The Pollinators

Cristen Carson Reat, MA, BridgingApps

Co-founder of Easterseals Greater Houston’s BridgingApps, which helps families and clinicians find the right apps for their children, and the person who first brought us to the SXSWedu stage, presenting apps through the lens of accessibility. BridgingApps has featured Choiceworks and Choiceworks Calendar many times over the years, including Role Reversal: Viewing Apps Through Disability, written by Matt Walker at fifteen.

“I am absolutely THRILLED with this news, as we know how hard you have worked on sustaining these two apps that I have personally used with my son for 13 of the 14 years they have been available! Congratulations on this achievement and for expanding it to Google Play. Families, students, and teachers everywhere are grateful to you!”

Visit bridgingapps.org.

Betsy Walling Furler, MS, CCC-SLP

Speech-language pathologist, international educator, and founder of For All Abilities. Betsy now works with her son Sam through AI Skill Studio, supporting neurodivergent people in the workplace. She is also an SXSW and TEDx speaker, podcast host, and contributor to the W3C cognitive accessibility task force. A friend of this work since we shared the SXSWedu stage.

“As a speech-language pathologist with over 30 years in this field, I’ve seen how many kids struggle not because they don’t understand what’s expected of them, but because they can’t hold the steps in their head long enough to get there. Choiceworks takes something abstract, like a morning routine or the wait between now and later, and makes it visible, which is exactly the kind of support that builds real executive functioning skills. It’s not just a picture schedule, it’s a way for kids to practice sequencing, transitioning, and self-regulating on their own.”

Lauren Enders Gonzales, MA, CCC-SLP

“I first connected with Michele online in 2012, right around the launch of the Choiceworks app, a revolutionary visual support tool with a brilliant and usable interface. She has been a valued colleague and trusted friend ever since. The vision and products from Bee Visual were EXACTLY the kind of thoughtful, practical work I wanted educators and families to discover. All these years later, I’m still recommending Choiceworks apps and still learning from Michele. She listens to what teachers and families actually ask for, and her response to requested changes and additions has been solid every single time. She does the hard, sustained work of building tools that actually help students and their supporters. Dedicated work like hers is what we need to improve lives and outcomes for ALL learners and the people who support them.”

Brooke Mitchell Olson, iTaalk Autism Foundation

“As an early adopter of iPhones and then iPads with individuals with autism and related disabilities, I have seen very few apps stand the test of time and remain in my top picks. Choiceworks is the exception. Intuitive, functional, and easy to understand and adapt to your child’s needs, Choiceworks remains my most recommended and most used app. Blood draws with my 6’3”, 225-pound autistic son, now twenty, haven’t been an issue since we created a task list with the original Choiceworks in 2012.”

President of the iTaalk Autism Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that has put assistive technology into the hands of children with autism and their families since 2010. iTaalk’s trainings have taught thousands of families and educators how to make iPads and AAC apps do real work, and Bee Visual has donated app codes to iTaalk’s families every year, a partnership now well into its second decade. Visit itaalk.org.

Angela Moorad, MS, CCC-SLP

Speech-language pathologist with more than 36 years in AAC and the force behind OMazing Kids AAC Consulting, where tens of thousands of families and therapists find app guidance and her renowned AAC feature-matching resources. Angela helped test both Choiceworks and Choiceworks Calendar on Android before they shipped, an invaluable colleague.