A few weeks ago, I was told about an app called
MagnusCards. It\’s basically a collection of sets of directions for various life skill subjects. Basically, the idea is to have a reference for various day-to-day activities, with pictures, for people to be able to look at and use as needed.
The app is for iOS and Android. I tested it on an Android tablet. I\’d say it\’s probably more geared for phones, but you can still manage on a tablet. I mainly opted to review this app because it has information on my local library system, meaning someone from that library system actually went to the trouble of making these and submitting them to the app. I actually went and visited the nearest branch, and followed along with the relevant cards while I was there. I\’ll talk about that below.
The \”cards,\” or sets of instructions, come in categories like Shopping, Personal Care, Leisure, Social, Food, and Travel. They are all free, and written in very simple English. You can download cards you like, or cards that are most relevant to your life. Some of these cards are from Canadian or even British organizations, so it\’d be wise to check the cards before downloading them.
When you\’ve chosen a category, you can then choose a contributing organization or a specific card. So, in Leisure, you can choose Kent District Library, or scroll down to choose \”Kent District Library- Logging into a computer at the library.\”
You are then presented with the first sub-card, which is usually an introduction to the topic.
You can then swipe left and right to navigate between the sub-cards, which describe the process and also tell you what things you need to do the process or activity. There are cards for getting a library card, searching the catalogue, using the self-checkout machines, logging into a library computer, and a more general \”what to expect\” card, which basically describes what the library offers (much more than just books!), the presence of helpful staff members, the availability of rest rooms, and other details.
In looking through these cards at KDL, I learned that you can check out a pair of noise-canceling headphones. This is particularly helpful on the first floor of my location, where kids tend to congregate (and play Fortnite on the public computers). They were big, over-the-ear, noise-isolating headphones, and they did help, though not as much as my personal pair that has active noise-canceling. But it might be a bit much to expect every library location to shell out for a $200 pair of headphones, and then replace them when they get damaged. Libraries, unfortunately, are not rolling in money.
The cards are a mix of qualities. The KDL ones were of pretty good quality, but the Social cards were extremely basic, sometimes to the point of absurdity. Considering the complexity of social situations, even things as simple as greeting people can get complicated, so I probably shouldn\’t be too harsh in my judgments here. I guess it\’s the wistful and tired autistic in me wanting social stuff to be boiled down to easy, simple directions that I could just follow and everyone would be happy. No such luck. For basic social interactions and people who don\’t need to perfectly pass as \”normal\” these are better than nothing, at least.
I was reasonably pleased with Colgate\’s series on tooth care, which I thought was pretty good. There were also a good number of well done \”simple recipe\” cards. not all of them are the healthiest choices ever, but simple does not always equal healthy. The Cleaning cards were also fairly decent.
I didn\’t get too indepth with every category, but my best guess is that the more abstract the subject, the less helpful the cards will be. So, while the card for \”Dealing with Anxiety\” had some helpful pointers in general, I didn\’t find it personally terribly relevant to my Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Most of the Social cards were in the same boat, and most of the Money Management cards. Something is still better than nothing, anyway.
Overall, I found the app fairly easy to use, if a little basic. I would very much like to see the option to make your own cards. This idea is a good one, but other than my library system, there\’s nothing immediately local to be referenced here. I could see an enterprising parent putting together this app and the concept of Social Stories into one extremely helpful, meltdown-reducing package.
Another thing I was hoping to see, but mainly didn\’t, was a more non-verbal-friendly approach. There are a good number of autistic people, especially children, that don\’t read very well, or even at all. I\’d imagined that perhaps there might be some cards where the reading was optional. At least for now, that\’s not the case. The pictures are more accompaniments to the written directions than they are directions themselves. Again, this isn\’t really surprising, and I\’m not sure I\’d do better if put to the task. But it\’s a thing that could possibly be improved upon.
In the end, I probably won\’t keep this app for my personal use, but I\’m not its intended target anyway. This app is geared more towards people who don\’t have personal care and life skills memorized, or may need reminding for how to do them. It can also ease the load on a parent, who may be asked repeatedly how to accomplish some of these processes, or serve as a support service in helping an autistic person achieve independent living.
TL;DR: A good, though very limited, app for autistic people who need extra help with life skills and personal care skills. Has directions for the my local library system. Needs the ability to make your own cards.
realisticautistic 