Simple, step-by-step help for getting the most out of Choiceworks.
Setting Up Profiles
Choiceworks comes with one profile, All. It is the general default, and you can use the whole app with just that. Set up profiles when you want a child's own picture on their space, or when more than one child uses the app. Here is how to create one, switch to it, and add boards.
Open Profiles
At the top left of the home screen, tap Profiles. This is where you switch between children or add a new one.
Tap New to start a profile
The Profiles list opens. It shows All, and it will list each profile you make. Tap New at the bottom left to create your first one.
Add a photo and a name
On the Add Profile screen, tap add photo to choose a picture. Then tap Name and type the child's name.
Choose where the photo comes from
Pick Camera to take a new picture, or Your Photo Library to use one you already have. Then type the name and tap Save.
Your new profile has no boards yet
A new profile starts empty. Tap the plus (+) button to create a board for this profile, or tap Profiles and choose All to see all of your boards.
Switch to a profile any time
Open Profiles and tap a name to switch to it. A checkmark shows which profile you are viewing, and the name appears at the top of the screen.
Copy a board to a profile
To add an existing board to a profile, tap Edit, tap the board you want, then choose Copy to another profile and select the profile.
Pick which profile gets the board
The Copy to Profile list appears. Tap the profile you want, such as Luke, and the board is added there.
Creating a Schedule Board
A schedule board breaks a routine into clear steps your child can follow and check off, one at a time. Here is how to make one from start to finish.
Start a new board
On the home screen, tap the plus button at the top right. This is where all of your boards live, so it is a good place to begin.
Choose Schedule
A short list of board types appears. Tap Schedule to create a step-by-step routine.
Give your board a title
Type a name in the title box at the top, then tap the title image to pick a picture for it. You can start from a ready-made schedule such as Morning or Nighttime, or name your own.
Add a task
Tap the green plus on the left, then choose a task from the picture library. You can scroll the list or search for the activity you want.
Add a timer if you like
Each task can have its own timer. Tap Add Timer next to a step and pick a length, from 30 seconds up to a few minutes. This is optional and helps with steps that take a set amount of time.
Add a reward activity
Under Then I can, you can add one or two activities your child earns after the steps are done. Tap an activity space and choose a picture from the library.
See it all come together
As you build, the steps line up under First I need to, with the reward choices under Then I can. Here a full nighttime routine is taking shape.
Your finished board
When you are done editing, your child can work through the board. They move each step from First I need to over to All done, and finish with the reward they chose.
The Gear Bar: Everything Behind the Menu (iOS)
These settings are part of the iPhone and iPad app.
Most families only ever meet half of Choiceworks. The gear at the top left of the home screen opens the rest. Here is the tour.
Find the gear
On the main screen, tap the gear (Settings) icon at the top left. The Menu opens, and everything below lives inside it.
iCloud Sync & Backup
The switch at the top keeps your boards backed up and matched across your own iPad and iPhone. Turning it on also lets you share a child's boards with a co-parent or a teacher, which you start from a board.
Card Language
Choose the language of the picture cards and the voice that reads them. The app itself stays in its own language.
Editing and Passcode
The Editing switch decides whether boards and profiles can be changed or deleted, so little fingers can use a board without rearranging it. Passcode locks Settings behind a code you choose.
Board Voice and Companion Books
Board Voice/Audio changes the voice that speaks when a picture or play button is tapped, or turns the audio off. Companion Books shows the little book button in the corner of your boards. Tap it and the board opens as a page-by-page story your child can read with you. Every sample board comes with one.
Make it yours
Customize Board Labels changes the words your boards use for their headings. Board Colors picks the colors of your boards. Timer Settings changes the sound that plays when a timer ends. Picture and Text Size makes the pictures and words on your boards bigger with one tap.
Reward When Done
Celebrate a finished activity with a sparkle, a spoken "I did it!", and a tap you can feel. Celebration size goes from Gentle, for children who like things calm, up to Fireworks, the big one.
For classrooms and care teams
Show "Last Accessed" displays when each board was last opened, so a teacher or care team can see what is being used. Add Sample Boards brings the sample boards back any time, and any you already have are left as they are. Manage Image Library holds every picture and sound you have added, and Import Boards brings in boards shared with you.
And meet Dr. Christopher Willard
The Cove lives here too. Tap Meet Dr. Christopher Willard for calming breathing activities recorded for Choiceworks by a Harvard-affiliated psychologist.
There is a second gear, on every board
When a board is open, its own gear offers Close board, Reset board, Edit board, Share board, View Companion Book, and Board chart. Share board is how a board travels to a co-parent or teacher, and Board chart shows how the board has been used over time.
Syncing Across Your Devices (iOS)
These features are part of the iPhone and iPad app. Choiceworks for Android keeps everything on your device.
Choiceworks can keep your boards backed up and matched across your own iPad and iPhone, all on your own Apple ID. Turn it on once and your boards travel with you.
This is not the same as a backup file. Sync is automatic. Once it is on, a board you build or change on your iPad shows up on your iPhone on its own, and a copy is always kept safe in your iCloud.
Open Settings
On the main screen, tap the gear (Settings) icon at the top left. Make sure you are signed into iCloud on the device.
Turn on iCloud Sync & Backup
At the top of the menu, switch iCloud Sync & Backup on.
Close and reopen Choiceworks
Sync starts the next time you open the app. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen, flick Choiceworks up and off, then tap to open it again.
Your boards are backed up and matched
Your boards save to your own iCloud automatically, and every device signed into the same Apple ID stays matched. Build a schedule on the iPad and it appears on the iPhone.
Give it a minute
The first time a board travels to a new device, iCloud can take a few minutes, especially over a slow connection. Plugged in, on Wi-Fi, with Choiceworks open is the fastest way through.
Want a one-time saved copy instead of always-on sync? See the Backing Up and Restoring section below.
Using Choiceworks with VoiceOver (iOS)
This guide covers VoiceOver on iPhone and iPad.
Choiceworks works with VoiceOver, Apple's built-in screen reader, so a blind or low-vision parent, teacher, or child can use it by listening and touch.
Everything that matters reads aloud: your boards, the pictures and buttons on them, and the Feelings history. You move by touch and Choiceworks speaks whatever you land on.
Open iPhone or iPad Settings
Go to Settings, then Accessibility, then VoiceOver, and turn it on. If you have set the accessibility shortcut, you can also triple-click the side button to turn VoiceOver on and off any time.
Open Choiceworks and swipe
Swipe right or left to move from one item to the next. Choiceworks reads each board, picture, and button aloud as you land on it. Double-tap to open or tap what you are hearing.
The whole board, by voice
We built this for real families
If something does not read the way you expect, tell us at info@beevisual.com. We keep improving how Choiceworks works for blind and low-vision families, and your note helps.
Reordering Your Boards
Change the order of the steps on a board in just a few taps.
Open edit mode
Tap the edit button (the check mark in the top right corner) to open your board for changes. Red minus circles appear beside each step, and small drag handles show up on the right side of every row.
Press and drag a step
Press and hold a step, then drag it up or down to the spot you want. The other steps slide out of the way to make room as you move it.
Drop it in place and finish
Let go to drop the step into its new spot. When everything is in the order you like, tap the edit button again to save and leave edit mode.
Printing and Sharing a Board
You can print a board, email it as a PDF, or share it with another Choiceworks user on iPhone or iPad. Here is how to do each one.
Sharing works between Apple devices. Boards cannot move between the iOS and Android versions of Choiceworks.
Open the board you want to share
From your list of boards, tap the board you would like to print or send. This opens it on the screen.
Tap the Share icon
Look for the arrow (Share) icon near the top of the board, then tap it. A short menu of choices will appear.
Choose what you want to do
Pick one of the three options: print a paper copy, send it as a PDF by email, or export the board to share it with another Choiceworks user on iPhone or iPad.
Opening a board someone shared with you
To open a board another person sent you, tap the gear (Settings) icon, then tap Import from Files, and select the file. The board will be added to your boards.
Backing Up and Restoring
Keep a safe copy of your boards so you never lose your work, and bring them back whenever you need them.
Save a board to a file
Open a board, tap the Share icon, and choose the export option. Choiceworks saves the board, its pictures, and its theme into a single file you can keep.
Choose where to keep it
Save the file in your Files app or iCloud Drive so it is always within reach. You can also AirDrop it or email it to yourself or another device for safekeeping.
Bring a board back
To restore, tap the gear (Settings) icon, choose Import from Files, and pick the file you saved. The board returns just as it was, pictures, theme, and all.
Languages
Choiceworks speaks seven languages: English, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, German, French, and Portuguese. You can change the language of the picture cards, the whole app, or both.
Open Card Language
Tap the gear (Settings) icon on the home screen, then tap Card Language.
Pick the language your cards speak
Tap a language in the list. Your choice is highlighted with a checkmark. The words on the picture cards and the voice that reads them follow it. Everything else stays in the app's own language.
To change the app's own language
Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad, scroll down and tap Apps, tap Choiceworks, then tap Language. Menus and buttons follow the app's language. Your own photos and their words never change.
Meet the Alphabreaths sample board
My Alphabreaths schedule comes ready-made on your home screen: breathing practices taught by Dr. Christopher Willard on video, in his own voice, in English.
Questions make the app better
Some of the most valuable help we get comes from users. If you have a question, ask it. Twenty-five other people are stuck on the same spot and stayed quiet. If something does not work the way you expected, or you wish the app did something it does not, write to info@beevisual.com. A speech pathologist in Australia raised his hand recently. It made our day, and the app got better for everyone.
Choiceworks®, Choiceworks® Calendar, and Bee Visual® are registered trademarks of Bee Visual, LLC.
Choiceworks® is protected under U.S. Patent No. 8,740,623.