Child not immediately interested In Gemiini? We can fix that!
Every week we receive a couple emails from parents who want to cancel. The reasons for wanting to cancel range from technical issues to their child simply is not interested in watching the videos. With encouragement and some tips on getting things turned around, most of these children get back on track and end up with great results. We wanted to share an email exchange with one of these parents.
October 24
“Dear Gemini,
Please cancel my subscription. At this time, this is not working for us b/c my son only wants to touch the buttons on the computer and there is not an easy way for me to hook the computer up to the TV. We have a smart TV, but the website will not load on the TV. I can’t get him to watch consistently and he wants to watch
his cartoons.
Thank you,
A…”
October 24
“Hello A...,
Hmm..we have a lot of families using smart TVs and it is working great. Or, have you tried to use it on a computer set up out of reach during meals? If you set the computer just out of his reach, or even maybe hardwire the TV to the laptop, that works for most kids. Also, we can try to add in more reinforcing videos from the humor category to get his interest back to the screen. Did you try the High Interest for Hater sessions? Let’s get on phone and figure it out.”
Best,
Laura
November 23
“Hi Laura,
I would like to continue my subscription. My son is starting to really enjoy the videos. He even requests to view the videos. Today he initiated for me and his dad to act out a scene from the video about following commands (3 kids up by a whiteboard w/ someone saying hi and giving them commands). I am hoping this leads to my 3 yr old responding to his name better and waving/ saying hi when someone says hi to him. I also noticed that he started saying Monkey correctly. And there are some other pieces he has taken from the videos and incorporated into his life.
We have started using them a lot for the past couple of weeks b/c I have a newborn and it is something we can do together.
Also my son is so tired after his special needs preschool... This is something passive we can do after school and I feel like he is getting something out of it. It is much better than watching cartoons, which is what we use to do.
Thank you,
A…”
November 23
Hello A…,
That is great. If you want to get on the phone we can also go over some strategies to get even more out of Gemiini.
November 24
“Hi Laura,
I would love to talk on the phone to you about some additional strategies, b/c I am a little overwhelmed and am wondering if I am doing it right. Mostly we will watch the videos, and if I can, I will try to reenact the video or do the animal sounds. My son will get bored with the video after a little while, and then I'll select a new video to see if I can get his attention again. We have probably 'really' been watching the videos for about 3 weeks, probably 1 hour per day.
So today my ASD 3 yr old wanted to do the 'pumputer', and watch Gemiini videos. We watched the video about big vs. little, 'which one do you like' and 'which one is your favorite'. I then got out 3 toys and asked my kiddo which one he liked (just like in the video), and he said....'I like this one', and he selected the horse toy. I know it was scripted, but I am pretty sure he liked the horse toy the best. He has NEVER done this before, and has NEVER answered a question about which item he 'likes'. He has never understood the term 'like'. I was very happy!! I think the videos are helping him put it all together. My son likes to script, but he uses the scripts appropriately. So I am hoping this can be in his script repertoire.
Thank you,
A...”
This little boy is now starting conversational speech, which one of the most difficult bridges to cross with ASD. This is all because mom stuck it out through a rough patch and got things back on track. If she would have given up a month ago, we would never have known what was possible.
There are MANY tricks that we can use to get our kids engaged with Gemiini. Watching during meals or in the car are just a start. Adding in more engaging content from the Videos section by either creating custom videos or editing the Quick Start sessions is also important. Use High Interest for Haters videos and sessions which were specifically designed for little kids who actually HATE Gemiini (this the name). Everyone loves these sessions, even the little "haters."
If any of you are struggling with these issues, please email me directly so that we can get on the phone and come up with a plan. It would be a shame to quit right when triumph is so close.