Goally is a suite of therapeutic apps built into a dedicated, kid-friendly tablet designed to help kids and teens with disabilities build independence and daily living skills.

The Goally tablet is available by subscription (first year is free and then it's $9/month after that) and comes preloaded with all of Goally’s tools, including customizable routines, behavior supports, token systems, AAC (speech), gamified learning apps, and more—without the distractions of games, ads, or social media.

Parents, caregivers, educators, and clinicians manage everything through the Goally Parent app (available on iOS, Android, or via the web portal at portal.getgoally.com). The Parent app acts as the Admin, while the dedicated Goally tablet is the Learner’s device. Together, they provide a structured system that helps kids practice skills and gain independence.

Please note: Goally no longer offers the Kids App for iPad. A dedicated device is now required. The subscription is $9/month.

For purposes of this review, the Home Therapy Suite was trialed on devices already owned by the reviewer - an iPad Mini 4th generation and an iPhone 8, updated to iOS 14.6. The Goally Home Therapy Suite app was downloaded onto the iPhone app for a teenager with a dual diagnosis of Down syndrome and autism. The Goally Adult app was downloaded onto the iPad Mini for the adult/caregiver to program, edit and set up. o Visual Scheduler – customizable with various sounds, reminders o Automated Token Reward System – easy set-up, customizable, built-in images and uploadable photos o Puzzles for learner engagement – customizable with sound, number of pieces, o Visual Countdown timers for any task – customizable sounds and time, bar that shows visual of time countdown in the form of a long bar that gets shorter o Weather app – not customizable, basic layout with temperature, thermometer icons o Behavior Tracker – easy set-up, customizable & behavior library included o Unlimited adult accounts for collaboration purposes Note: What is not included with the Home Therapy Suite (that IS offered at the Plus level and Therapy Pro Plus level) are a dedicated device, a device protection plan, HIPPA Compliance and Behavior Skills Training.

Sign Up and Getting Started Sign up on an iPad took about 5 minutes in which a Goally-generated code must be entered to pair with the Learner app on the iPhone.

Goally sent a welcome email that includes an offer of a 30 minute “implementation call.” The user clicked to access a wide range of 30 minute time slots to have a clinical specialist demonstrate how to use the therapy suite using a computer and the videoconferencing software Zoom. This reviewer took advantage of the free walkthrough. For those who choose not to do the 30 minute live training, there are a set of 26 YouTube videos available for different aspects of Goally use.

One of the most helpful videos is an 8 minute how to video that is easy to follow to help orient parents/users to using Goally. The recommendation is to practice creating a new “routine” or activity that is FUN. The purpose is to introduce the device and software to the child in a fun and engaging way, NOT teach new skills or create tasks or jobs that are non-preferred activities.

Benefits The teenager using the app loved the visual timer, starting and stopping routines, choosing customized sounds and accessing rewards. Though he didn’t quite understand how to add large numbers of points, because of the helpful visuals and popups, he understood when he earned a reward and enjoyed tapping “yes” to redeem that reward once he earned it. He also enjoyed the quizlet at the end of his routines and rewards that his mom set up where he could indicate his feelings about completing a task or reward. He always tapped “happy.” The caregiver appreciated how easy it was to create a routine and then launch that routine at a set time each day for everyday activities as well as manually input special activities like reading or listening to music together. Once the routine was activated from the adult app, the routine appeared “magically” on the learner app with a sound and visual prompt with instructions about what to do.

When a routine is set up and activities are created within the routine, the adult can assign points that helps the kids earn rewards. This reviewer loved the ability to customize the rewards to specific photos that can be uploaded as well as adding quizlets to routines. For example, in setting up a routine on brushing teeth that is challenging for a child with fine motor and sensory challenges, once the task is complete, confetti and clapping sounds rewarding the child. This is then followed by a quizlet that is kind of like a mini survey that asks how the child feels with the choices of ‘happy,’ ‘sad’, ‘excited’ or ‘angry.’ This give the child the opportunity to record their feelings about the routine. These quizlets can be customized with just 2 choices for answering or a variety of multiple choice options.

Dashboard - Adult App The adult mobile app dashboard includes a template library of various routines that can be used for the child learner, or adults can create their own custom routines for kids with built in graphics or uploading pictures. Points can be assigned and edited for completing tasks, and visual timers can be set. Negative behaviors with negative points can be assigned such as “avoiding eye contact” or “shouting” as well as positive behaviors with points awarded, such as “saying thank you” or “offering to help with a chore”. It is recommended to access the web-based web app at portal.getgoally.com to update settings and to access all features of the Adult app that includes reports and exporting data as pdfs.

Dashboard – Learner App The learner app that the child/teen uses has an easy to use display of 7 icons: routines, visual schedule, rewards, behavior, timer, puzzles, and weather. Completing tasks earns points that can be redeemed for custom rewards like play time, video games, music, etc. Redeeming points is fun with a popup screen asking the child if they want to redeem their reward. If “yes” is chosen, there is confetti with clapping and a picture of the reward is displayed.

Waivers Medicaid In addition to the monthly subscription, Goally has provided an annual subscription option to make it easier for government agencies to purchase for individuals. This option can be helpful for VocRehab organizations, nonprofit orgs, case managers and even foundations that provide funding for individuals with disabilities. Goally did the work of creating a state by state list of Medicaid along with a Goally scorecard assessing features of each waiver with phone numbers and helpful organizations.

Disability Within the website, Goally has provided a downloadable sample letter for individuals to submit to their case manager in an attempt to help families try to get the monthly cost funded.

Goally Adults may benefit individuals diagnosed with autism, ADD, ADHD, Learning Disability, intellectual disability, developmental disability, speech and language disorder, and/or Down syndrome.

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