How to Use the BASICS App: 7 Practical Tips for Parents

Last Updated: August 31, 2026

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A practical guide to using personalized goals, three guided activities, demonstration videos and everyday practice in the current BASICS app.

Downloading a child-development app is easy. Knowing what to work on, how much to do and how to connect an activity with real life is harder. BASICS is designed to make that next step clearer for families supporting speech, communication, motor, social-emotional and everyday skills at home.

To use the BASICS app effectively, complete your child’s profile using current observations, review the suggested goals and focus on the three activities in the daily plan. Watch the demonstration first, participate with your child, accept every valid form of communication and carry one small skill into an everyday routine. Rate progress honestly rather than rushing ahead.

BASICS provides therapist-created home-practice plans for children with autism, speech delay and other developmental needs. Parents answer questions about their child’s current skills, receive suggested goals and get three activities for the day. Activities include demonstration videos, step-by-step guidance, parent prompts and therapist tips. Parents can rate progress goal by goal.

The app can organise practice and show parents what to do, but it does not diagnose a developmental condition, decide whether a child needs therapy or replace individualised care from a qualified professional. Think of BASICS as guided support you use with your child—not as a test the child must complete alone.

1. Complete the Child Profile Using What You See Now

The plan begins with questions about your child’s current abilities. Answer them using what your child usually does now, not what they did once several months ago or what you hope they will soon do.

Focus on observable skills. For example:

Does your child communicate a request using speech, a gesture, a sign, a picture or AAC?
Can they complete part of a dressing or feeding routine, and what help do they need?
Can they copy a movement after watching someone demonstrate it?
Do they recognise a feeling in a familiar situation?

Avoid guessing a diagnosis from an individual behaviour. A child may communicate, move, attend or respond differently for many reasons. The profile helps organise app recommendations; it is not a developmental screening or clinical assessment.

Choose the response that best represents your child across ordinary situations. If performance changes depending on tiredness, familiarity, sensory conditions or the communication partner, answer conservatively and remember that context when reviewing the suggested goals.

Revisit the profile when there has been a meaningful change—not after every difficult day. Updating it too often can make the plan unstable, while leaving old information unchanged can make suggestions less relevant.

2. Review Suggested Goals Before You Begin

BASICS uses the profile to recommend developmental goals. A recommendation is a starting point, not a diagnosis and not an instruction to work on everything at once.

Review the goals and ask three questions:

Is this skill useful in my child’s daily life right now?
Is the goal reasonably close to what my child can already do with support?
Does it fit priorities already discussed with my child’s therapist, teacher or doctor?

A useful goal should connect with participation. Learning to request help may reduce frustration during daily routines. Practising a two-handed action may support dressing or play. Recognising a familiar emotion may make it easier to talk about an experience. The real value is not completing an app category; it is helping the child use a skill in life.

Start with a small number of meaningful priorities. Selecting too many goals creates a larger plan but does not create faster development. If a professional is already supporting your child, show them the relevant BASICS goal and ask how it can complement the child’s existing plan.

If a suggested goal feels clearly too easy, too difficult or unrelated to your current priorities, review the profile before continuing. Do not force a child through a poor fit merely because the app recommended it.

3. Focus on the Three Activities for the Day

BASICS organises active goals into three guided activities for the day. Use that structure to reduce decision fatigue. You do not need to search through every available module or keep adding tasks to make the practice worthwhile.

There is no universal number of screen-time minutes that makes an activity effective. One activity may involve watching a short demonstration and then moving away from the device to practise. Another may be a brief parent-child game. A child who is tired, distressed, unwell or disengaged may need less, a simpler version or a pause.

Complete the activities at times that fit your family. They can be done together or placed in natural parts of the day rather than treated as one formal session. A communication activity may fit during play or snack time; a self-care activity may fit while dressing; a movement activity needs appropriate space and supervision.

Three activities are an organising structure, not a performance target. It is better to use one activity meaningfully than to rush through all three for completion. Stop or adapt when participation falls apart. The plan should fit the child—not the other way around.

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4. Watch the Demonstration Before Inviting Your Child

Each BASICS activity includes a demonstration video, steps, parent prompts and therapist tips. Review them before asking your child to participate. This lets you understand the purpose, prepare any materials and simplify the setup.

Notice four things:

what skill the activity is targeting;
what the adult demonstrates or says;
what kind of response the child can give;
how the activity could be adjusted without changing its purpose.

The video is a model, not a demand for perfect imitation. Your child may need fewer choices, a slower pace, a different object, more processing time, physical space or an alternative communication method. Use physical assistance only when it is appropriate, welcomed and safe; do not move a child’s body through an activity simply to produce completion.

Prepare the environment for the specific task. A quiet room is not automatically best for every child, and headphones are not automatically helpful. Reduce unnecessary distractions, keep the device stable and adjust sound or brightness if needed. For movement, feeding, oral-motor, toileting or other safety-sensitive activities, follow the stated precautions and professional guidance relevant to your child.

5. Participate—Do Not Hand Over the Screen

BASICS works best as a parent-guided tool. Sit with your child when possible, model the action or language, pause for a response and react to what the child communicates. The adult-child interaction is more important than tapping through a task quickly.

Keep your language clear. Instead of repeating a command many times, model once, wait and offer a helpful cue if needed. A pause gives the child time to process and respond. If they are unsure, demonstrate the answer without turning the moment into a test.

Accept communication in all valid forms. A child may respond through:

spoken words or sounds;
pointing or reaching;
facial expression or body movement;
gestures or signs;
pictures or an AAC system.

Do not withhold a wanted object until a non-speaking child says a word. Model the word while also honouring the child’s established way of communicating. BASICS is described as AAC-friendly, and home practice should support communication rather than make speech the price of being understood.

The app also includes child-facing learning games across speech and language, academics, and feelings and friendships. Use a game to practise a specific skill, not as a substitute for the child’s daily plan or for shared interaction. Watch what the child understands, help only as much as needed and end before frustration becomes the main experience.

6. Carry One Skill Into Everyday Life

An app response matters only if the child has opportunities to use the skill beyond that screen. After an activity, choose one small connection with something already happening in your day.

BASICS focus	Everyday follow-through
First words or vocabulary	Use the word while playing with or handling the real object.
Requests and choices	Offer two meaningful options and accept speech, gesture, sign, picture or AAC.
Fine-motor skills	Repeat the hand action during drawing, dressing, opening containers or play.
Gross-motor coordination	Practise the demonstrated movement in a clear, supervised space.
Feelings and social skills	Name the feeling or choice during a relevant, calm moment without demanding eye contact.
Daily living skills	Practise one manageable step during the actual routine.

Keep the connection short and natural. You do not need to turn meals, bath time and play into continuous teaching sessions. Repeat the target when it fits, then return to the relationship and routine.

Children may show a skill in the app before they can use it in a new setting, with another person or during a stressful moment. That is not failure. Different contexts place different demands on attention, movement, language and regulation. Provide repeated opportunities without assuming one correct app response means the skill is mastered everywhere.

If the child’s therapist is involved, share the everyday examples that worked. “She requested bubbles with her picture card during play” is more useful information than “She completed the activity.”

7. Rate Progress Honestly and Adjust Support

BASICS lets parents rate each activity and follow progress goal by goal. Use ratings to record what you actually observed, including the help your child needed. Do not choose the highest rating to unlock progress or a lower rating because the child was tired on one isolated day.

Look for patterns across repeated opportunities:

Does the child begin the activity more readily?
Do they need fewer prompts or choices?
Can they use the skill with a different object or person?
Does the skill appear in an everyday routine?
Is the child showing discomfort, avoidance or frustration that requires an adjustment?

Progress is rarely perfectly linear. A skill can look stronger in a familiar setting and less available when the child is tired, overwhelmed or asked to do several things at once. Record honestly and use the pattern to decide whether to continue, simplify, revisit the profile or discuss the goal with a professional.

If Your Child Does Not Want to Participate

Do not turn refusal into a contest. Check whether the child understands the task, is comfortable with the materials and has an accessible way to respond. Try a shorter version, model without asking for a response, move the practice to a familiar routine or return later.

Repeated resistance is information. The activity may be poorly timed, too difficult, uncomfortable, uninteresting or connected with a sensory, communication, motor or emotional need. “Making it more fun” is not always the answer.

If the Activity Seems Too Easy or Too Difficult

For an easy activity, change one element at a time: use a new object, practise with another person or carry the skill into a less familiar routine. For a difficult activity, reduce the number of steps or choices, demonstrate again and support the response.

Do not increase difficulty simply to keep the child busy. The goal is useful participation, not constant challenge.

When to Seek Professional Guidance

Speak with your child’s doctor or an appropriate child-development professional if you are concerned about communication, movement, feeding, sensory responses, behaviour, learning, daily living skills or overall development. Seek guidance when skills are lost, difficulties affect everyday participation, or an activity raises a safety concern.

Using BASICS should not delay developmental screening, assessment or therapy when these are needed.

Common Questions About Using BASICS

Does My Child Need a Diagnosis to Use BASICS?

No. Families can use developmental activities without a diagnosis. However, using the app cannot confirm or rule out autism, ADHD, speech-language difficulties or another developmental condition. Discuss concerns with a qualified professional rather than using app performance as a diagnostic result.

Can BASICS Replace Speech or Occupational Therapy?

No. BASICS provides structured home practice and can complement professional guidance. A clinician can assess why a difficulty is occurring, select individualised goals, monitor safety and change intervention based on the child’s response—functions an app cannot provide.

How Long Should My Child Use BASICS Each Day?

Use the three daily activities as the organising structure instead of aiming for a fixed number of minutes. The appropriate duration depends on the activities and the child’s engagement. Some practice happens with the device; some can continue through play, movement or an everyday routine. Stop when the child is distressed, fatigued or no longer participating meaningfully.

Can a Speaking or Non-Speaking Child Use BASICS?

Yes. BASICS supports communication through speech, gestures and AAC. Choose goals that match the child’s current communication system and accept valid responses without pressuring the child to speak. A speech-language pathologist can help if you need an individualised communication or AAC plan.

What If the Suggested Goal Does Not Fit My Child?

Check whether the profile accurately reflects the child’s current abilities. Review the goal’s purpose and consider whether it supports a useful everyday activity. If the mismatch continues, do not force the activity. Choose a more relevant priority or discuss the goal with the professional supporting your child.

Use BASICS as a Guide, Then Bring the Skill to Life

Getting more from BASICS does not mean spending longer in the app or finishing more content. It means choosing a relevant goal, understanding the demonstration, doing a manageable activity with your child and creating a real opportunity to use the skill.

Complete the profile carefully. Focus on the three activities for the day. Participate, accept the child’s communication, connect one skill with daily life and rate what you genuinely observe. That is how BASICS can make home practice clearer without turning childhood or family routines into a constant therapy session.