New & Featured App Reviews

I Can Have Conversations With You App Review

Kathryn Jenkins May 7, 2015

App Overview

I Can Have Conversations With You teaches children to become independent communicators.It guides them on how to have conversations in different settings and with different people. Do you struggle getting your child to engage in conversations? You are not alone. Many children with autism, pdd-nos, and aspbergers syndrome struggle with communicating effectively. This app can help. Through video modeling, and virtual role play, the child can better understand some of the social cues that are needed for a natural flowing conversation. This app is for children who can already read on their own and speak in full sentences. If they cannot do one or both of those things, they will struggle benefiting from this app. They should also feel comfortable using an iPad before starting this program. This app is suited for in-home therapy. It only suits one child at a time. Karen Kabaki Sisto, M.S., CCC-SLP, an ASHA-certified Speech-Language Pathologist and Applied Behavioral Analysis instructor is the developer and creator of this app. She has over 20 years of experience and is deeply motivated to helping children with Autism. In 2002, she began creating hundreds of video and audio clips to develop this app. She has a lot of information, and background on her website. It is worth checking out.

How it Works

This app is not like typical apps. There is a sequence of learning and so you have to stay in order. it will take the child 4-6 hours to complete it. It is for at-home use and should be done independently with no assistance from a parent, therapist, or teacher.It is not designed for multiple users. For that reason, it is not recommended in a school or therapy setting. It is hopeful that a multi-user version will be released in the future. Once the child opens the app, they will be able to begin immediately. There is no confusing set up. They will be stepped through each section. One thing I didn’t like this app is that the screen doesn’t rotate. It is in a locked vertical position which can be frustrating to some children, especially if they have a case with a handle on it. Some of the great features available in this learning app include: video modeling, interactive cues, virtual role play using one’s own voice, a gallery of achievements, helpful sentence starters, and customized reports that break down the progress and areas of improvement. I found the video modeling really helpful. It made it easier to visualize the situation and understand the context of a conversation. I thought the video clips felt realistic and gave great scenarios of real conversations a child might have. I also really liked the virtual role play. Being able to record your own voice to hear it back in your head will definitely make a difference. I did use this with my 5 year old but he was too young to understand fully or benefit from this program. For that reason, I was the main tester. I was very impressed. I would love to see a multi-user version in the future. I think this would be super helpful in a classroom or therapy setting. I also know many parents that have multiple children with Autism and would like to use it with all of their kids.

The Results

After the child has been able to complete the learning sections, they will receive a certificate and the parents will be able to read and understand the results. The results are fantastic because they are very detailed. You will receive pages of information rather than a few sentences which I often see in other apps. The score for each section will be listed as “on target” or “needs improvement”. Based on those results, the next module for improvement will be recommended which you can download. The more modules you download and use, the better results and progress you will be able to track and see.

The Parent Settings

Within the adult settings, you can view the assessments, take notes and observations on the progress over time, take an assessment about your child, read about the program in more depth, download more modules or “conversations” for your child, and judge your learners’ role play. At first I was a little overwhelmed with the breadth of information and options. I was nervous it was going to be too much to understand and take in but once I got looking around, it really wasn’t. The options were pretty simple and to the point. They were all very helpful and will benefit the child to use them. You are able to contact Karen, the creator as well from the adult settings with any questions. The assessment was helpful because you have a parents and childs results at the end to compare.

What’s Great About This App

Overall, I would recommend this app to children with Autism who are 6 years and up, speak in full sentences, and are able to read.The developer of this app is hoping to introduce a multi-user version in the future which I think would be fantastic and perhaps the most helpful. The video modeling is fantastic. I love the virtual role play as well. My favorite part of this app would be the results. There are lots of apps that offer data and goal tracking but the results in this app are much more comprehensive. You will see a lot of information that can help the parents know how to help and assist the child. I also liked the recommended modules to continue with. One other small recommendation I have is that I would love to see a simpler design. The colors, options, and sounds were a little overwhelming for a child with sensory integration needs. In conclusion, this app is jam packed with great features that will help your child develop and learn how to have independent conversations with you! Pick up your copy in the app store today!

The I Can For Autism website contains information and detailed instructions on how to use the app. At the time of writing this review I Can Have Conversations With You! retailed for $29.99.

Buy I Can Have Conversations With You! in the App Store

helps your child become an independent communicator!