i Get... Going to the Playground

i Get… Going to the Playground Vocabulary Photo Books and Social Skills Stories

i Get... Going to the Playground is an application providing a photo social story for individuals that need support in understanding the process of going to the playground. Twenty-four icons with real picture images are used to illustrate the sequence of events. Text statements can be individualized for each picture allowing the app to be used for a variety of purposes, including receptive identification and expressive labeling. Personal photos can be added by the user with a camera ready Apple device or imported from the user’s photo album. Typically developing young children planning a trip to the playground and individuals with developmental delays, such as PDD-NOS and autism will benefit from this interactive application. Parents, teachers, SLP’s and other support professionals will appreciate the user friendly design.

Features

Twenty-four pre-made icons and twenty-one user made icons provide a sequential order of events that can occur at a playground.
Real-life photos or playground equipment provide detailed illustrations.
Audio may be added by the user for each step.
Storyline can be personalized for the individual user
Changes to the information are easily made in the settings section.
Display order of the icons can be selected by the user.
All icons may be replaced with personalized photos.
Completion of each task can be indicated by the use of a checkmark feature.

Ideas for using i Get… Going to the Playground

i Get… Going to the Playground can be used to help a student compose a visual plan for recess time. Include social, gross motor and/or academic goals. First, in the “Settings” section of the app, organize the playground activities into sequential order. Turn “off” the unused icons. Create any custom pages that are needed. Then, provide written details in the text box for the included icons. For example, 1) Play with Sarah on the see saw. 2) Go down the slide 4 times. 3) Ask Jonathan to go on the swings. 4) Play until the whistle blows.
Use i Get… Going to the Playground as a visual support to target narrative discourse objectives. While at the playground, pictures can easily be taken of the child in various activities using the camera button in the app on your camera ready device. Custom pages for novel activities are easily created in the “Settings” section. Written details can be added in the text box of each page. Using the pictures and text, the child can be more independent and descriptive in sharing his/her adventure on the playground with family members and friends.
Target social skill objectives by cuing communicative intents, such as requesting and commenting. Questions, such as “Can I have a turn?” or “Will you push me?” and statements, such as “I like swinging on the swings.”, can be created using custom icon pages. By including picture and text support for these targets in the app, students have visual cues to review each target area after instruction.
Support executive functioning weaknesses by using the app to problem solve for a variety of situations that may occur on the playground. What do you do when the slide is wet? How do you climb up the rock wall? What do you do if there are too many people on the tire swing?
Address possible behavior issues by including rules and behavioral expectations in the app. Picture modeling of expectations can be illustrated on a custom page by taking a picture using a camera ready Apple device. Rules for individual pieces of equipment can be typed in the notes section of the icon by opening the “Settings” section or presented on a custom icon page.
Practice verb tenses. After going on the playground, the child can use the pictures to tell what happened during the visit using past tense verb forms. Have the child use future tense verbs while planning a visit to a playground.
Use i Get… Going to the Playground to take pictures of classmates on the playground. Use the pronouns “he,” “she,” and “they” while describing the pictures. The personal pronoun “I” can be targeted by importing pictures or taking pictures of the child on the playground using a camera ready device. Prompts may be added by including sentence structure support in the text box and fading as needed.