Visual Supports: Shopping List Bingo on the iPad

As I interview parents about community outings, many share frustrations with grocery store visits.  We often discuss strategies for providing distractions throughout the store in order to avoid challenging behaviors.  A short visual shopping list gives the little shopper a chore.  This activity keeps the little shopper busy and promotes early literacy skills, vocabulary building and conversation between the adult shopper and little shopper.  I used the app Pages to create the visual, then took a screenshot of the visual.  For the Bingo part of the activity, I used the app, Doodle Buddy.  Doodle Buddy is a free app, but there are some advertisements.   To pull up the visual, choose the tic tac toe icon on the bottom, choose "photos" then "camera roll".  Select the screenshot.  

 For younger shoppers, use the stamp icon to select an image.  As the little shopper finds the items, he or she stamps the image.

For older, little shoppers, consider choosing the writing tool so the little shopper can practice some fine motor skills by making some Xs or scribbling on the item.  Guided access can be used to keep the child in the app and disable the icons not being used.  This activity can also be used as a strategy for completing a sequence such as dressing or the bedtime routine.

Creating an interactive Visual Schedule on the iPad using Pages

I have not purchased a visual schedule app yet.  I know there are many available, I just haven't taken the time to research the apps and make a decision.  Our department uses schedules with many of our students for many different reasons.  We go through a large amount of expensive laminating film and velcro to create the schedules.  As an alternative, my co-worker recently created some schedules for her Interactive White Board. On the IWB, she used a garbage can for the "all done" box and she figured out how to move objects to the front and back so that the schedule pictures can hide behind the trash can.  As she demonstrated this activity, I remembered seeing this same "move to the front" and "move to the back" option while working with the Pages app on the iPad.  I tried this on the iPad using Pages and Keynote, it is a very similar process for both apps. Here is a video demonstration of the process using Pages.

Here is the process in screenshots.  The first two screenshots demonstrate how to add the pictures, create the grid and add the numbers using a text box. To make locating the pictures a little easier,  I created a Schedule Pictures album in my photo album app.  

After all of the pictures are in place, the garbage can needs to be moved to the front and the other pictures need to be moved to the back.  The screenshot above demonstrates how to do this.  First, tap the garbage can, then the paintbrush.  Move the switch to the far right, so the garbage can will be in the front.  Repeat this process with each schedule picture, moving the switch to the far left so that the schedule pictures will be in the back.  Make sure the schedule pictures are smaller than the garbage can so that they can be completely hidden when moved behind the can.

This schedule can be projected during circle time, allowing you to move each item to the garbage can when it is completed.  To move the object, tap on it until the blue box appears, then drag it to the garbage can.  You could also use Pages and the iPad to make a work station schedule, individual student schedule, or a sequence board for dressing and other tasks. Our program uses horizontal schedules, but you could make a vertical schedule by rotating the items.  It takes some practice and patience to become proficient at rotating objects on the iPad, but it can be done!  I am going to continue to post some other ideas for activities using Pages and Keynote, they are very versatile apps.