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SOFTWARE
REVIEW:
LOCU TOUR™ MULTIMEDIA LINE OF SOFTWARE |
Reprinted from the ADVOCATE Newsletter of the Autism Society of America, Inc.
July-Aug 1999 |
Over the past several years, the ADVOCATE has published several reviews that I have written regarding computer software that is applicable to the population of individuals with autism. In the last article, the editor published my address and phone number in order for individuals to contact me with their questions regarding the program that had been discussed as well as other speech and language issues as they relate to autism. I received dozens of phone calls. Interestingly, I had always thought of the ADVOCATE as a magazine that is predominately read by parents of children with autism. However, several of the phone calls that I received were from other professionals, such as educators, speech pathologists, and behavioral specialists that are directly involved with our special population. Well, that has been an eye opener for me. From now on, I will gear my reviews to include important information for professionals as well as parents. I am also happy to report that I will be submitting software reviews on a more regular basis.
I am often asked to recommend speech and language software for a particular child. The parent or teacher will often describe the child's abilities, and then ask me to make a suggestion based on this information. I try to be as specific as possible, while trying to take many parameters into account. For instance, other than the child's level of ability, I want to make sure that the program I recommend is cost efficient. In other words, I'm looking for a "big bang for the buck." The LocuTourTM Multimedia line of software definitely offers a lot of program for the dollar.
LocuTour Multimedia was started by speech pathologist, Marna Scarry-Larkin in the spring of 1994. She wanted to create software that used real voices and offered the flexibility needed to meet the varying needs of her clientele. With her brother, John Scarry, she developed several programs including Look! Listen! and Learn Language and Phonology. She discovered that autistic children responded well to the computer, so she developed Train Time specifically for individuals with autism and related disabilities. LocuTour has designed their software to accommodate parents, teachers, and speech pathologists. Adults as well as children with diversified skill levels are able to utilize these programs as most activities contain a beginning, intermediate, and advanced level. Presently, LocuTour offers a repertoire of twelve different software programs. Over the past two months I have had the opportunity to utilize four of these programs with the autistic children that I work with. It's a...Food (yes, that's the name of the program) is designed to increase the ability to name different words. In this case, the target words are food items. It is part of the It's aŠ series. This program contains 100 different words that are divided into the categories of fruits, vegetables, meals, and snacks. There are various types of strategies that are used to develop naming skills; this program incorporates modeling, sentence completion, and initial sound cue techniques to stimulate a verbal response. Modeling occurs when the therapist or parent expresses the correct word or sentence for the child to repeat ("I like apples"). During sentence completion, the therapist or parent reads a sentence but leaves out the last word, which is the target word. ("I like peanut butter and_______.") Initial sound cues involve stating the first sound of the target word ("I eat s_____"). During It's a...Food, initially, the individual will see a large photograph of a particular food item and hear a voice say the word. At the bottom of the picture, there are several buttons from which the therapist or parent can select. They may either select the WORD button, which will repeat the target word(modeling); the RECORD button to record the child's voice; the WHAT button which will ask a question in which the target word is the answer; the It's aŠ button to hear and repeat a short sentence containing the target word(modeling); the It's a _______ to hear a sentence with only the first sound of the target word (initial sound cue and sentence completion); and the SENTENCE button in which the child will hear another sentence containing the target word.
This is a very helpful program when working with an individual who has difficulty labeling items. The visuals are large, beautiful photographs that help autistic children make the word/picture connection. I discovered that using the button entitled It's a ____, which utilizes sentence completion and initial sound cue really helps to trigger word recall in many children. The brain appears to have the need to make closure. Therefore, if a person hears an incomplete word or sentence, they may have the feeling that they need to finish it. This feeling often is a catalyst to cause a response. It's a...Food retails for $99.
I really hate to generalize or make comments regarding stereotypical behavior of autistic children, but...(and don't get mad, I have a child with autism, also.) it seems that most of the autistic children that I work with like trains. They like pictures of trains, train sets, train manipulatives, etc. Ms. Scarry-Larkin recognized the same occurrence when she developed Train Time. As the name implies, all eight exercises involve a train theme. This particular program was specifically designed for individuals with autism, PDD, or Aspergers's Syndrome in order to stimulate speech production, to increase the understanding of auditory information, to stimulate conversation, to build both auditory and visual attention and memory, and to develop letter, number, color, and size recognition. Train Time not only offers 182 motivating photographs, but also 33 action-packed video clips. This program includes material that is appropriate for a large developmental age range. For example, the activities titled Match Color and Size and ABC 123 encourages lower lever skills. Train Talk, on the other hand, contains higher level vocabulary and sentence structure. The price of this program is priced at $189.
If you are looking for a software program that will improve pronunciation skills and develop pre-reading readiness, you should consider Phonology. As the name implies, this program offers six games that are designed to increase the ability to process the sound patterns in language. The children in my practice that have utilized this program have shown a dramatic improvement in their pronunciation in a very short period of time. There are a large number of opportunities for sound practice in each activity. Initially, the individual will utilize the game called Minimal Pairs. This activity is designed to help the child hear the difference between the incorrect and correct way of pronouncing a sound. This skill is necessary in order to be able to actually say the sound pattern the right way. After that, there are five other games that will aid in developing correct sound production. The favorite in the office was Match Ups-a Concentration-type game that has four different levels of difficulty. My preferred activity is called Word Practice. Initially, a word is presented with the target sound separated out from the rest of the word. For instance, if the sound is "L", a word such as "lock" would be used. Initially, the child would be asked to say the word like this: "L-ock." After the child is able to pronounce the word this way, then they are given the word blended all together. After this, phrases and sentences that incorporate these words are presented for the child to repeat. And now for the speech therapists out there, who, like me, love to send home work to reinforce the skills developed during the therapy session, this software program offers the ability to print color worksheets. I must say I have gone through reams of paper and a multitude of ink cartridges over the past several months. However, the families have responded very favorably to these motivating assignments. The price of $99 is well worth it for this jam-packed program.
Look! Listen! and Learn Language includes seven interactive activities for early intervention language development and auditory and visual processing skills. My favorite is called Let's Talk About It. This game is designed to help the student process and respond to questions. The teacher, parent or therapist will choose from the Who, What, Where, Why, How, Which, Other, or Mix categories. The individual will then listen to a group of questions that start with the chosen question word. There is also the availability to listen and repeat other sentences that contain information that references the picture that is shown on the screen. The "print" option allows the teacher or therapist to print the screen and create homework opportunities. This game is obviously very useful for teaching Wh-questions. However, I often utilize this activity with my echolalic kids, who have a tendency to repeat questions rather than answer them. This program is well priced at $99.
In summary, you will find that LocuTour MultimediaTM line of computer software is a wonderful choice for parents as well as professionals. Their prices are reasonable for specialty programs. They offer a multitude of activities per program, the availability of recording the individual's voice, and the opportunity to create colorful homework pages. I highly recommend that you consider these programs.
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Ms. Herskowitz is also a speech and language computer software consultant and is available to answer any questions that you may have regarding these programs or any other speech, language, or communication matter as it relates to autism. You can reach her at:
Dimensions: Speech, Language, and Learning Services 481 E. Mount Vernon Drive Plantation, Florida 33325 1-800-99SPEECH (997-7332) www.dimensionsspeech.com
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