4 Great Speech Language Apps for your Ipad

If you have been looking for some good speech/language apps to do with your child, look no further! Today's guest post is by fellow Speech Language Pathologist, Kristin Cummings, M.S., SLP-CCC who works as a pediatric speech language pathologist in Florida. Today, Kristen is sharing her 4 favorite speech apps with us. While I am a huge proponent of a screen free childhood, I do feel there are times, when used in moderation, learning apps can help a child by allowing for mobile instruction (waiting rooms, etc), increasing interest, and improving skills. Enjoy! Pin! Share!~~Katie Sullivan, M.S., SLP-CCC


                FOUR GREAT SPEECH/LANGUAGE APPS

I am so excited to be doing a guest post for Brighton Park! Let me start by introducing myself. First and foremost I am a mommy to precious little girl named Kenzie Lee, but I sign my name Kristin Cummings, M.S., CCC/SLP. I am a speech language pathologist in an elementary school setting as well as a private therapist. I am also the author of the [simply speech.] blog at kcummingsslp.blogspot.com. Most of my experience has been working with preschool and school age students, which I love!

Over the past few years, technology has really found a place in the therapy room. iPads are filling every classroom and therapy room in our county. I was a little hesitant to jump right in and fully embrace the technology in therapy. I was used to using articulation cards, Candy land, and other tried and true therapy materials that were yet to let me down. However, knowing that 3 year olds are now working their parents’ iPhones I figured the old saying is true, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” Boy I am so glad I did! There are so many great apps out there, and I wanted to share a few favorites with you! (Note: None of these app companies have paid me to share these apps, the opinions are 100% mine!)

Favorite articulation app: Articulation Station

 
This app is a favorite with my articulation students (they even request it by name!) This app includes flash cards, stories, and games separated by specific sounds in the initial, medial, and final position. This way you can target specifically what your child needs. The flash cards include a word and a real life picture of the target. If you touch the picture, the word is read out loud (perfect for little ones who aren’t reading yet). There is also a concentration (memory) type game for each sound.

 This app is great for kids to play with by themselves or with a sibling or friend while they practice their good speech sounds and are exposed to new vocabulary words. Articulation Station Pro (which includes all the sounds) sells for $49.99. However, if your little one only needs to work on specific sounds (like /k/ or /g/), you can download each one for $2.99-5.99. You can download a free sample version of Articulation Station to try it out in the iTunes store. Bonus: the creator of this app, Heidi, has a great blog as well. Find her at Mommy Speech Therapy.

Favorite language app: Preposition Builder

The mobile education store has some really great apps to target language concepts. One of my favorites and frequently used app is Preposition Builder. This app has engaging, child friendly pictures that illustrate a target concept. One of my favorite things about this app, is that if the child incorrectly answers the question, the picture changes to show why it is not correct. Here is an example of a screen shot. The prompt was “The boy put the cereal ___ the bowl.” The correct answer is “in” but the student chose “on.”

The Mobile Education Store has many other great apps such as: Sentence Builder, Sentence Builder Teen, Story Builder, Language Builder, Rainbow Sentences, and Speech Journal. Preposition Builder sells for $7.99 in the iTunes store.

Favorite story app: Toy Story Showtime!

I am a huge fan of the Toy Story movies, so when I found this, I was beyond excited! This app is an interactive story of the Toy Story gang planning a talent show. It targets early reading concepts and vocabulary. Vocabulary words are repeated throughout the story. This is great since kids learn best through multiple exposures.

The app reads the story out loud and highlights each word as it is read (great for learning sight words!) In each scene, there are yellow “glow” buttons that highlight interactive components. For example, you can make Buzz dance, move and slide across the screen. There are also extension activities where kids can practice literacy skills. You can also target story prediction, comprehension, sequencing, and story retelling with this app. Ask for child questions and have them tell you about their favorite part of the story. Toy Story Show time sells for $4.99 in the iTunes store.

Favorite FREE app: Make a Scene- Farmyard

I have found that with most of the free apps, my students get bored quickly. They are usually a “lite” version of another app or don’t include much variety. This app is an exception to that rule! I love using this app during my “On the Farm” theme week in therapy. This app gives you an option of blank farm scenes (barn, pasture, etc) and the free choice of animals, farm tools, vegetables, and people to customize your own farm!

This app can target vocabulary, prepositions, characteristics, and conversation skills. They even include a variety of each animal to work on descriptive words (muddy pig, spotted horse). This app would be perfect to keep your little one busy while on errands or in the waiting room… and it’s FREE!  I hope you all have found this post helpful, and hopefully will add a few more apps to your bag of tricks.

Kristin Cummings is a pediatric Speech language pathologist serving both elementary school children and private clients. She received her Masters Degree from Univ. of South Florida. She can be found on the facebook page
 Simply Speech or writing for her Simply Speech blog.If you are liking the information you are finding here on the Brighton Park Blog in the areas of homeschooling, homesteading, speech/language, special needs and more, please consider sharing us via your blog, facebook or twitter or placing the Brighton Park button in your sidebar so other families can find us.



This post has been linked up to the following great blogs this week:
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ABC & 123
Growing Home
Time Warp Wife
Free Pretty Things for You
Messy Preschoolers
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Becoming a Strong Woman of God Homeschooling Link Up
Sun Scholars
Beneath the Rowan Tree
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