate wherever he goes. The AAC device he had at the time was bulky and thus limiting communication to a tabletop. Proloquo2Go with an iPod touch, on the other hand, could go with him anywhere, whether the device was in his pocket or attached to a lanyard around his neck.

I recall one day I wanted my student to use Proloquo2Go at recess with general education peers. I took him to the playground and he wanted to play soccer. Since he had an iPod touch with a protective case, I figured why not. If it would allow him to interact with students beyond his special education classroom, I was all for it.

During the soccer game, my student ran after the ball as his iPod touch with Proloquo2Go was attached to his neck with a lanyard. The general education students approached him with great interest. They wanted to know how it was possible to use the cool device to communicate. With some assistance from me, my student was able to show them by asking questions and making comments. The students were very patient in waiting for him to communicate. I was highly impressed to see the conversational exchange between them. Plus, it was amusing to see how many of the students became more interested in my student and his “talker” than in playing soccer. It was something I had never seen before and it gave me chills that ran up my spine.

This experience with Proloquo2Go was the catalyst for further exploration of apps to use with my students. My life was about to take an exciting turn as I entered a new chapter in my career.

1Password: Making my online life easier and more secure

eric@ericsailers.com — 2011-09-05T15:45:47-07:00

For a fairly long time, I have heard about the 1Password app, which involves the use of one master password for all your online passwords. I’ve read claims that 1Password will make your online life much easier and more secure. The reason is that the app automatically fills login information with a highly secure password unique to the given site. I hemmed and hawed about purchasing the app for a while, mostly because of the price: $39.99 for a single Mac license. I finally gave in and I'm very happy that I did.

About a week ago, I finally purchased 1Password for the Mac. Once I downloaded the desktop app, I investigated the 1Password extension for browsers because it appeared that the extension would be the best way to use the app for website logins. So, I downloaded the extension for main browsers including Safari, Firefox and Google Chrome. The extension enables a handy auto-save login that pops up after you create or use a website username and password. The auto-save login automatically fills in your information, then you just need to click a button to save it. Plus, the saved information is automatically saved to the desktop app and the extension downloaded across all browsers.

I immediately began using the 1Password extension on website logins for email, bank accounts, social media, product registrations, and more. Although I experienced some difficulty with changing existing passwords on websites, the app easily handled the creation of a new username and password. I typed a username and I used the password generator to generate a very secure password unique to the given site. The password generator provided passwords as a random string of lengthy numbers and letters (e.g., 15 characters long).

In addition to storing login information, 1Password can store your identity comprising personal and business profiles, and wallet information including your Social Security number, passport, and bank accounts. 1Password is highly secure so you don't have to worry about your confidential information being leaked. Your confidential information is encrypted by your master password; just remember to use a strong master password. When you walk away from your computer, you can manually lock your data or set an automatic lock that occurs after a selected period of time (e.g., 1 min. of computer inactivity).

Finally, I purchased the universal iOS app, 1Password Pro, which works very well with the Mac app. Using a local WiFi network, I easily synced my 1Password information from the computer to my iOS devices. So far, the Mac and iOS apps have been great. I can easily say that 1Password is making my online life easier and more secure.

Using Dragon Dictation to hopefully blog more

eric@ericsailers.com — 2011-09-03T10:16:43-07:00

I want to start blogging more, but I feel like I need some help. Since I enjoy helping myself independently, at least initially, I found that using the Dragon Dictation app (iTunes link) on my iPhone is easier for me to begin the writing process. At times, it’s difficult for me to begin typing what’s on my mind. When that occurs, I find myself avoiding the task all together. So, I’m hopeful that speaking my thoughts first will improve the writing process for me, and ultimately allow me to blog more.

With the Dragon Dictation app, I first record my voice, then the app performs a voice to text transcription. Subsequently, the transcription is available for exporting options. I prefer the copy option for copying the text to an email in separate parts. Usually, I can't say everything I want for a blog in a single recording because the Dragon app stops recording after about 30 seconds. So, when I want to compose a blog beginning with Dragon, I’ve found that I need to record myself in at least two parts.

After I record one part of the blog posting in Dragon Dictation, I copy the text and paste it in an email on my iPhone. Then, I return to the Dragon app to record again. Once the recording is done, I copy the new text and paste it in the same email. I continue this process as long as necessary. When I’m done with the process, I email the text to myself. Finally, I edit the text in a word processing document on my computer and paste the edited text in a WordPress post for publishing.

AssistiveWare's webinars for Proloquo2Go now available on iTunes

eric@ericsailers.com — 2011-09-02T11:23:12-07:00

AssistiveWare recently announced their Proloquo2Go Webinar Series is now available on iTunes as a video podcast. Click here or go to iTunes and search for "assistiveware webinars." Part 1, Introduction to Proloquo2Go, was released first, with subsequent webinars scheduled for weekly release. Please subscribe to the AssistiveWare Webinar Series to stay updated and join in the webinar discussions at the Webinar Forum.

9.1.11 update: Part 6, iTunes and App Store, is now available here on iTunes.
8.31.11 update: Part 5, Advanced features (Word prediction and Grammar), is now available here on iTunes.
8.26.11 update: Part 4, Backups (Professionals) and Part 4, Tips and tricks (Users, Family, Caregivers) are now available here on iTunes.
8.20.11 update: Part 3, Vocabulary customizations, is now available here on iTunes.
8.15.11 update: Part 2, App customizations, is now available here on iTunes.

Disclosure: I do work for AssistiveWare and I'm the presenter for this Proloquo2Go webinar series.