New Language Builder Software

I am happy to report that Stages Learning Materials has finally taken the leap into the 21st century!

The Language Builder cards have become a staple in autism and speech therapy programs across the country, and even abroad. I regularly attend conferences where parents and therapists alike tell me that they use the cards every day at home or in their practice. The other thing I hear at every conference I attend ... "When will the Language Builder Cards be available in a software program I can use on the computer?" That day has finally come!

Research has demonstrated that children with autism respond well to computer based education programs. Patricia Hutinger and Robert Rippey's research suggested that some reasons for this may be:

• A computer running appropriate software is consistent--more so than any parent or teacher could ever hope to be.
• If everything is working and the software is appropriate for the particular child, the computer will deliver no unwanted surprises.
• Software is interesting, responsive, interactive, and presented in more than one mode, appealing to varying interests and sensibilities.
• The computer cannot harm the children. This may be the reason why they like to watch other children using it before they try it. They want to be sure that it is safe.
• The child has complete control over the computer (if his teachers allows it). Control is something we all like, but it is especially liked by children with autistic tendencies because they seldom feel power.

Stages products have proven effective with children with autism for 15 years. Given what we now know about children with autism and their success with computers, it seems a perfect combination to offer Stages' images in a digital format!

In conjunction with Attainment Company, an experienced software developer in the special needs market, we have taken all of the pictures from the Language Builder Picture Nouns and Picture Nouns 2 -- that's over 500 images --and turned them into a software program that can be used independently or with guidance to help children and adults with autism build vocabulary and basic language concepts. 

Options in the setup allow you to choose which words to use, which order to offer the words in, whether to use voice or printed commands, and what type of reinforcement to use. You can also set up different user accounts with specific settings to allow multiple students to use the software.

The software has a reporting feature that you can use to track the progress of each student you are working with.

I couldn't be more excited to offer this new product to parents and educators to help build functional language skill for children with autism.