Choiceworks vs First & Then

Choiceworks is a visual support app that helps make the day easier to understand. It is designed for children, teens, adults, and families who benefit from visual structure, clear routines, and support with transitions, waiting, choices, and feelings. Families, caregivers, educators, and therapists can create customized visual boards using pictures, text, video, and recorded audio. Boards can be used at home, in therapy, during appointments, while traveling, or anywhere a visual plan helps. Choiceworks includes four board types: • Schedule boards show what is happening now and what comes next • Waiting boards make waiting more concrete with a visual timer and activity choices • Feelings boards support communication about emotions, choices, and next steps • Feelings Scale boards help show how big a feeling is and what can help at each level Features include: • Visual schedule, waiting, feelings, and Feelings Scale boards • Visual timers for schedules and waiting • Custom pictures, video, text, and recorded audio • Multiple profiles • Import and export of Choiceworks board files • Send a copy of a board by AirDrop, Files, or email • Optional iCloud Sync & Backup across your own devices signed into the same Apple ID • App menus, included board labels, included card text, and spoken card words in English, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, German, French, and Portuguese • VoiceOver support Choiceworks has no ads, no tracking, and no accounts to create. Your boards, photos, videos, and recordings stay on your device and in your own iCloud. One purchase includes everything. No subscriptions.

Designed by an Occupational Therapist. First & Then is a very simple app that uses a board with photos to show that one activity must happen before the next can occur. A fantastic tool for visual learners! The idea behind a First & Then board is to encourage a child to complete an activity that they don’t particularly enjoy. The board motivates the child to engage in a less preferred activity, knowing that a preferred activity (or a reward) will follow. For example, the ‘first’ activity may be something such as handwriting, homework, eating vegetables, using the toilet or visiting the dentist. The ‘then’ activity may be playing outside, computer time or a chocolate treat. The App is extremely simple to use, the board is set up from one page, with clear prompts to help along the way. The app allows the user to quickly and simply insert photos from the device’s camera or photo library, meaning that ‘First & Then’ boards can be made on-the-go and with little fuss. Photos taken are saved within the App to use again and again. The app includes a coloured visual timer, that the user can choose to use, to show the child how long they need to spend on an activity. As well as a digital display, the time is also represented by a coloured pie chart. When the pie is green, the child needs to keep going. When the pie turns amber, the child needs to get ready to finish. The pie turns red when it is time to stop the activity. The app also includes a ‘Finished box’. The child can drag the photo into this box when the activity is completed. The App is complete with the option to use exciting tones to reward the child for completing the activity.