App Review: Burger by Magma Mobile

Recently I have a lot of kids needing to improve memory and following directions and Burger is just the game to get them started.  There is a timed mode, which for all but the highest kids is too much pressure, however the un-timed "burger creator" mode has been wonderful!

There are lots of options and they are fairly familiar, so my kids don't need long to get familiar.  We generally refer to the bun as "bottom" and "top" and the actual burger patty as "meat" and the kids seem to pick this up quickly.  I have been using this game to build some memory for 2 and 3 words as some of my kids have an especially difficult time with remembering and repeating as well as executing the directions.  

This game has been a motivating and fun way to work on some of these memory/directions skills that my kids tend to avoid.  A way that they love to play it is we take turns taking orders for the other person, this way not only are they following directions but giving them as well.  I sometimes throw in a wrong item, just to make sure that they are paying attention to how I follow their directions.

Overall, great game that is a fun way to work in some extra memory practice and is generally good for at least 5 minutes of sustained interest before changing to something else, some of my kids even enjoy this as a reward and don't even realize that we're still working!

App Review of Cooking apps for following directions

Here is another trio review, this time for some decorating apps that were found on the Bubadu.com page of Google Play.  The three apps that I really like from them are their cooking/decorating apps.  There is Ice Cream Kids Cooking Game, Cupcake Kids Cooking Game, Pizza Maker Cooking Game, and Cake Maker Kids Cooking Game.

This first picture is from my favorite, Ice Cream Kids.  There are lots of options available on the free version of this app, as with all four of them, but at the end of each is a game.  On Ice Cream, there are balloons to pop, and by pushing the button on the bottom right more balloons float up.  All four apps are great for descriptions, following directions and are just plain fun for the kids.  I must admit I, myself, had a lot of fun creating the examples for the pictures! Also, at the end of each game you can "eat" the product by tapping on it and circles that look vaguely bite-sized disappear.

In the cake maker, my second favorite due to the great shapes of the cakes (which would be great for kids working in identifying shapes or making requests), has fireworks at the end which are quite fun for the younger kids.  Also, if the candles are on the cake they can be "blown out" using the candle button.

Pizza maker offers more great shapes, as well as a bunch of new options for sauce, cheese, meats, fish, fruits and vegetables.  Again there is a little end game which is reminiscent of fruit ninja where you slice up pizzas as they fly by and try to avoid the toys that are thrown in.

Cupcake maker is my least favorite, but still a great app!  At the end there are bubbles that are blown and popped along with lots of options for cake, icing, toppings and decorations.  

Each of these apps has excellent graphics, show up well on the tablet screen and feature smooth play with an "undo" button that the OCD kids (and adults) will like.  In the free versions ads are rarely triggered other than at the very beginning, and they are visually beautiful.  These would be great to add to any collection for expressive and receptive language, especially following directions.  Sequencing can also be targeted as the cake, cupcake, and pizza versions have the stages in which the products are cooked, decorated, and "eaten" at the end.

Great apps with very good potential for use in speech therapy sessions and at home for carry-over activities!

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!

App Review: Toddlers Cubed

Toddlers Cubed is a great app for very young children, or clients with Autism.  Is fantastic for cause and effect and requesting.  There are six rows of cubes that change colors when touched and play a music note.  When it is not touched for a while it will randomly initiate random cubes.

The clients I see love this app and will request for music when they see my Tablet.  It is very simple and may be a great reward for a children under the age of 3.  I generally let them play with it for 30 seconds and then request a turn and them have them request a turn for themselves, so pragmatics/turn-taking can also be targeted with this app.

Also, with St. Patrick's day around the corner I've been keeping an eye out for related games, so far this rainbow color music app is about as close as I've come.

Android Apps for SLPs Review: Cut The Rope

This is a quick app review for Cut the Rope and some ideas for how this can be used in therapy.  As a speech-language pathologist I am constantly searching for ways to make articulation practice more fun and make giving and following directions more interesting and this app can provide that.  This is a an app for both Android and iPad that is deceptively simple, somewhat like "Where's My Water."  The object is to cut the ropes on a food item and get it to hungry monster.  I mostly use this app for a reward and /r/ practice for older children (7-10) who enjoy the challenge and need practice on /ro/ words, which tend to be so difficult.  This game can also be used to target receptive language by having them follow directions on more difficult levels, or expressive language by asking them to guide you in winning a level that they are familiar with.

This game is fun and great for targeting several deficits, but be sure to set a time limit or number of retries as it can quickly take up more time than intended.

Three essential apps for the Android toting SLP

Hello all!  I know that sometimes the world of apps can be a little overwhelming, so I am here to offer some suggestions of apps that I have found to be the most helpful.

Note: I do not work for any of these companies and I get no compensation from them, I just got their apps and found them to be helpful.

The first app is Skitch this is a great app that I use at least once a day, and often more.  What's so great about it?  It allows you to draw on any picture file.  This means that you can scan worksheets, take pictures of books, items, or from other applications and draw on them with this app.  I usually use this for identifying concepts by scanning worksheets or saving them as a jpeg file.  I can then open them anytime and have my kids X out, circle, or their favorite... arrow to the named concept.  They can choose colors and either draw with a pen tool, or use the preset shapes.  This is also great because you can "undo" so if you want to model without leaving the mark you can easily undo your markup and let them take over.  Below is an example of markups on a "what does not belong" worksheet.  Just be sure to go into the app's settings and check the "keep tools active" box so that your tool of choice doesn't automatically revert to the pen tool.

Using Skitch to mark on a worksheet

My second app of choice is one that I recently found, Kid Creation (Kids Scene),  This app has been wonderful for creating "worksheets" on the go for basic concepts, language, and even articulation.  It is basically a sticker program that allows you to choose a background, choose characters and place them anywhere.  You can layer them to allow for "in front" or "behind" when working on prepositions as well as make them larger or smaller.  I love this app, and frequently make a picture with my kids and then save it and import it into skitch to test their grasp of the concepts.   The picture below was made with an articulation client working on /r/ in spontaneous sentences in all positions.

The third app that I highly recommend is the Disney app Where's my Water it is available for both Android and Apple operating systems and is a great therapy app for working on problem solving and as a reward.  All the kids I see love this app!  They will attempt the levels themselves, follow directions to complete ones that are more difficult, and use their expressive language to describe to me how to win the level.  I use this at least once per day.  The levels tend to be quick but later levels are quite challenging.  Not only is this a great app, but you can also get additional resources from the game's web page to bring in more of the story and provide additional language opportunities.  The main idea is that you dig through the dirt, around obstacles, and get Swampy water so he can take a bath.  Kids love it and it makes for an excellent addition to your therapy arsenal.

Give these a try and let me know what you think of them.  I am always happy to hear comments about what you have found useful so that I can add it to the blog!

Hope these give you a good start in the world of Android platform apps!