A free mobile learning app for non/minimally-verbal kids on the autism spectrum, to help teach basic literacy, increase vocabulary and communication skills, and practice self-regulation.
MyLevelUP is a cross-platform, personalized learning app for non-verbal kids on the autism spectrum. The app develops literacy, numeracy, and communication skills, as well as self-regulation and self-expression.
You add custom words, images and audio clips to the app, which then become the content of the learning games.
You set up a personalized learning playlist, consisting of a series of learning game activities.
Your child then plays through their learning playlist to earn timed access to other apps as a reward. This reflects the “token economy” method of direct teaching common in ASD therapy/tutoring.
myLevelUP is based on the kind of tutoring and therapy my son has been doing ever since he was first diagnosed with ASD over eight years ago. The format will be familiar to any parent of a child on the spectrum: the child is presented with a series of simple tasks that are the building blocks of the skill being taught, and upon completing the tasks the child is rewarded with their choice of a “reinforcer”.
We know this kind of learning works best when the tasks are personalized to the individual child’s particular challenges, strengths, interests and preferences. On the learning side we achieve this personalization by making it easy to add new words to the game, for example the names and pictures of the child’s family members or peers. On the reward side, personalization comes from setting up the custom YouTube playlist, or by setting up some other preferred website as a reward.
Our aim was to build something for User#1 (my son) that he would actually WANT to use, and that actually helped him learn in a concrete measurable way. It’s worked really well for him, and it might work well for your child too.
From the beginning we have worked with experts both in private practice and academic researchers, to ensure the design of the app would be in line with current scientific knowledge about how neurodiverse kids learn.
Get in touch with us! Whether you’re a parent, an educator, a professional, or you’re simply interested in what we’re doing, we’d love to hear from you :-)
