Using Technology to Increase Executive Function and Life Skills

While using paper checklists can be effective for some, they have a number of downsides. They can accumulate quickly, get lost or overlooked, can be confusing if there are too many papers to keep track of throughout the day, and sometimes don’t serve as a good visual reminder or prompt for the person who needs reminding. In the age of smartphone technology, it is critical to use our devices not just for communication purposes, but also to help us organize our home lives, and there are quite a few ways that a phone or tablet can help.

 

Google Calendar

If you have gmail, then you already have Google Calendar (the app for which can be downloaded on your phone) and it can be an amazing tool for remembering and scheduling to do household chores, organizing your day, and keeping up with appointments. Simply schedule in times to do daily, and weekly chores and your phone will remind you that it’s time to do them. If you are busy, you can simply move the scheduled task to a different day where you have more free time. You can also schedule reminders, that will continue to alert you of the task until you are finished and dismiss it. Having all your appointments, activities, and tasks to perform in one place can streamline your daily routine and makes it easier to keep track of everything.

 

Grocery Shopping Apps

Navigating the grocery store and remembering all the items you need along with the amounts can be difficult for some, and using a paper list can be effective but has some drawbacks that a digital list does not. Using a shopping app can automatically group together food items based on what sections they are found in, allows you to easily create new lists that already have your most commonly used items, and can help you save money. Your local grocery store should have an app that you can use, which will allow you to clip digital coupons and easily see what is on sale.

Some other good apps you may like to try are:

  • Ziplist - allows you to create master grocery list
  • ListEase - simple replacement for paper grocery list
  • Grocery Pal - compares prices at your local store and gives available coupons

Make sure to have your student help out with errands like grocery shopping so they can continue to improve these skills and help generalize them to new environments.

 

Cleaning Apps

Keeping track of what member of the family will do what chore on what day in the household can be confusing, and prompting your child to clean in the moment isn’t always a helpful way to improve independence and initiation skills. Work with your child to determine what chores they would like to be in charge of, when they would like to accomplish the tasks, and give them positive feedback for following through without you having to remind them. There are a number of neat apps out that help families with cleaning tasks.

 

Choremonster is a great app for younger children (or young at heart), and has helpful visual depictions of tasks as well as a very simple layout that is easy to use. Tody and HomeRoutines are apps where you can break up cleaning tasks by room; the former notifies you to do a task based on scheduled alert system, while the latter alerts you based on how long it’s been since you last completed a tasks. In addition to this, HomeRoutine is a great app to use, not just cleaning, but you can easily add in morning and evening routine items, such as teeth brushing, doing homework, or feeding the cat. If you find that your child is struggling with their ability to do a certain task, instead of directly instructing them, simply ask them to look up a “how-to” video on Youtube, or to check out an article on WikiHow.


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About the Author

Oriane Robison is the Life Skills Coordinator at CIP Bloomington. She obtained her B.A in English Literature with minors in Philosophy and Religious Studies, and enjoys such hobbies as reading, hiking and backpacking, running, yoga, live music, film, and attending the many cultural and educational events that Bloomington has to offer.

About College Internship Program

The College Internship Program is a comprehensive transition program for young adults on the Autism Spectrum and with Learning Differences. Our Mission is to inspire independence and expand the foundation on which young adults with Autism, ADHD, and other Learning Differences can build happy and productive lives.