Category Archives: Products

Pick of the Week: Following Auditory Directions—Improve Auditory Processing of Visual & Spatial Information

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Improve auditory attention, processing, and memory of visual and spatial information with Following Auditory Directions by SLP Jean Gilliam DeGaetano, and save 15%* on it when you apply our promo code FAD15 at checkout!

With 33 different cartoon illustrations and accompanying instructor directions, this unit will help your students stay engaged and attentive, as they listen carefully and translate auditory directions onto their picture pages. Each instructor’s page also has directions so that parents may review lessons at home as needed. Example directions include: Circle the picture that shows Fido in front of the front door; Find the picture where Fido is in front of the dog house, and color Fido brown; and Put dots on the hippopotamus that has painted toenails and is wearing a bow.

Spatial concepts include: front, top, in, on, behind, next to, close to, long, short, most, different, none, almost, beginning, end, few, dirty, clean, inside, under, near, tall, medium, between, middle, over, center, closed and open.

Don’t forget! You can take 15% off* your order of Following Auditory Directions this week only when you mention or enter promo code FAD15 at checkout!

*Offer is valid until 11:59pm EDT on July 29, 2014. Not compatible with any other offers. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code at check out!

Pick of the Week: I Can Do That! – Learn prepositions and self-awareness with a Dr. Seuss classic!

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Practice motor skills, learn prepositions, and develop self-confidence with the award-winning Cat in the Hat I Can Do That! Game. This week only, save 15%* on your order of the I Can Do That! Game by entering or mentioning promo code CATHAT4 at check-out!

This wacky, fun-filled game will have young players moving all about as the Cat in the Hat comes to play. Flip over three cards to create a new challenge. Can you slide under the Trick-a-ma-stick with the toy boat on your head, or jump up and down with the cake between your elbows? Players will have a blast as they practice early reading skills and develop motor skills, understanding of prepositions, and self-confidence.

The game comes with: 1 Trick-a-ma-stick, 9 game pieces of objects straight from the Cat in the Hat story (e.g. cake, fish, boat, ball, book, gown, fan, toy man, rake), 1 sand timer, 33 game cards, and 1 manual.

Remember to redeem your 15% savings* on the Cat in the Hat I Can Do That! Game this week by using promo code CATHAT4 at check-out!

*Offer is valid until 11:59pm EDT on July 22, 2014. Not compatible with any other offers. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code at check out!

Pick of the Week: Auditory Timer – ONLY $5 This Week!

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DRT207Keep your student on schedule with our popular Auditory Timer, and get yours for $7.95 only $5 this week (37% savings)! Enter promo code TIMER5 to redeem your savings at check out!

Our versatile white Auditory Timer can count both forwards and backwards, up to 99 minutes. The timer also counts seconds, and beeps when time has elapsed. You can also set it to go off in increments, such as every 5 minutes, with the simple push of one button. Press “START/STOP” to begin or stop timing. Then press both the “MIN” and “SEC” buttons simultaneously to reset the time. The personal timer also has a magnetized clip on the back so that it can be attached to pockets, belts, or the refrigerator. Only 1 AAA battery required.

Don’t forget—you can get your Auditory Timer for only $5 this week (37% savings) by using promo code TIMER5 at check out!

*Offer is valid until 11:59pm EDT on July 15, 2014. Not compatible with any other offers. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code at check out!

Modified Instructions for Laundry Jumble Game

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We’re excited to bring you the fifth installment of our series of Modified Instructions, created by Sam Blanco, BCBA. In this installment, we’re introducing Sam’s Modified Instructions for Laundry Jumble Game, one of our favorite matching and sorting games. Laundry Jumble is an adorable matching and sorting game that also develops tactile and fine motor skills.

Beautifully illustrated cards display various animals that tell users which article of clothing they need to find. Reach into the dryer to find the piece of clothing that matches the card using only your sense of touch. Make a match and you can keep your card. Watch out for the Skunk’s undies, though! Draw that and you lose a card. This is a fun and engaging game that encourages tactile exploration and fine motor skills with laughter.

Included in the game are 11 pieces of washable doll–size clothing, 30 game cards featuring full–color illustrations, and a fabric dryer measuring 8″L x 6.5″W x 10″H. Don’t forget to download our free Modified Instructions for Laundry Jumble Game today!

Sam’s Modified Instructions present 3-4 additional ways to play a mainstream game to make it most useful and accessible for our students with special needs.  These alternative instructions break down each adapted game by:

  • Age/Skill Level
  • Number of Players
  • Object
  • Skills Required
  • Materials Needed
  • Prep
  • Instructions
  • Considerations

Newly Released: The VB-MAPP Guide, 2nd Edition

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VB-MAPP Guide 2014 Cover.inddUpdate: The Second Edition of the VB-MAPP Guide has just been released. The 2nd Edition of the VB-MAPP Instructor’s Manual and Placement Guide contains an upgraded description of how to use Skinner’s analysis of verbal behavior for language assessment, the assessment instructions, and the specific scoring criteria for each of the 170 milestones. In addition, the manual contains a placement guide that offers specific suggestions for programming and direction for each of the 170 milestones achieved, as well as suggestions for IEP goals for each skill presented in the three levels of the VB-MAPP.

Don’t worry – the Guide is still compatible with the original Protocol! The Second Edition of the VB-MAPP Guide corresponds with the existing VB-MAPP Protocols and will not affect any Protocols you currently own.

Bulk discounts will continue to apply to the VB-MAPP Guide, 2nd Edition. Save 10% on the unit price if you buy 10 or more, and save 20% if you buy 25 or more of the Guide.

Pick of the Week: “The Cow Says Moo” – 10 Tips to Teach Your Toddler to Talk

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Teach your child to communicate with words and expand his or her language skills with the new early intervention guide The Cow Says Moo. And this week only, you can take 15% off* your purchase of The Cow Says Moo by entering in our promo code MOO15 at check out!

The Cow Says Moo is an early intervention guide that teaches parents easy-to-use, common-sense strategies for helping their children learn to communicate. The 10 tips and appendices filled with songs, checklists, and resources rely on the same methods that practitioners use when providing direct home-based speech therapy to toddlers and their families.

Tips focus on things like giving your child a reason to talk, using sign language, oral motor exercises, finding the right word, pairing movement with sound and more.

This simple guide delivers speech therapy activities that any parent can implement right away.

Save 15%* on your order of The Cow Says Moo this week by mentioning or entering in promo code MOO15 at checkout.

*Offer is valid until 11:59pm EDT on July 1, 2014. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no dashes or spaces in your code at check out!

Pick of the Week: Decisions ColorCards – Teach reasoning skills in problem situations

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Inspire rational decision-making with Decisions, a set of 30 beautifully clear images printed on large photo cards. This week only, you can take 15% off* your order of the Decisions ColorCards by entering in promo code DECIS6 at checkout!

Each card depicts an unexpected, unwelcome, or difficult situation to encourage logical thinking, using reasoning skills, and making prompt and rational decisions. Each scene presents a problem or requires specific decisions to be made, and varies from minor difficulties that upset daily life (e.g. missing a bus, waiting for a visitor) to elements of risk and danger (e.g. finding a pan on fire in the kitchen, stopping a water leak from the ceiling).

With the Decisions ColorCards, students will learn to:
  • make responsible choices
  • develop independent thought
  • keep safe
  • recognize consequences of intervening
  • understand the differences between minor difficulties and emergencies
  • find a balance between acting quickly and considering all aspects of a situation

Also included in this set is a CD-Rom that features printable versions of each card and graphic organizers that are useful for prompting meaning conversation.

Don’t forget—this week only, save 15%* on your purchase of the Decisions ColorCards by using or mentioning promo code DECIS6 when you check out online or over the phone with us!

*Offer is valid until 11:59pm EDT on June 24, 2014. Not compatible with any other offers. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code at check out!

Different Roads iOS Apps Now Feature Family Sharing

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Apple has recently introduced a new Family Sharing feature, which allows up to 6 family members to browse and access each other’s iTunes, iBooks, and App Store purchases, as well as share photos, calendars, and locations with each other. We’re excited to announce that all of our Different Roads apps in the iTunes App Store have also begun to support this feature. Family Sharing also includes parental controls, enabling parents to approve purchases and downloads initiated by children first.

Different Roads to Learning Apps

Clean Up Cateogory Sorting AppClean-Up: Category Sorting  This highly-rated interactive program develops language, reasoning, and sorting and classifying skills in young learners. Players must “clean up” by putting 75 photographic images of toys, food, and clothing away in the correct shopping cart, refrigerator, or toy box. Each target is introduced by its label (“Where does the Apple go?”) in each round where players see 15 unique images. Correct responses receive visual and auditory reinforcement while incorrect answers are corrected by a visual prompt of the correct answer flashing. This app builds foundational sorting skills for students just developing their sorting and classifying skills. Available on iPhone and iPad.

Whats that Sound App

What’s that Sound? Learning to Listen and Identify Sounds  This interactive and easy-to-grasp game develops auditory discrimination and processing skills in young learners. Players will improve their skills by matching objects and their associated sounds. Simple auditory processing skills lay the foundation for learning how to read, speak and spell.
Available on iPhone and iPad.

 

What Goes Together App

What Goes Together?  This interactive program develops language, discrimination, and reasoning skills in young learners. Clear, colorful images of everyday objects promote an understanding of functions and the relationships between items that children encounter on a daily basis. With built-in reinforcement and error correction, this game provides a solid foundation in building critical expressive and receptive language skills. Available on iPhone and iPad.

Tell Me About It App

Tell Me About It!  Featured as Editor’s Choice on Best Apps for Kids, this universal app is specifically designed for children with autism and other speech and language delays. Based on the Applied Behavioral Analysis approach, this program mimics an actual one-on-one instructional session with a therapist. The app provides 15 categories of language targets, such as body parts, household items, clothing and food, and six levels of difficulty, which progressively become more difficult, from labelling to shared feature, function, and category. This app also features an easy-to-read report card, which provides tracking data for each child and an option to e-mail the report card results. Available on iPhone and iPad.

To discover all of our current apps and what Family Sharing can do for your family, visit our iTunes App Store page.

Data Sheets Now Available for Hooray for Play!

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I get pretty excited about pretend play and it isn’t unusual for me to engage colleagues at length in a conversation about how it can be incorporated into a learner’s home program using naturalistic behavioral methods. I can go on and on about all of the various play schemas that can be taught, my observations regarding which play schemas are of the greatest interest to the learner’s peer group at the moment, and regular items from around the house that can be incorporated as props.

The Hooray for Play! cards break down all of this information into a framework that is easy to reference and remember. Additionally, the simple illustrations provide visual stimuli to facilitate conversation about various schemas, to prime a student before play begins, or to help facilitate choice during pretend play. However, it isn’t long into our conversation when my colleagues ask, “What about the data?” Of course, this is where the conversation ends up because in an ABA program, all decisions are data-driven and based on observable and clearly defined target behaviors. However, with something as fluid as pretend play, it can sometimes feel a bit daunting to break the play down into smaller parts without scripting it completely.

The Hooray for Play! Data Sheets allow for the most salient elements of a play schema to be taught while still leaving room for variation and flexibility, which can be critical when generalizing to peers. Additionally, the targets are not predetermined so that they can be individualized for the learner. Below, you will find an example of the data sheet with some rows filled in to illustrate what it might look like. A blank version is also available in the set, so that it can be individualized for a specific learner.

HoorayForPlay_DataSheets_Example

There are a variety of techniques founded in the science of Applied Behavior Analysis that are effective in increasing and improving play skills. Research-based procedures can range from very structured to more naturalistic and should be chosen based on an approach best suited for the learner.

Some examples include:

  • Video Modeling
  • Play Scripts
  • Pivotal Response Training (PRT)
  • Peer Training

References:
Charlop-Christy, M. H., Le, L., & Freeman, K. A. (2000). A comparison of video modeling with in vivo modeling for teaching children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 30 (6), 537-552.

Goldstein, H. & Cisar, C.L. (1992). Promoting interaction during sociodramatic play: teaching scripts to typical preschoolers and classmates with disabilities. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 25, 265–80.

Koegel, L.K., Koegel, R.L., Harrower, J.K. & Carter, C.M. (1999). Pivotal response intervention. I: Overview of approach. Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 25, 174-85.

Stahmer, A.C. (1999). Using pivotal response training to facilitate appropriate play in children with autistic spectrum disorders. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 15, 29–40.

Pierce, K. & Schreibman, L. (1997). Using peer trainers to promote social behavior in autism: Are they effective at enhancing multiple social modalities? Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 12, 207–18.

Pick of the Week: Watch It! Elapsed Time Clock

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Teach elapsed time with this classroom tool featuring two analog wristwatches with correlating digital clocks. The Watch It! Elapsed Time Clock is a simple, non-electronic, and clear way to teach elapsed time. This week only, save 15%* on your order of the Watch It! Elapsed Time Clock by using promo code WATCHIT at check out!

To operate the clock, simply move the minute hand on the first watch to your desired start time and the minute hand on the second watch to your finish time—the digital clocks underneath will automatically adjust. Then, slide open the cover on the answer window to see the elapsed time or keep it closed to quiz students. You can also use it to teach reading analog time and for practice on adding time. No batteries are required.

The Watch It! Elapsed Time Clock comes with two large, analog-geared wristwatches, two correlating digital clocks, an elapsed time answer window with a push-button quiz door, and a Teacher Guide with multilingual instructions (i.e. English, Spanish, French, and German).

This week only, take 15% off* your purchase of the new Watch It! Elapsed Time Clock by mentioning or entering promo code WATCHIT when you check out by phone or online.

*Offer is valid until 11:59pm ET on June 17, 2014. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces or dashes in your code at checkout!