App Review: Activity Timer Trial

Happy Summer all!

Sorry for the delay in posting, things have been a bit busy, but I have a great app for you this week! Activity Timer Trial (there is a paid version here currently for $1.99) is an excellent visual timer app that I highly recommend.

The trial version has a few limitations after the trial runs out, such as limited number of timers and limited amount of time (10 minutes); however, I have found the trial to suit my kids just fine.  What's so great? It has a three color countdown, chimes that you can set for each if you want, and a different chime for the ending.  This is a great app for any kids that have trouble transitioning between tasks.  The color change and chimes are great for getting them ready for the change to come.

I have used this app with several children (including my own nieces and nephew), as well as recommended it to parents.  I generally run the timer on my galaxy phone while the child plays on the tablet, or with some other activity so that they are able to constantly monitor their time if they wish.  It is one of the best visual timers that I have encountered, and although I have not tried out the other functions, it appears to have a lot of great options if you have time to play with it.

I highly recommend checking out the free version as it has been all I needed so far, but I have already considered purchasing the full version to play with more features.  If you get the full version comment to let us know what you thought of it!

App Review: Starfall

I know that many SLP's involved with the schools will be familiar with this app, but for those of you who don't know about it, Starfall is a great reading and phonics app to use in therapy and especially to suggest to parents whose children are having difficulty with reading.

This $2.99 app tackles each sound as well as blends, digraphs and diphthongs.  It is a great starting point or a place for beginning practice in reading and phonics.  I have several children on my schedule who have used this at home and the parents have been very pleased with the app as well.  Additionally, there are free versions at www.starfall.com that also  tackle reading levels from single letters to reading short stories.

Both the app and the website are great additions to your reading repertoire and can be very helpful for parents to try at home.  Also, many of the activities are set up as games so children sometimes don't even realize that they are learning to read.

Give it a try and let parents know about the app as well as the website that is accessible for free!

Review of three apps: Robots Are Taking Over!

I work with a lot of young kids, and one thing that most of them have in common is a love of robots.  These three apps are wonderful: Robot Puzzle , Robot Workshop , & Kids Robot Puzzle Factory.  Note: these are all apps that have a free version that can be upgraded to unlock the full app, I recommend trying out the free, but be prepared to buy them as they are really well done apps.  They are great for working on requesting, turn-taking, body parts and problem solving.  The kids on my caseload all seem drawn to these games, and frequently one of the first verbal requests they develop is "wobot!" I like that these games can be short, can be played multiple times, or can be played in order and engage them for a whole session.  There are some kids I've worked with that this is the only thing they want, therefore providing lots of requesting opportunities.  We also work on receptive language by giving and following directions and body parts.

The one pictured below is my favorite, Robot Puzzle.  It has several puzzle levels of increasing difficulty that are just fun to complete.  Also, when the puzzle is done kids yell "YAY!" and balloons are released on the screen that they can pop.  Not only do the clients enjoy the challenge of the puzzles, but also the reward and balloon popping as well!

 This next is from Robot Workshop.  It has all the same robots from the last app, but in this one you choose from those shown below and put together just one.  Fun, but not quite as engaging.

 This last one is Kids Robot Puzzle Factory.  A totally new cast of robots with a free version that includes 3 robots, or upgraded for $1.50 for 15 different robots.  They start out as just a shadow which are replaced by pictures as one is completed the first time.  These ones are a lot of fun as once they are put together they animate which my kids always seem to enjoy.

There is a lot of potential in these apps to target a myriad of areas if you take time to think about them.  These are fun, engaging, and motivating.  I use these at least once a week, and sometimes more as they make excellent rewards as well if the child is only allowed to play one or two puzzles.

Try them out and prepare to have kids requesting them at every session... which is great because now you have a bargaining chip to get them to try some other tasks that you've been trying to get them to do!

Android Apps for Speech Pathologists Review: My PlayHome

Today's review is of a great app that is also available for iPad as well as android platforms.  My PlayHome is a fantastic app that all my kids seem to enjoy.  It is somewhat of an interactive doll house with lots of uses for expressive and receptive language with naming, following directions, describing actions and much more.

The free version is somewhat limited as it has only the living room and kitchen, I decided to spring for the $2.99 full version and it is very well worth the money.  There are five rooms total, two bedrooms (parent and child's), a bathroom, a kitchen, the living room, and the backyard.  Each room has fully interactive items that the kids love to explore (I loved them too!)  In the living room changing CDschanges the music, drop a person on the recliner and they bounce, they can open and close the curtains and turn lights on and off as well as interact with most of the things in the room in some way.  The kitchen became a fast favorite as the cupboards, fridge, and oven all open and anything edible in the app can be eaten by the characters by holding it near their mouth.  The stove turns on, the water in the kettle boils and by putting the kettle/milk/juice in a character's hand and moving the character they can pour drinks then drink them!  You can even put things in the sink and turn on the water.  The bedrooms have dress up opportunities with hats, and the bubbles can be blown.  The characters also go to sleep when put in the beds.  Outside there is a trampoline for them to jump on, flowers and carrots that can be watered and harvested, as well as tree house that they can play in.  

In the kitchen we usually target following and giving directions.  I love this because they are salient actions such as "Get a plate and put a cupcake on it." or "Give the milk to the mom and make her pour it in the cereal."  The kids get a kick out of ordering around an adult and the interactive sounds make this an engaging  activity.  There are so many opportunities for asking and answering questions when the characters play out actions.  This app could also be used for turn taking, social-pragmatics to use as part of a social story to act out the bad behavior and then the desired behavior.  This is one of those apps that once you have it, you can't imagine what you did before it.  

The only drawback is that this app must be used on a large screen size. I find my 10 inch screen is good, but on anything smaller it would be very difficult to manipulate all the small items and they would be hard to see. 

Overall this is a great app that all my kids have enjoyed, generally if they start to loose interest we just go to a different room and they are back on track.  Very few apps out there have as much to offer as this one does for a speech therapy session.  I highly recommend this to any speech-language pathologists looking for a great language app that can be educational and engaging!