Parent guide

Móa offers educational, practical support, not medical treatment. Choose what suits your child. Some children will still need an adult beside them, and that's fine.

Introduce

Start with a quiet moment and the cards in front of you. Begin with two or three steps and one familiar situation.

Model the cards

Pick up a card, say its short wording, and do the action yourself. Press Done together. Then do the next card. Let your child watch first; join in when they choose to.

Check understanding of the pictures

Ask “Which card shows shoes?” and let your child point, name or fetch the thing. If a picture isn't clear, change the picture or the wording in the editor and try again. Pictures are for your child, so use ones that make sense to them.

Adapt

Change wording, pictures, order and step count. Changes to a plan in use are shown to the child explicitly, so the plan is never rearranged silently. Printing is optional: everything works on screen.

Starting a routine at home

These steps are for children around ages 4 to 7. Keep them small and go at your own pace.

  1. Pick one hard part of the day, such as getting ready to go out, bedtime or the morning. Start with 2 or 3 steps, not the whole day.
  2. Write the steps in the order you really do them. Use the same words you say out loud.
  3. Use one clear picture per step. Keep the same picture for the same thing every time.
  4. Put the schedule at your child's eye level, where the routine happens. Add a “Done” pocket or a place to move finished cards.
  5. Show changes on the schedule before they happen. Fade your prompts, not the schedule.

A first-then board (Now and Next) is the simplest way to start.

Why not try the free Getting Ready to Go Out routine demo or the free activities on the site?

Breaks and help

Break keeps progress with no penalty. Help and Something changed let your child tell you what they need. Stimming and not making eye contact are fine.

Móa, a short character guide

Móa is autistic, curious, funny and resourceful. She has her own interests and strengths: she uses clear steps sometimes, asks for help or takes a break, explores, creates and helps others. She doesn't represent every autistic child. Look: copper-red hair with a fringe and two braids, blue eyes, gentle freckles, a dusty-rose knitted sweater with a Nordic pattern, in a polished 3D animated style. The current artwork is a temporary interpretation, as no canonical reference image was supplied.

Image sources and licences

All illustrations were generated for Móa as original artwork for commercial use. No third-party stock or photographs are used.