Category Archives: Pick of the Week

Pick of the Week: Should I or Shouldn’t I?

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New from the Social Thinking team, Should I or Shouldn’t I? encourages players to think about their own behavior choices and compare how their perceptions match—or don’t—those of others. The game is built on the idea of perspective-taking and explores social behaviors from different viewpoints to help develop understanding of how these affect relationships with others. The object of the game is to have players think about their own thoughts and behaviors and those of others in various situations. This week, we’re featuring both the Middle/High School and Elementary School editions as our Pick of the Week with a 15% discount to your order. Just enter in promo code SHOULDI3 to redeem your savings at checkout.

The brand-new Elementary School edition fosters important discussions about social situations that elementary-aged students ages 8-11 may encounter at home, at school, and out in the community. Between the ages of 8-11, the social demands placed on kids begin to change. Teachers expect kids to be more socially aware of others and be more independent in monitoring their own social behaviors. Kids of this age are also expected to successfully navigate unstructured social experiences such as recess and lunch. For many, this is difficult. As kids move through grades 3-5, play also changes from being imaginative to being competitive. Kids “hang out” more, which often translates into increasingly sophisticated conversations where group members must figure out other people’s motives and intentions. Overall, social nuance becomes much more complex.

This game gives kids a chance to explore this shifting social landscape and learn how their own views compare/contrast with the way their peers view things. The Prompt and Challenge cards address a wide range of age-matched situations that arise at school, during down time together, or in the community. However, it is always wise for parents or therapists to read through the cards and remove those that may be inappropriate for any of the players or that are mismatched to their level of social functioning or social understanding.

 

The Middle/High School edition is designed to give preteens and teens a fun and motivating way to improve their social sense, practice taking the perspectives of others, and discuss relevant teen issues in a nonjudgmental setting. Questions posed on the Prompt and Challenge cards address a wide variety of teenage-related situations, such as interacting at home, at school, at a friend’s home, the mall, the grocery store, at a party or the library, at the movies or on a date.  For some alternative ways to play, check out Sam Blanco‘s set of Modified Instructions for the Middle/High School edition of this game.
Each edition can be played 1-on-1 with a therapist or in a group of up to 6 players. Each set includes: 100 Prompt cards to practice perspective taking; 50 Challenge cards that help generalize learning; 6 sets of Voting Cards; 6 copies of the 5-Point Behavior Rating Scale; and a Teaching Guide that provides in depth instruction for preparing students to play and meeting the unique needs of each individual learner.Should I or Shouldn’t I? will be perfect if you are looking for structured activities to teach complex social skills to elementary school-aged and teens with autism or other developmental delays. Don’t forget—this week only, you can save 15% on your order of the Should I or Shouldn’t I? Elementary School Edition or Middle/High School Edition by entering in SHOULDI3 at checkout.

Pick of the Week: Inchimals

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We couldn’t be more excited to introduce these versatile, beautiful animal blocks into our product line. We’ve been playing and talking about the Inchimals and all of the ways you can use them to teach myriad skills to learners of so many ages. Beautifully crafted and thoughtfully designed, Inchimals contains 12 wooden animal blocks measuring anywhere from 1″—the tiny ladybug—to 12″—the towering giraffe. This award-winning game is a fun and effective way to teach measurement, number concept, addition, subtraction and pre-algebra to children of many ages. And this week only, you can save 15% on the new Inchimals by entering promo code INCH25 at checkout.

With exact inch segments, written numerals, representative dots, and cute animals, Inchimals is a multi-purpose toy that encourages creativity, interaction, logic and mathematics mastery. And even better, it comes with a write on/wipe off puzzle book that features 100 puzzles to use in conjunction with the blocks!

With Inchimals, you can:

  • Practice counting
  • Sequence Inchimal blocks from the shortest to the longest
  • Introduce vocabulary – shorter, taller, longer, height, length, distance, perimeter
  • Explore individual segments, numbers & dots on each Inchimal block
  • Learn addition and subtraction concepts
  • Master pre-algebra understandings and balance equations
  • Stand Inchimals blocks side by side or stack neatly to promote fine motor control
  • Invite creative thinking, language & dialogue, and dramatic play

Let us know your favorite use of the Inchimals and don’t forget – this week only, you can save 15% by entering INCH25 at checkout!

Pick of the Week: Grandma’s Trunk Alphabet Game

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ProductWith five games in one, the options for practicing letter names and sounds, along with memory skills and story-telling are endless in the Grandma’s Trunk Alphabet Game. This set of 26 illustrated alphabet picture cards, 26 riddle cards, and guide all packed in one trunk allows you and your student to work on auditory memory skills and listening comprehension while playing What Comes Next?, Memory, Letter Sequence Memory, Grandma’s Adventures, or Riddles. Each game involves the child pulling an alphabet card and then using a visual prompt to reach a goal, whether it’s sorting, recalling, creating a story, or solving a riddle.

This week only, take 15%* off your purchase of the Grandma’s Trunk Alphabet Game by using our promo code TRUNK3 at checkout!

The 5 games included in Grandma’s Trunk are:

  1. What Comes Next? Take turns placing the letter cards in the trunk in alphabetical order.
  2. Memory Take turns repeating the sequence of cards already in the trunk, then adding one of your own and challenging other players to remember them all, in order.
  3. Letter Sequence Memory Deal the cards and take turns putting them in the trunk in alphabetical order, repeating the items already in the trunk and challenging other players to remember them all, in alphabetical order.
  4. Grandma’s Adventures Place the letter cards in the trunk and take turns pulling them out to create a cooperative story: “Once upon a time there was a grandma. She saw an iguana.”
  5. Grandma’s Riddles Deal the cards and then read a riddle and race to see who has the letter card that answers it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Offer is valid through Feb. 18th, 2014 at 11:59pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in the code at checkout!

Pick of the Week: “Introducing Inference”

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Our ability to infer or to draw conclusions given partial information is a cornerstone of our reasoning process. It is important for students to be able to infer or draw conclusions in their daily lives as well as in academic settings comfortably and confidently. Guessing, implying, hinting, suggesting, supposing and reasoning are just a few of the mental processes in which we draw inference. For language students, using inference as they problem-solve will also enable them to explain how they come to their conclusions. This week only, we are offering a 15% discount on one of our favorites, “Introducing Inference” by Marilyn Toomey, to help you make inference more friendly to your student. Just enter in our promotional code INFER11 at checkout to redeem your savings.

The aim is to teach students that using inference in their reasoning process is using their best judgment. In the first part of the book, students identify missing parts of people, objects, or animals.  For example, an image of bike with a missing wheel is accompanied by “A bicycle is supposed to have two ______, but this bicycle has only one. One ______ is missing.”

Sample

In later activities, students move on to looking for missing information in sequenced events that are presented in pictures. They are asked to explain what part of the sequence or process is missing. Finally, students will learn to predict and analyze outcomes as they read or listen to simple scenarios.

Click here for a preview of the inside of the book!

Remember, this week only, save 15%* on your order of “Introducing Inference” by entering in promo code INFER11 at checkout!

*Offer is valid through Feb. 11, 2014 at 11:59pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in the code at checkout!

Pick of the Week: 1 to 10 Counting Cans

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Introduce early math to your students with this vibrant set of 1 to 10 Counting Cans. These cans depict and contain 1 to 10 kinds of colorful fruits and vegetables for your young learner to practice counting, number recognition, and sorting. This week only, save 15% on your order of the 1 to 10 Counting Cans for by entering in our promotional code COUNT10 at checkout!

Children will also be able to expand their knowledge of a variety of fruits and vegetables that are typically not found in other play food manipulatives. This set of 55 plastic fruits and vegetables will reinforce everyday vocabulary, fine motor skills, and number sense in learners in grades pre-K and up. Each can measures 3 by 4.25 inches.

Don’t forget — this week only, you can get your own set of the 1 to 10 Counting Cans for $39.91 reduced from $46.95 by using code COUNT10 at checkout.

*Offer valid until Feb. 4, 2014 at 11:59pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in the code at checkout!

Pick of the Week: NEW! Fidgets Kit

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We’re thrilled to introduce this brand new Fidgets Kit, exclusively created and brought to you by Different Roads in conjunction with our Behavioral Consultant Stacy Asay.

Fidget toys can be a great and socially acceptable replacement for stereotypic or repetitive behavior in the classroom or community. Some students find the repetitive action of “fidgeting” to be calming and are then better able to focus on the task at hand. Additionally, some students who have a difficult time staying still are able to sustain sitting behavior for longer periods with less support or prompting when they are manipulating something repeatedly in their hands.

In honor of the arrival of this great new kit, this week only, take 15% off of the Fidgets Kit by entering in our promotional code FIDGETS at checkout!

We’ve assembled this Fidgets Kit to include an array of items that can provide a variety of sensory experiences: stretchy, chewy, spiky, twisty, bumpy, twisty, clicky, bouncy and smooshy! We’ve included a variety of items that vary in texture or are manipulated in different ways so that they can be rotated regularly. The components have also been chosen so that they can be worn on the wrist, clipped to a belt, handheld, or attached to a piece of clothing.

Remember, this week only, take 15% off* your order of the Fidgets Kit by applying FIDGETS at checkout!

*Offer valid through 01/28/14 at 11:59pm EST. Not valid with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in the code at checkout!

Pick of the Week: “Effective Instruction for Children with Autism”

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Effective Instruction for Children with Autism: An Applied Behavior Analytic Approach is a comprehensive manual that comes with a robust CD-Rom that aims to help children with autism achieve the highest possible levels of independence and happiness. Written by Robert F. Gulick and Thomas P. Kitchen, this manual provides step-by-step instructions on identifying autism spectrum disorders, using effective interventions, maximizing reinforcers, collecting and analyzing data, engaging in reciprocal social interactions, developing individualized curriculum, and much more. This week only, we’re offering a 15% discount* on this all-inclusive Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) reference to help you design a more effective and valuable ABA program for your student or child. Just enter in promo code BLOGEIC5 at checkout to redeem your savings.
 
This manual is divided into two main components: (1) an overview of Applied Behavior Analysis and (2) instructional techniques and methodologies used in the ABA approach. The manual strives to address what the authors identify as the core impairments related to autism—communication, social/play interaction, cognitive development, and aberrant behavior. For each of these impairments, there is a comprehensive description and a strategic course of action for working through and around them.
 
Click here for a preview of the inside of the book.
 
Included in your purchase is the CD-Rom that offers an invaluable resource of information accompanied by instructional data forms, graphs, lessons, and target behavior forms. Detailed sample skills programs cover attributes, auditory discrimination, categories, pre-writing, intraverbal FFC, play, prepositions, pronouns, Wh-questions, and more. Also offered on the CD are instructional videos that demonstrate discrete trial instruction, prompting, self-modeling, as well as functional analysis. This CD is perfect for anyone seeking concrete information and data on how to teach children with autism.
 
Remember, this week only, save 15%* on your order of Effective Instruction for Children with Autism by entering in BLOGEIC5 at checkout!
 
*Offer valid through 01/21/14 at 11:59pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in the code at checkout!

Pick of the Week: On Track! Responsibility and Behavior System

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On Track! Responsibility and Behavior System

Start off the New Year on the right foot with this great tool to keep your family organized: the On Track! Responsibility & Behavior System. Establish clear expectations and logical consequences so that you can reduce the day-to-day arguments and chaos. The On Track! Responsibility and Behavior System incorporates household chores, daily to-do lists, money management, and behavioral issues into life lessons that teach organizational skills, accountability, and self-reliance. Targeted towards children ages 8 and up, the On Track! Responsibility and Behavior System is ideal for middle school-aged kids. Using the system will help instill independence in your child by establishing clear expectations and logical consequences. And this week only, you can save 15% by entering promo code BLOGTRB8 at checkout!

Worksheets, to-do lists, dry-and-erase markers, behavior contract, and more!The On Track! Responsibility and Behavior System includes:

  • Dry-and-erase Markers
  • Behavioral Contract
  • Dry-and-erase To-Do and Chore Lists (2 each)
  • Family Rules Sheet
  • 16-page Instructional Guide & worksheets to help families work together
  • The deluxe pocketed caddy – so it can be displayed on the wall, door, or any area

Remember, this week only, take 15% off your purchase of the On Track! Responsibility and Behavior System by entering in BLOGTRB8 at checkout.

*Offer valid through 01/14/14 at 11:59pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in the code at checkout!

Pick of the Week: Sorting Suitcase

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We’re delighted to share one of our favorite products with you as our Pick of the Week – the Sorting Suitcase!  This wonderful activity kit allows learners to practice matching and patterning skills, as they learn to sort shirts, shoes, shorts, and socks by one or two attributes.

Order the Sorting Suitcase this week and save 15% off the usual price of $19.95.  Just enter the Promo Code BLOGSORT3 at checkout to redeem your savings.

The suitcase comes with 40 double-sided clothing cards and 10 double-sided activity cards that ask children to “find all the blue items” or “find all the shirts with stars.” Even better, the cards are all write-on/wipe-off and can be used over and over again with dry erase markers. Finally, 5 blank write-on and wipe-off cards in the kit allow you to customize the activity to your student’s needs. This kit is perfect for easy clean-up and portability for those on the go.

Don’t forget, this week only, take 15% off* your order of the Sorting Suitcase by entering in our code BLOGSORT3 at check out.

*Offer valid through 12/24/13 at 11:59pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in the code at checkout!

Pick of the Week: Tiggly Shapes (with Free Shipping!)

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We’re really excited to share Tiggly Shapes with you: the first interactive iPad toy designed for toddlers. You have to see it to believe how cool and versatile this new product is.

Tiggly Shapes combines the essential educational benefits of physical play with the learning potential and fun of the iPad. This simple set of four geometric shapes interacts with three free apps to create an ideal learning environment for children. Tiggly Shapes melds the best of what the digital world has to offer with the developmental importance of manipulative play in toddlers and preschoolers.

Our Board Certified Behavior Analyst Sam Blanco just put together a review for Tiggly and how she uses it with her students. Read it in full here.

This week only, we’re offering FREE DOMESTIC SHIPPING on Tiggly Shapes. Just enter the Promo Code TIGGLY at checkout and simply select FREE UPS or USPS Shipping. This makes a perfect holiday gift for the child in your life.

Seventy years of academic research has demonstrated that manipulating physical objects is essential to early childhood development. Tiggly enables parents to bring this critical component of early learning to the “digital sandbox” today’s kids inhabit. The product consists of a simple triangle, circle, square, and star that become interactive when used with the three Tiggly apps to create a robust learning experience.

Tiggly Shapes and apps are designed for children ages 18 months to 4 years old.

The Apps, available for free on iTunes, are:

Tiggly Safari
Use the shapes to construct friendly and adorable animals for the jungle, farm and sea.

Tiggly Safari Screenshot Learn basic shapes with Tiggly Safari!

 

 

 

 

 

Tiggly Stamp
This app has a great voice record and camera option that allows you to create an image, tell a story and record it. Use the shapes in this app to build seasonally-themed scenes using everything from jack-o’-lanterns to igloos.

Create animals, fruit, and other characters with Tiggly Shapes.Create a story with Tiggly Shapes and Stamps!

 

 

 

 

 

Tiggly Draw
Channel your inner artist and use the tablet as a blank canvas to create your masterpiece.

Tiggly Draw Screenshot

Exercise creativity by taking and saving photos!

 

 

 

 

 

Remember, this week only, get free domestic shipping on your order of Tiggly Shapes when you enter in the promo code TIGGLY at checkout!

**Offer expires 12/17/13 at 11:59pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces in the promo code at checkout!