Decide Now! App Review
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Decide Now! Review
Have you ever been with a crowd of people that can’t decide what to do or where to eat. The unstoppable banter because no one can agree arises or even worse, the repetitive questions about, “What do you want to do?” begins. It is uncomfortable and time consuming to make every decision and sometimes, you just need a break or a better system. Enter Decide Now!
This app is the ultimate decider for parents, kids, couples, teachers, therapists, and more! You submit a question with multiple choices available on the wheel and it spins to decide the answer for you. In this review, I am going to discuss how to it can help children with Autism, and other special needs progress in therapy, school, and home. Decide Now! was created by Catforce Studio. It is a fun and well-designed tool to make life a little bit easier. There are 10 predefined wheel questions already set up. I actually used a few of the predefined ones too but if you are using this for your child, you will want to customize it for them. You can add as many customized questions and answers as you want. The wheel also has many different color choices which makes it exciting and fun.
App Features
For kids that struggle with decision making, compulsive behaviors, or being flexible, using a tool like this can help. You simply open the app, click on the settings icon in the bottom right-hand corner. You will pick the question to use or add your own. To add your own question, simply click on the + symbol. After you have chosen the question, the variables on the wheel will show up. It will begin to spin and a chime will ring when the variable has been chosen. The sound effect can be turned off however it is not overwhelming and my son really liked it. There is no audio reading available and so the child will need to be able to read or adults will need to help them read the answer. I think adding audio or optional images to the variables would be a great improvement for the future.
One thing that is really nice about the choices being randomized is that it makes it hard for the child to blame or manipulate the decision to get his or her way. The child can learn to be flexible and not depend on everything being the same. It can create excitement to do something different. I used this app with my son and he really liked it. It worked well for doing different activities and chores. I did have to change the variables a few times to make sure it was appropriate for the day or time frame but overall, it was very helpful.
Ideas for Use
I have included 10 examples of how therapists, teachers, and parents can use this app with their kids. I am sure there are many more ideas but here are some to get started with:
1. Randomized Chore Chart
for parents that want to switch things up without the hassle and fighting
2. Which Activity Should We Do Next?
for therapists and one on one tutors.
3. What Kind of Exercise or Physical Activity Today?
for personal trainers of kids with Autism or parents who want their kids to exercise and stay healthy
4. What School Subject Will We Study?
for homeschooling parents
5. What Incentive Do I Get?
for teachers in a classroom or therapists one on one. It could also be useful for parents. It will make the incentive new and different for a while.
6. What Song Should We Sing?
for preschool or kindergarten teachers that are teaching through music. This question example could be used for art, music, reading, and more.
7. I’m Bored. What Can I Do?
This could be a list of activities available during free time or at home
8. How can I be a Friend?
for a therapist or tutor who is trying to get a child to socialize. He could pick one and practice it
9. What Can I Do to Calm Down?
You could have a list of sensory activities to calm down if the child is too overwhelmed like jump on trampoline, take deep breaths, or swing.
10. Who Should Be My Helper Today?
As long as you have a relatively small class, this could be a great way to choose a child.
What’s Great About This App
Many children get overwhelmed by lots of choices. Children with speech delays, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, autism, and other special needs may need those decisions simplified. This is a fun tool to do that. I have seen other apps similar to this one but what makes this one really great is that you can add as many custom questions, and different variables as you want. It is also free of unwanted ads and is easy to navigate. It will resolve most of those day to day decisions for your child. You can blame the wheel for the decision rather than the person choosing which is another perk. We will be doing a giveaway for this app. Be sure to enter on the Touch Autism Facebook page and download your Decide Now! app in the App Store. At the time of writing this review, Decide Now! retailed for .99 in the app store.
Catforce Studio is the developer of this app. In addition to Decide Now!, they also have another great app called TimeMate that is worth checking out.
Buy Decide Now! in the App Store
This app is the ultimate decider for parents, kids, couples, teachers, therapists, and more! You submit a question with multiple choices available on the wheel and it spins to decide the answer for you.
