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: 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: 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!

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!

App review: Wombi Ice Cream Lite

I have recently fallen in love with the free and lite version of this great app Wombi Ice Cream Lite .  It is super cute and deals with a subject that most kids love: Ice Cream!

What is so great about this app?  It can be fantastic for following directions, giving directions, understanding negatives (the one that is not...) and memory.  I have found that nearly all my kids will request this as a reward once they've played it once, which makes for a great way to sneak in some more practice for their memory and following directions in a fun and creative way.

The idea is that there is a cast of three characters who place orders at your ice cream shop.  There are five flavors of ice cream and five cones and cups and you are responsible for figuring out what the person wants. It begins with simple orders of one flavor and continues to get more complex.

The only complaint that I have for this app is that it can be tricky to get more than one flavor to stick on the cones and you have to be sure to stack the second and third scoops to the sides to be able to pile on a fourth and fifth scoop.  This issue aside, I love this app.  I had purchased the full version, but I found that for following directions, having so many choices (an additional 5 flavors plus toppings) was just too much distraction.  It was fun just to play, but just got a little too complex for my younger crowd.

A very fun app that can be an excellent way to work in some memory and following directions in sessions or at home!

App Review: Line up

A the moment I have a lot of kids working on following directions and understanding basic concepts and Line Up is great for working on these issues.  This free app addresses patterns, following directions, colors, and size.  It's super cute as each pattern shuffles out and a white one walks in through the upper door.  Next you select what color (2 or 3 depending on the level) and size (at more advanced levels) and your person slides down the pole to join his buddies.  My kids will usually stay engaged for about 10 minutes, which is about as long as I would want to target this, so it's perfect.  I love the concept, the ability to choose difficulty level, and pattern work is something that can be boring for a lot of kids so this app can be very useful.  With some younger kids I also this for following directions and as a fun introduction to patterns and how to figure out "what comes next?"  

Give Line Up a try and I would also recommend any other apps that busy things comes up with, they are always well made, fun, and educational.

SLP App Review: iStoryBooks

If you are looking for free books on your tablet iStoryBooks app you should look into.  They have a good collection of simple stories that most kids are familiar with.  One of my clients would request Cindrella at every session, which was great for working on narrative storytelling, prediction, and discussing emotions.

You do need internet access to be able to download the story, so it's not very useful if your tablet isn't tethered, or near wifi, but you can pre-load the story and leave the app open and it will work later.

The writing isn't the best, but the books are enjoyable and most are good for beginning readers (around 2nd grade) or younger if you don't mind supplying/working through the difficult words or just using it for the picture description.  It's also great for working on sequencing as you can take screenshots of the stories to prompt clients after reading or to have them sequence in the correct order.

Overall, this is a good, free book app that has come in very handy when working on reading and narrative storytelling with kids.

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.

SLP Android App Review: Bag It! V-Day

I recently came across Bag It! V-Day aka Bag it! Lite.  I am not sure what makes the light version related to valentines day, but it's a great app for working on some basic concepts and problem solving as well as following directions.

The basic idea is to put heavy groceries on the bottom and light ones on the top when bagging them.  Initially I thought my kids wouldn't be interested in it, but they really enjoyed it and didn't notice that they were working on opposites (heavy/light and top/bottom).  This was an effective way to target some opposites and using descriptive language, as well as a lot of problem solving as the game requires you to figure out how to arrange the groceries to keep light ones from being crushed, and my kids usually had to follow at least one-step directions to complete the levels, especially as they became more challenging.  

Give it a try, it worked well at the end of a session allowing the clients to play one or two rounds as there were several replays required for them to pass the levels, even with some coaching.

SLP app Review: Miracle Modus

Miracle Modus is a cool little app for non-verbal clients and infants. This is a cause and effect music app that is specifically designed with Autistic children in mind.   It has soothing chimes and bells and most of the modes react to touch.  My kids with Autism are entranced and will even request this app when they are not interested in any other therapy activities.  It can be a great tool in facilitating requests when using an ABA approach as this has been a great motivator for some of my kids who were just beginning to request activities.  It probably won't work with everyone, but for nonverbal kids it is worth a try, especially since it's free!  

Android App for Speech-Pathologists Review: Body Boggle

Body Boggle, an app by a British company Busy things, is a fun app that many of my kids have enjoyed.  It is an app where you can change the attributes of various characters.  It is a great way to target receptive and expressive language in a speech therapy session.  There are two modes, you can change both the face, and the body.  It targets body parts, big/little, long/short, and other opposites.

For a free app it has a lot to offer and the kids are usually captivated for a good 5 to 10 minutes, longer than that and they get a bit bored, but it's fun while it lasts!  A great way to make speech therapy more fun while targeting body awareness and basic concepts.

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.

Android App Review: AAC Talking Tabs

Here is another app that is a free AAC program available on the Android market: AAC Talking Tabs,  This is an AAC (Alternative Augmentative Communication) program that allows you to make icons for for words and phrases to give speech options to non-verbal or low-verbal patients.

This is not the best program, but it is useful for some.  Unfortunately, you cannot edit what tabs are shown or the icon for them, but you can add any pictures and change the text to anything you wish.  You can also alter the icon size, but it's a little unreliable for whether or not it will show the picture properly.  I have made a "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" page by adding lots of rows and only putting pictures where two at a time show, so with a little creativity you can find ways to make this useful.  I also changed all the tab colors to black so that my kids don't try to look at them when I want them to focus on the book related page.  If you have  a person who already uses a dynavox or similar device independently and can handle a 1" by 1" inch icon size this would work.

Since it's free I think that it is well worth the time to play around with it and see what you can come up with to make it work for you.  Also, for parents who can't afford an AAC device might find it helpful as well.  Unfortunately another drawback is that I have not found a way to upload pages, but again, if there is nothing else available it has potential to be useful.

Pros: Free, gives a voice to our clients who don't have an AAC device, offers the ability to upload pictures, good for small/simple communication boards
Cons: Not very customizable, diffcult to navigate when programming in edit mode, limited voice choices.

Give it a shot and comment on what you think of it and whether it was useful to you.

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!