speech pathology meets high technology…

Dr. Panda Review

May 21, 2012

This week it was all about Dr. Panda.  The app was certainly a hit with nearly every group.  Although the app is designed for younger children (toddlers/preschoolers), I used it at the end of school-aged lessons focused on producing subject + verb + object combinations and past tense verbs.  This is an interactive app that allows you to scroll through different scenes involving a variety of animals and surroundings.  Students touch different objects and animals on the screen prompting an action such as bees flying out of the hive.   In my lessons, I then prompted, “What happened?” to which students were supported to respond with complete sentences using past tense verbs, “The bees buzzed” or for more advanced students, “The bees flew out of the hive.”  A favorite with my students was definitely breaking the ice and watching the polar bear fall into the water.  Contained within the app are activities that target skills such as patterning, matching, numbers, colors, and language concepts same/different and bigger/smaller.  These activities were cute but too easy for my students.  I would love, love for the app to add additional activities for teaching higher level language concepts such as categories,  “Which one doesn’t belong?” or “How do these go together?”  Even activities involving animal descriptions, “What animal lives here?” or “What animal is the fastest?” would be a great addition to the app for early school-aged children.

PRO:

  • Interactive and engaging for students
  • Easy to manipulate
  • Great visuals
  • Provides lots of opportunities to use language
  • Fun enough to be used as a reward
  • Affordable ($1.99)

CON

  • A bit too young for my target population (not a fault of the app just a limitation in my particular practice)

 RECOMMENDED:  YES  5 out of 5 stars

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App Reviews, Lesson Plans for Apps

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CNN Article: iPad Gives Voice to Kids with Autism

May 15, 2012

Check out the article, iPad gives voice to kids with autism, on CNN today.  iPads are far from the perfect augmentative communication device, but the longer they are around and the more experience developers have with creating targeted apps, the better they get.  I have been extremely impressed with the improvements made in only 1 year to existing articulation and language apps.  App developers definitely seem to be keeping an ear open to what their users are saying.  I find them to be heeding the advice of their users, seeking input from professionals in the field and programming accordingly.  That makes me excited for the future of the iPad as an irreplaceable speech/language therapy tool and potential speech output device!

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Autism, Uncategorized

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Word SLapPs Review

May 8, 2012

I love Word SLapP by Zorten.  It is simple and straightforward to use and inexpensive.  I purchased the app with one student in mind, and to be honest, have only used the app with him.  This app allows you to teach vocabulary words related to a child’s environment and sort them by category.  You simply select pictures you have previously taken and stored in the photo gallery on the iPad and drop them into the appropriate category.  The app also allows you to record your voice in order to label pictures appropriately. Students are then able to select the appropriate picture when the target word is presented from a selection of 1 to 5 pictures.  I have used this app primarily for building receptive vocabulary related to the classroom environment.  For this particular student, the app was able to hold his interest for up to 10 minutes and for him, that was a long time!  I can see this app being a wonderful addition to building vocabulary around a field trip or fun class activity.

PROS:

  • Easy to use
  • Inexpensive ($4.99)
  • Easy to personalize for each student
  • Various levels of scaffolding to meet student needs
  • Teaches basic categories
  • Teaches vocabulary relevant to the child’s environment

CONS:

  • The app is based on an ABA approach to therapy so it is fairly rigid in how it can be used

RECOMMENDED: YES 4 out of 5 stars

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App Reviews, Uncategorized

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Conversation Coach Review

May 4, 2012

Conversation Coach is an app developed to help teach kids with autism how to have reciprocal conversations by asking appropriate questions, making comments and listening.   The app basically compares a conversation to a game of pass with a ball.  In conversation, users pass a ball back and forth the length of the iPad indicating the passing of each conversational turn.  The app comes with a variety of conversation scripts with varying degrees of support.  For example, some conversations include visually represented multiple-choice responses, while others do not have this level of support.  The app feels a bit like a cross between a communication device and a conversational tool.  It specifically targets two-way conversations for students with significantly impaired conversational skills.  For my particular group of students, the conversations are too highly structured to address their level of need.  I tried out this app in the last few weeks in therapy and allowed my students to “be the teacher” by building their own conversation around a topic of interest relevant to 4th and 5th grade boys.  I told them that I needed their help and expertise to build a conversation that I could share with younger students.  Their objective was to generate appropriate comments, questions and follow up remarks related to the selected topics.  This process brought up a rich discussion around how to refine comments and questions to make them a bit more appropriate and why.  Unfortunately, at the end of the lesson, I was unable to get our conversations to play back (1 comment/question a turn + passing the ball back and forth) in the same way the scripted conversations on the app did.   There are definitely teaching points that can be hit using this app but I can’t recommend it for the cost given my group of students and the limitations of the app.

PROS:

  • Highly visual
  • Offers a variety of scripted conversations
  • Allows users to create personalized conversations including personalized photos

CONS:

  • Somewhat difficult to navigate and learn
  • Expensive ($79.99)
  • Fairly limited ways of using the app for specific student needs.
  • Scripted conversations (and topic material) would be difficult to make appropriate or applicable for all students.  (“Where did you go on vacation?  Disneyland”)
  • I couldn’t figure out how to create personalized conversations that function the same way as the scripted conversations (show one statement/question each turn rather than the entire dialogue).  Definitely could have been user error.
  • Doesn’t target my student population.

RECOMMENDED: NO (If you have a student who is using a device to help them communicate, I can see how this app would support social interaction and turn taking.)

Note: I was provided with a free promotional code by the developer for this app for review purposes.  I received no compensation to write this post.

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App Reviews, Uncategorized

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Preposition Builder Review

April 19, 2012

If you liked Story Builder and Language Builder, you will enjoy Preposition Builder just as much.  I always find the apps put out by Mobile Education Tools to be accurate, consistent, easy to use, and engaging to students.  Preposition Builder includes 28 of the most common prepositions organized into groups of 3 (i.e. in, on, under), 300 animated pictures referenced by fill-in-the-blank written sentences and prepositions that can be dragged into the sentence to describe the picture.  My favorite feature of the app is that if students drag the wrong preposition into the sentence, a new picture showing the incorrect response will appear.  This visually represents for students how prepositions change the meaning of a sentence.

PROS:

  • Good variety of prepositions
  • Correct and incorrect responses are visually represented
  • Data collection feature
  • Students love the drag and drop feature
  • Students can record their responses
  • Great visuals

CONS:

  • No real complaints :-)

RECOMMENDED: YES  4 out of 5 stars

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Uncategorized

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Articulation Station App Review

March 24, 2012

I have been using Articulation Station for the last several weeks in therapy.  I wanted to review the app soon because they are offering a 40% discount during the month of March.   This is my 3rd articulation app to try out with my students with speech delays.  And I have to say, I saved the best for last!  I have brought it out for 4-5 sessions in a row with my students and never hear complaints.  Typically, if I bring out an app we’ve done in the last couple weeks I get some groans.    But this is visually pleasing to students and extremely easy to use.  My favorite features are the memory game at the word level and reading level passages.  For as simple a game as memory is, students love the interaction and turn taking and stay engaged for the whole session.  In addition to the simple games and stories, it has all the standard features of the other articulation apps, voice output, voice recording, data tracking, and all English phonemes targeted in all positions of words.

PROS:

  • Sounds can be targeted at the word, sentence and reading level.
  • App includes simple interactive games
  • Easy to use voice recording feature
  • Most engaging articulation app
  • Good variety of pictures
  • Data tracking feature is easy to use
  • Multiple user accounts available
  • Sounds can be purchased separately making it much more affordable for parents targeting specific sounds for kids or SLPs wanting to try the app before paying the full cost of all phonemes needed.

CONS:

  • At the reading level, the voice output reads the entire passage at one time. (I haven’t found a way to stop the voice output, so if you accidentally tap the passage you can end up having to wait a bit while the entire passage is read aloud.)  Updated 3/26/12: Thanks to the advice from a friendly commenter, I learned that you can touch the passage a 2nd time to stop the voice output.  I’ve discovered that you may need to touch the passage 1-2 times to get it to respond but it will definitely stop after a couple taps!
  • Most expensive articulation app (so buy now during the month of March!!) Updated 4/5/2012: The new price of the app is now $49.99, not just during the month of March!

Recommended: YES (5 out of 5 Stars)

Note: I was provided with a free promotional code by the developer for this app for review purposes.  I received no compensation to write this post.

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App Reviews, Uncategorized

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Speech Language Therapy Apps for the iPad

March 22, 2012

The SLP Tool Belt:

I got an iPad!….Now What?

I work in a school district where very few SLPs have access to iPads in their everyday therapy.  We’re trying to change that through grant writing education, setting aside time as Speech-Language Pathologists to collaborate and brainstorm about how to use the iPad in therapy and what apps to purchase, and through the collection and sharing of data supporting positive student outcomes when using the iPad.

Frequent questions that arise while meeting with SLPs new to using devices in therapy is, “THERE ARE SO MANY APPS OUT THERE..WHICH ONES DO I BUY?”  So I’ve compiled a speech therapy tool belt for elementary level SLPs based on a starting budget of $100 (I did my very best to stay within that budget but found it too hard to leave a couple out).  These days, all Speech-Language Pathologists have students with autism on their caseloads.  From my own experience, the majority of students can be targeted using apps from the specific categories of SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AUTISM.  My tool belt includes at least 1 app from each category.  All apps on the list I have used extensively and have compared against other similar apps…so what you’re getting is the result of a lot of time and money spent.

Speech apps:

Articulation Station Pro ($49.99-during the month of March only!) (Articulation Station Pro is the first and only articulation application offering practice at the WORD, SENTENCE and STORY levels!  The app includes 22 target sounds.)  As of 4/5/2012: The price  of Articulation Station has been permanently reduced to $49.99.

Language apps:

Toontastic ($9.99) (This app can be used for increasing storytelling/retelling skills, increasing use of descriptive language and targeted vocabulary, working on verb tense and word order, pronouns, synonyms, and much more…)

Story Builder ($7.99) (Targets picture description, word order, sentence formation, vocabulary, making predications, cause/effect, pronouns, verb tense, sequencing)

Language Builder ($7.99) (Targets picture description, sentence formation, word order, verb tense, vocabulary, pronouns.)

Preposition Builder ($9.99) (Targets correct use of prepositions and how preposition use changes a sentence.)

Cookie Doodle ($.99) (Targets sequencing, following directions, basic vocabulary and great for spicing up sessions around the holidays)

Word SLapPs ($4.99) (This is great for students with significant deficits in vocabulary.  It allows you to upload your own images by category)

Doodle Buddy (Free) (Target anything you want while students doodle with their finger.  I use these apps to talk about categories, part/whole relationships, etc.)

Autism apps:

Stories2Learn ($13.99) (Create custom social stories, using your own photos, text, and voice-over)

Model Me Kids: Going Places (Free) (Helping learn to navigate challenging community locations through slide shows of children modeling appropriate behavior.  May only be appropriate for a couple students but at this price, add it!)

Conversation Builder ($9.99) (Pragmatics: Discriminate between subtle differences which can negatively or positively impact a conversation.  Practice making appropriate comments and asking appropriate questions with real life pictures.)

Total: $115.91 (almost made budget :-) )

There are so many other wonderful apps, but I think this is a solid place to start.  I hope you find this helpful if you’re planning on getting an iPad for therapy or even planning to write a grant for an iPad.

Category:

App Reviews, Autism, Uncategorized

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Speech Language Games

March 2, 2012

                           DON’T FORGET THE GAMES!!

I was recently contacted by the creator of Play On Words, Sherry Artemenko, to write a guest post sharing a couple of my app reviews.  Her blog recognizes exceptional toys and games that promote language development in children.  As I have been in the school setting for several years, I have appreciated using her site to get reconnected with what’s new in the world of play, specifically as it relates to play-based therapy.  In a recent post, she mentions the newest trend noted at the New York International Toy Fair of pairing iPad apps with traditional board games like LIFE.  I also appreciated her recent post sending a shout out to school-based therapist and the work they do!

I also plan to use her website as a resource for parents looking for things to do at home with their children with communication delays.  We have so little time to spend as families these days that I love to send parents home with “homework” that involves fun and games, sharing a laugh and hopefully, learning a little language.  So check out Play on Words for the latest and greatest in the world of play.

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Uncategorized

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Speech Language Apps For Read Across America Week

February 29, 2012

In honor of Read Across America week and Dr. Seuss’s birthday, I have been using The Cat and the Hat app on the iPad.  Research (Gail T. Gillon, Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch 2000;31;126-141) shows that phonological awareness training for children with Spoken Language Impairment leads to better outcomes in reading and language abilities.  Rhyming games and activities are an important part of phonological awareness interventions, so how perfect to use a Dr. Seuss book!

The Cat and the Hat on the iPad is the traditional version of the story we all know and love.  The storybook app has 3 settings.  Users have the option of reading the book to themselves, having the book read to them or having the book played to them.  When students have the book read to them they can flip through the pages at their own pace, have specific words reread and tap items on the page to have them labeled aloud.  When the book is played, it simply runs through the narrated story like a video.  This is not an interactive story as characters and objects on the page do not move.  There is, however, an element of interaction in that students can tap the words and pictures on the page and they will be read aloud.  I found this feature very helpful when helping students find the rhyming pairs.

PROS:

  • Inexpensive ($2.99)
  • 3 setting options allows for variety among student skill level.
  • Individual words can be touched and read aloud.
  • Pictures can be touched and labeled…good for building basic vocabulary
  • Sound effects add interest for students

CONS:

  • The story isn’t interactive (characters and objects don’t move)

RECOMMENDED: YES

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App Reviews

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Articulate it! Review

February 16, 2012

I have been using Articulate it! developed by Smarty Ears for the last few weeks with my students with speech delays.  The app allows you to create student profiles and choose from a selection of specific phonemes, error patterns  or manner of sounds (fricatives, glides, etc.).  In the SLP world this is a very convenient feature as it allows you to cater sessions to specific student needs and decrease the number of speech cards you have to carry around.  The app provides plenty of variety in the way of pictures and has an audio recording of each word or phrase.  The audio recording offers a much clearer sound than the Pocket SLP app I have previously used.  In addition, the audio recording reads both the word or phrase depending on the setting you choose.  Students are then able to record their own voice and hear it played back.  They are then able to rate themselves on whether they produced the sound correctly or not.  This app is extremely straightforward and easy to use.  Even my kindergarten students were using it independently by the end of our first session. In comparing this app to Pocket SLP, students appear much more engaged and interested in Articulate it!  The format, color and sound quality appear more attractive to my student users.

PROS:

  • Word selection based on phonemes, phonological processes, or manner of articulation
  • Clear audio recording of all sounds in words and phrases
  • Voice recording for users
  • Data collection feature
  • Engaging to students
  • Variety of word selection

CONS:

  • App crashes periodically

RECOMMENDED:  YES

Note: I was provided with a free promotional code by the developer for this app for review purposes.  I received no compensation to write this post nor was I asked by the developer to do so.

Category:

App Reviews, Uncategorized

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