How Cognitive Support Technology Is Empowering One Man with Autism

Raising three boys in rural Oregon in the late 1980s and 1990s, Trina began to first notice unique developmental behavior in her three-year-old son Clinton as he was just learning to read. “Clinton had learned all of the sounds, but phonetically he couldn’t put them together. Even today, Clinton is

What if You Are Unable to Talk?

Every word is part of living. So what if you are unable to talk? “What do you do to communicate?” People have been asking me that question since I was little. I tell them I use sign language for communicating with people. Then people ask me how do they understand

How Goals and Routines Connect

Managing the Routines of Daily Living Goal Guide helps individuals with cognitive disabilities set goals, track progress, and share their accomplishments with others. In the course of developing Goal Guide we’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the relationship between goals and routines of daily living. Field, Martin, Miller,

Using Goal Guide to Manage Routines at Home and in Middle School

Our work on cognitively accessible self-management applications has always relied on a participatory research approach that grounds development in the real-world life experience of individuals with disabilities and those who support them. We are fortunate to have a rich network of students and adults with disabilities, parents, and teachers who
PicturePlanner - 1st Cognitopia Software Product

How Technology Enriches Personal Autonomy

I remember first meeting Tom Keating in 2001 at the Community Living Program (CLP) in Eugene, Oregon. The CLP is a special education program for students ages 18-21 with a range of exceptionalities who have either graduated with a modified diploma or high school equivalency. What makes CLP unique is

Back to School and the IEP

Well, it’s back to school time, time to get off your butt and work, time to focus on your life, time to keep the time. It’s also time to get your goals established. Yeah, you have to deal with those people that want to make you jump off a cliff,

SLLEA House and Cognitopia Apps Facilitate ASD Transition from Adolescence to Adulthood

The transition between adolescence and adulthood is hard, but it can be really hard for people who experience Autism Spectrum Disorder. It’s also a stressful time for parents. Sherry Sandreth knows this from personal experience. Julie HenningJulie Henning has been with Cognitopia since 2015. In that time, she has been

Using Goal Guide to Organize Household Chores

Beyond setting the foundation for teamwork, work ethic, and a sense of ownership, assigning my kids household chores helps me feel a little bit less like Alice from the television show “Brady Bunch.” As many parents can relate, keeping up with your kids’ chore list is a chore in itself.