iAutism

For people with autism it is common to use mechanisms of rewards for performing certain tasks or show certain behaviors repeatedly, especially as an accompaniment to certain therapies. This system, often known as the “token economy”, usually involves using a series of tokens and a card where you have to attach those tokens with Velcro. When you get all the tokens, you receive a reward or reinforcement.

In brief, iReward is the digital version of token economy for iPhone and iPod. Obviously, it also runs on an iPad by using the compatibility mode that amplifies the screen image.

Functionality

As usual in this type of application, there is an edit mode where access is restricted for defining new goals, which are usually specific behaviors or actions. Each goal has a reward and a related picture, and a number of times (stars) that the desired behavior must occur or that the desired action must to be done in order to get that reward.

As happened in iCommunicate, application also developed by Grembe Apps Inc. and analyzed in this blog, the picture can be selected from the photo album or even from Internet by using the Google image search for Pictures, which is part of the application.

Once you have done all of this, you simply shake the iPhone/iPod/iPad and enter into user mode, in which what you see is the goals list (name and thumbnail picture) and for each one of them, the achieved and total numbers of start, in red if the goal is not completed and in green otherwise.

What the user basically can do if to navigate across the list and select a specific goal in order to see the picture in a larger size and the stars already achieved. In the application options you can define if the tokens must be gold stars, red stars, checkboxes or smiling faces. You can also define a video mode, which uses stars and also displays a funny video showing a cat playing the piano when the goal is accomplished.

To add a star to a goal you have to go back to the edit mode, which requires to reshake the device and enter a password, select the particular goal and touch one or more stars to activate them. By double-clicking you can deactivate all the stars, and by touching an active star you deactivate it again. Everything is very intuitive.

Options and info

The “Settings” tab lets you configure the type of graphic icon (stars, etc.), the use of a password to enter the edit mode, to enable or not an audio message (“You dit it. Great job”) when a goal is finished, and to sort the goals by reward or by behaviour.

As in iCommunicate, the “Info” tab provides basic information about the company and allows the user to access its webpage, Twitter account and Facebook page as well as the iTunes page for the application.

iReward is a simple application that is mastered in minutes. I would like to highlight the option to search pictures online, the locking and unlocking of the editing mode based on shaking the iDevice, and the complete Info tab. Globally, the sensation is that iReward provides a very concrete functionality, but in a very complete way.

The application is only in English, but since the texts of the objectives can be written in any language, iReward can be easily used by people with ASD which use other languages.

-Francesc Sistach

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iReward 1.4

Web: www.grembe.com

Developer: Grembe Apps Inc.

Languages: English.

Functions: Digital token economy.

iPhone/iPod touch version: Yes.

iPad version: No.

Price: 2,39 € / 2,99 $.

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This post is also available in: Spanish