These apps benefit children with apraxia, dysphasia, and dysnomia; difficulty with oral motor function and articulation; and difficulty with receptive, expressive, and auditory processing.
Oral Motor
Smart Oral Motor $4.99 - Helps students with their oral motor skills using techniques such as making an “o” with the mouth, moving tongue side to side and more. It includes 15 oral motor exercises and auditory information.
Receptive and Expressive Language
Language Builder- $5.99 - Includes the following: ability to improve sentence formation, improve sentence ideation, improve receptive and expressive language. In addition the app has three levels, records student's voice and saves and emails recorded sentences.
Receptive Identification $.99 - Helps children comprehend simple instructions and practice effective listening behaviors. The student is shown three images per page and asked to identify common objects and people. For example, “touch the cat," “find the guitar,” and more. It reinforces the child's performance using classical music and verbal praise.
Dysphagia
Smalltalk Dysphagia Free - Provides a vocabulary of pictures and icons that talk in a natural human voice; contains 50 phrases that cover eating equipment, meal assistance, diet, liquids and more.
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
This company has three apps for ABA training:
abapecs $.99- Addresses the need to learn how to use PECS (picture exchange communication system). Step by step instructions walk users through the process toward functional communication.
ABAPref $1.99 - Helps to perform a preference assessment. Use the iPhone or iPad2 camera to take pictures of reinforcers you want to assess and launch ABApref. The student can either select the items off the Iphone or the caretaker can use as a guide for available real-life items.
ABAbasic $2.99 - Runs discrete trials and records the data into an email file. Usa an iPhone camera or iPad2 to take pictures of what you want to test (i.e. apples, bike, words, etc) and launch ABABasic. Students can either select the items off the iPhone or use as a guide for present tangible items.
(DTT) Words $2.99 - Help your student learn the sight words using Dr. Gary Brown's DTT Words. Sight words are the first words that your child should learn to recognize using Discrete Trial Training. In addition to this app Gary Brown has four more apps using DTT: Colors, Shapes, Letters and Numbers. Within the app, the teacher or parent can set Trial Time, Inter-trial Interval, and number of cards. It also includes data tracking, practice and the ability to customize a picture for correct answer, incorrect answer and end of trial.
Apraxia
Smalltalk-letters-numbers Free - Provides a series of speech-exercise videos, each illustrating the tongue and lip movements necessary to produce the 26 letters of the English alphabet, numbers 1–20, and primary colors.
Fun With Directions $.99 lite version, $9.99 full version - Lite app includes two concepts: “Give” and “Touch." Designed to provide a fun way to practice listening, following directions, working memory and the auditory processing of language. From the simplest of directions (“Touch the cat”) to the more complex (“Give the boy without a hat or glasses, something round that grows on trees and can be red or green.”).
Making Sequences $4.99 - Sequencing is an important skill for any student with a language delay. With this app, teach story sequencing or help children master steps for completing a task. Includes 15 photo sequences for teaching story order. Use these or upload your own images and pair with voice recordings. Teach personalized daily living skills or have fun teaching kids to sequence stories starring themselves.
Language Delay
PCS Vocabulary Memory Free - The free edition gives one category. The memory app gives children animals and states the name of the animal. If they match two, it offers verbal praise. Other categories include: Clothing, Home Items, Colors and Shapes, School and more. Each extra category is $.99. In addition, this company has free Flashcard and Bingo.
Vicki Windman is a special education teacher at Clarkstown High School South.
