Look Here! (Sensory Software)
by Gerry Kennedy
For PC Compatible Computers running MS Windows 95/98
Look Here!
This program has been designed for the visual stimulation of very young children. It will also be very useful with young children who are vision impaired. It has seven different types of displays that can be adapted using effect menus to set up options such as speed, size, background and colour. These settings can then be saved in a visual effects file (.vfx) and then loaded for each user, or for a group.
You simply locate the File menu and click on Load in order to load different effects. The effects files random.vfx and shades.vfx are pre-programmed and are ready to use. You choose one of the different presentations:
| Chessboard | Manhattan | Grid |
| Shapes | Snake | Lines |
| Wheel | Confetti | Dancing Line |
| Bars | Rings | Ovals |
| X's | Moving line | Wobble |
You accomplish this by locating the Options menu, then choosing your activity. You can also click on the choices displayed in the grid onscreen.
There are NO input methods. The teacher, parent or therapist starts the activity. The aim of the software is for the user (child or client) to attend to and watch the visually stimulation activity. This particular genre of program works best in a dark environment. As there are no sound effects, the intention is to establish the user’s vision, or functional use of tracking and therefore attention to the stimulus. The software is therefore very specific in its design and author’s intention.
In the Effects menu, you can change the display parameters.
These include:
| Random | the colours are chosen at random, |
| step | steps through different shades, so the colours change quite slowly |
| Fixed | where the colour takes the value that you set in the Fixed Colour option. |
To invoke the Effects menu, choose an activity. While it is running, press the right mouse button. A menu specific to the activity will appear.
A limitation of this program is that it will only run it in 256-colour mode in Windows 95.
As a visual stimulation program, it is more than adequate for young children but may not hold the attention of older students or adults. If you need a flexible and colourful visual stimulation program on a Windows PC computer, then Look Here! will definitely suit your needs.