From classwork to completing activities with friends, keeping your schedule straight is no small feat! When you become a caregiver, not only do you have to worry about your own responsibilities, but now there’s a second plan for the day to keep track of. At Autism Care Partners, we understand the special challenges, responsibilities, and tasks of our families, so we wanted to provide some recommendations and resources for staying organized. With applications focused on schoolwork, chores, and more, we hope to provide a variety of options so you can choose what works best for you and your family (all work on IOS and Android)!   

1. Thruday 

Up first is the application Thruday, which was created with the needs of neurodivergent individuals in mind! Thruday is a digital planner with visuals and mood trackers built into the platform. Additionally, there is a new feature to create visual communication cards to then use within your visual daily planners that you view online or can print straight from the app! For individuals with Autism, visuals like this can be a life-changing tool for accomplishing tasks by setting clear expectations, assisting in communication, and more. For caregivers, Thruday also allows users to share their schedules in real-time for support and encouragement. This way, caregivers can be informed about the daily routines of their families and the tasks needed to finish!   

Learn more here: https://thruday.com/  

2. OurHome 

Next is OurHome which is designed to be a family planning application. Not only can you share the calendar with your other family members, but the platform is designed to make it easy to add all the chores and tasks your kiddos need to complete throughout the day! Just like with Thruday, these visuals can be extremely helpful in completing tasks and creating routines for users. This application also allows caregivers to set rewards for different tasks, providing positive reinforcement for users! Using rewards through items such as token boards is a common tool within ABA Therapy. By being able to carry this over into a scheduling application, users can use techniques that have already proven to be beneficial for them as they move forward in their adventures! 

Find out more here: OurHome – Your home made easy (ourhomeapp.com) 

3. Cozi 

Another application for household tasks is Cozi! Just like OurHome, Cozi allows families to share color-coded calendars with one another, including automated reminders, appointment tracking, and more. There is even a section to save favorite recipes and the grocery lists needed for them to make shopping easy for caregivers. This is a life-changing section for families working on Feeding Therapy because they can track which foods are a yes, no, or maybe for their kiddo. Not to mention, you can synchronize data between various other platforms, including Google Apps, Outlook, and more! 

Find out more here: Cozi Family Organizer | Shared Calendar, Lists & More 

4. MyStudyLife 

Our next app recommendation is aimed for students! Many individuals with ASD will go on to various school systems in their future adventures, so MyStudyLife provides features to keep you organized during this journey! This application provides calendars where you can set reminders and share with family members to hold you accountable for your tasks. This is wonderful for caregivers because they can also see future exams, tasks, and more coming up for their child without needing to become overly involved. Not only this, but MyStudyLife also comes with built-in timers to work productively and set rewards for learners. Timers are often used within ABA Services, so this is a wonderful way to carry-over positive reinforcement!   

Find out more here: https://mystudylife.com/  

5. Notion 

Lastly, Notion is a scheduling application that lets users customize almost everything! This platform has multiple layout options depending on what works best for the project at hand, including calendars, to-do lists, workflows, and more. You can also decide exactly what information is worth tracking and set the priority for each task. With Notion’s workflow feature, you can drag and drop projects depending on where you are in the process of completing them for ease in keeping track of everything you have! This level of customization allows users to stay organized in the way that works best for them. 

Learn more here: https://www.notion.com/product  

Staying organized can be a difficult task for anyone, but for neurodiverse individuals, this can be even more challenging. Additionally, caregivers of kiddos with ASD often take on the additional responsibility of managing their tasks and schedules on top of their own, and these schedules can be immensely complicated. However, that is what makes a caregivers role so life-changing! YOU help your little ones reach their fullest potential by assisting with everything their adventurous life entails. With tasks to complete, chores to finish, and shopping to get done, hopefully one of these options helps eliminate some stress for you and your family! 

Written by Eden Osiason