Spectrum Playground's Service

What is Spectrum Playground?

Spectrum Playground is a web based subscription service that provides educational lessons for children with Autism and other developmental delays.

The lessons cover basic academics (letters, colors, shapes, numbers, vocabulary, etc.), as well as living & social skills. The goal is to help children expand their language regardless of how it is expressed (spoken, written, or with pictures). The lessons are for individuals who are learning at the 2 – 6 year old level.

What is a developmental age?

Developmental age describes the level of a person’s development. Children with developmental delays, such as autism, will often have a developmental age that is less than their chronological age. Many Spectrum Playground students will be older than 6, and they will still learn and benefit from our lessons because they are learning at a younger age level.

How do I sign-up for the lessons, and start my child playing?

You can have your child playing and learning immediately after completing 3 simple steps. (1) Create an account (either a Free Trial or paid subscription). (2) Add student(s) to your account. (3) Start the lessons.

I already have an account how do I start my child playing?

You must always login to your account in order to start lesson play. Touch or click the “Start Lesson” button at the top right of the screen, or touch the “Lessons” icon on the left hand side of the screen. Select the student, subject, level, and duration of play to display a lesson plan.

Touch or click the green “Play” button to the left of the lesson you wish to play. Lessons will play in order starting from the selected lesson through the last lesson of the lesson plan.

If you want to remove a lesson from play, then touch or click the red “Skip” button to remove a lesson from the plan. To add a skipped lesson back to the lesson plan touch or click the orange “Add” button.

Can my child play independently?

The lessons were developed so that a child can play independently. However, as with anything new it will be helpful (and fun!) for you to play the first few times with your child. Remember that you will always have to login to start your child’s lesson play.

I work closely with my child's teachers and therapists. Is it possible for my child to use Spectrum Playground at school? Can the teacher and I both see the progress reports?

The person who pays for the subscription is called an Account Owner. The Account Owner can add Team Members to his/her account. Team Member examples include, teacher, therapist, family member, and friend. A Team Member is able to login into his/her unique account, and start lesson play for any student that the Account Owner assigns to the Team Member. Team Members can also see progress reports.

Team Members cannot modify the Account Owner’s subscription or the student’s information in any way.

There is no charge for adding Team Members to your account as allowed by your subscription.

Spectrum Playground is accessible from any computer or iPad that has internet access.

Lessons

How long will it take my child to learn all lessons?

It is impossible to say how long it will take a child to learn because all children learn at a different pace.

Within each subject there are three different levels of lessons.

Level 1 is the easiest and covers identification and generalization. We teach words, so that our children can identify or label an object.

Level 2 introduces categories, characteristics, and function of objects. There is a lot of language in Level 2, but don't be discouraged.

We want our children to go beyond labeling and become better communicators. We don't our children getting “stuck” using single words.

Our children are exposed to a lot of language everyday, and we should try to help them understand as much as possible.

To make it easier to get all the language we build up to the sentences when possible, we keep the sentences as short as possible, and the audio is a little slower than normal speed.

Level 3 covers context in the real world. There is a lot of language in this level as well. We expose our children to how items are used in the world around us.

Our goal is to grow with your child through the early years of learning. There are enough Spectrum Playground lessons, with more constantly being added, to keep your child entertained and learning for years.

Once a lesson is learned can it be played again?

Yes. You have complete control over the lessons your child plays. You can replay, add, or remove lessons from your child’s lesson plan quickly and easily.

How much time should my child spend on Spectrum Playground?

There is no set amount of time that a child should use Spectrum Playground. However, research has shown that a lot of behavioral treatment early on can lead to improvements in a child’s IQ, language, and academic performance.

Reference: Myers SM, Johnson CP, Council on Children with Disabilities (2007). "Management of children with autism spectrum disorders". Pediatrics 120 (5): 1162–1182.doi:10.1542/peds.2007-2362. PMID 17967921. Lay summary – AAP (2007-10-29)

As with any teaching tool, consistent use generally yields results faster. Therefore, daily use is recommended even if just for a short period of time. It is important to give Spectrum Playground the same amount of commitment as school or therapy classes.

Recognizing that schedules can vary quite a bit from one day to the next, we allow you to set the length of play, in 15 minute intervals, each time you start a Playground Session.

What is ABA?

Applied Behavior Analysis is a method that has been found effective in helping children with autism learn. Spectrum Playground uses some ABA techniques in its lessons.

How do I know if my child is learning?

The best way is you will see it for yourself in your child’s activities. Also, you can access reports that show your child’s performance each time a lesson is played. There is also a trend graph that shows a child’s performance over time.

Privacy

Is my child's information provided to third parties?

The privacy of your and your child’s information is extremely important to us. Spectrum Playground does NOT provide any child’s personal information to any outside parties. For more information about how we handle your data please read our Privacy Policy.

Technical Questions

What type of tablet computer do I need to use Spectrum Playground?

Spectrum Playground will play on an iPad that is connected to the internet running iOS 4.3 and higher.

Spectrum Playground will also play on any computer connected to the internet. Internet Explorer 9 or higher is required. Current versions of Chrome, Firefox, and Safari will work.

What mobile devices does Spectrum Playground run on?

Currently Spectrum Playground only runs on iPad. The lessons were designed to be played on a tablet. We do not recommend trying to use Spectrum Playground on a mobile phone.

Subscription

How do I buy more student licenses (upgrade)?

If you find that you need more student licenses, then you can upgrade your subscription. A prorated amount for the additional licenses will be charged to your credit card when you complete the upgrade.

Select “Account” from the icons on the left side or from the drop down menu in the upper right corner of the screen.

On the Account page touch or click on the “Subscription” link.

On the Subscription page enter the number of Students you want to have in your subscription.

Touch or click the “Continue” button. The new monthly price will display, not the prorated amount to be charged for the upgrade.

Touch or click “Continue” to confirm the change to your subscription.

Confirm the changes to your subscription: number of students, and new monthly subscription price.

Touch or click the “Update” button to complete the upgrade.

How do I cancel some student licenses (downgrade)?

If you find that you no longer need some of the student licenses on your subscription, then you can remove them, or downgrade your subscription. Please note that at the completion of a downgrade you will immediately lose the use of the removed student licenses. THERE ARE NO REFUNDS OR CREDITS FOR ANY UNUSED TIME IF YOU DOWNGRADE BEFORE THE END OF YOUR SUBSCRIPTION PERIOD.

If you want to use the student licenses for the full term, but not pay for them during the next subscription period, you should downgrade one day before the Billing Date. The Billing Date can be found on the Billing page, and is the day your credit card will be charged.

Select “Account” from the icons on the left side or from the drop down menu in the upper right corner of the screen. On the Account page touch or click on the “Subscription” link.

On the Subscription page enter the number of Students you wish to have on your subscription. This should be less than the number that displays if you want to downgrade. If all student licenses are in use you will be prompted to delete some students before you can downgrade.

Touch or click the “Continue” button. Confirm the total number of students that will be on your subscription and the new monthly price. Note that the price displayed will be the new monthly charge.

Touch or click “Continue” to confirm the change to your subscription.

Confirm the changes to your subscription: number of students, and new monthly subscription price, which will be lower if you reduced the number of students.

Touch or click the “Update” button to complete the downgrade.

How do I cancel my account?

When you cancel your account you are allowed to continue to use Spectrum Playground until the end of the current paid up subscription period.

When the subscription ends, your account is canceled and you will not be charged for the next subscription period. You will be able to login, but you will not be able to add/modify Students or Team Members, and you will not be able to play lessons. You may view reports. At any time you may reinstate your subscription by entering your credit card information.

Select “Account” from icons on the left or the drop down menu in the upper right corner of the screen. On the Account page touch or click the “Billing” link.

On the Billing page touch or click “Cancel Subscription Billing”.

On the Cancel Billing page type the word “cancel” where prompted. Touch or click the “Cancel” button.

How do I update my credit card information?

Sometimes the credit card used to pay for your subscription expires or becomes invalid.

If the credit card information is not updated the payment for your subscription may not process, and you will receive an email asking you to update your credit card information.

After three requests if your credit card information is not updated, your subscription will automatically cancel.

You can reinstate your account at any time by updating your credit card information.

Select “Account” from the icons on the left or the drop down menu in the upper right corner of the screen.

On the Account page touch or click on the “Billing” link.

On the Billing page enter the new credit card information.

Touch or click “Continue”.

Note that the price displayed will be charged immediately if your subscription status is canceled or past due. Otherwise, the amount will be charged when your subscription renews.

Touch or click the “Update” button.

Administration

How do I add students to may account?

Touch or click on the “Students” link on the left hand side of the screen or the “Create a Student” button on the Start page to get to the Students page.

On the Students page touch or click on the link “Create Student”. Fill-in the required information and touch the “Create” button.

If you do not have any available student licenses you cannot add a student. In this case you must either upgrade and buy more student licenses, or delete a current student to free up a student license. A DELETED STUDENT CANNOT BE RESTORED.

How many students can I add to my account?

You must have an available student license in order to add a student to your account. You may add a student for every student license you purchase with your subscription.

If you are a Free Trial user you can add one student.

How do I add Team Members to my account?

Touch or click on the “Team” link on the left hand side of the screen or the “Add Team Members” button on the Start page to get to the Team page.

On the Team page touch or click on the link “Create Team Member”. Fill-in the required information and touch the “Create” button.

A Team Member is not active until he/she registers his/her account using the link emailed to him/her.

How do I view reports?

Touch or click on the “Reports” link on the left hand side of the screen or the “View the Reports” button on the Start page to get to the Reports page.

On the Reports page use the drop down filters to get the specific information you want. To see a trend graph touch or click on the link “Graph” and use the drop down filters to get the specific information you want.

How do I change my password?

Touch or click on the “Account” icon on the left side of the screen to get to the Account page.

On the Account page touch or click the “Change Password” link.