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The application is in English (as well as in Spanish) although sample activities provided are in Spanish. You can customize or create new ones with the pictures and sounds you want, including synthesized sounds (Text-To-Speech) in English.Picaa aims to bring flexibility and adaptability in the education of children with special needs (autism, PDD, Down Syndrome, etc). The app allows defining five kinds of activities fully customizable to be performed by the users:- Exploration: this activity can be used like an augmentative and alternative communicator (AAC) system. Exploration activities also can be used like navigation-based histories that let students learn concepts through the navigation of a hypermedia system with components.- Association: the student must indicate relationships between elements that belong to several sets.- Puzzle: a decomposed image must be rebuilt from multiple pieces. Number, size and shape of pieces can be configured.- Sorting/selection: a list of elements that must be ordered in a sequence or where the user must find a particular item.- Memory (Memory-Match). Create activities for working memory, can use images and text.More innovating factors of the platform are:- It is designed like a mobile platform, following an approach where activities run on entertainment mobile devices that turn out to be more attractive to users.- It provides support for group work, fostering integration and interaction with other users.- It has the capability of user adaptation and content customization.- It provides functions to synthesize sounds (requires WiFi/3G connection).- Activities can be shared via email or can be imported/exported via iTunes sharing files feature.

1. Visual Cue: prompt using pictures Show the picture of destination rather than repeatedly saying “We are going to go to the school.” Their concern might be coming from uncertainty of where they are going. Usually general noun is hard to remind them the real destination. Temple Grandin said one day, when she heard a word “church” it reminds her a lot of various real pictures of churches. Just show them the exact image for the next thing, no worries about verbal learning. “Visual Cue” supports playing a recorded sound of the destination as well. 2. First ~ Then: simple cause and result Let them know what’s going to happen after they accomplish one thing using a sequential picture though “First ~ Then.” You can show the first image as a condition to have the second one. For example, show picture of wash hands at first then show their favorite snack. It makes them understand clearly what they need to do for the compensation as a contingency. 3. Which One? Dude, we are living in the lots of choice! Give them a choice via pictures. You can show them as many as 4 pictures to choose from. If they are non-verbal then it is hard to know what they want or where they want to go, etc. You can show them a few pictures of places, food, objects, even photos of friends. Suddenly they are happy to get the freedom of choice and it makes your life easier by seamless communication. 4. Count Up: another token system with rewarding animation and sound Do you want to encourage a good behavior by visual cue framework? You can add a star by tapping and give an interesting reward when predefined number of stars has reached. 5. Count Down: a time keeper for transition Hard time at transition? This count down tool will remind them how much time they have left until they need to stop playing or to go home. You can count it down by tapping manually until 0. 6. Visual Scheduler: a guide map for visual thinkers Not enough with a couple of pictures? You can make a story line of what to do or what’s going on in the next couple of hours or even for days. Create a series of activities for your kids to make it clear what to expect next in a structured way. This tool provides an easier way to add, remove, change the sequence in order to maximize flexibility. 7. Visual Timer: Progressive image with timer You can choose your favorite image as a timer background, it also supports alarm. *** We don’t provide stock images but give you many choice to build your own library such as take a photo, add a image from photo album, or download from internet.

Personalized mages can be uploaded to the app. from your home computer or through an online image search. The images can then be resized and active “sound areas” can be added. The application allows both the number and size of the “sound areas” to be customized. Spoken messages can be added to the “sound areas” by using the Text-To-Speech feature, with one of five preloaded voices, or you can record your own voice to the “sound areas”.

$9.99

Once a visual scene is created with active sound areas, scenes can be added into “Books”. Books can be created and images grouped into the book by a specific theme or area of interest. Multiple books can be created within the book library and as many visual scenes as needed added into the “book”. For example: you may want to create a “Book” titled “My Home”. Within that book may want to include images of different rooms in the home. Within those images you can add “sound areas” to label different objects or people that are represented in those images. A bedroom scene may say, “go to bed” when the bed is touched or “read a book” when a bookcase is touched.