Favorite Speech Therapy Apps for the ipad- Receptive Language

A few of my favorite speech therapy apps for receptive language.

RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE

Name: Spingo's Language Universe by The Speech And Language Store LLP
Cost: $2.99
Features: A great app to practice identifying and following directions. It has the option to add 1-4 "main words" or modifiers at each level. Includes some descriptive concepts (wet/dry, big/little), actions (jumping, waving, sitting) and spatial concepts (on, under, next to, behind). This app is awesome! I use it both to practice directions and even just to motivate students when we are working on other things. They love it so much! Every 3 turns they get to add a piece or an item to the rocket ship. After 5 items, the rocketship counts down and blasts off! All ages I work with, PK-5th, enjoy the game!

Name: First Words International HD by Hamaguchi Apps
Cost:$5.99 (Home Version, Single User) and $9.99 (Professional version, multiple user)
Features/Use: Hamaguchi makes some of my favorite apps. I joke with parents that they should be paying me to market for them because I give everyone their flyers. This is one of them. Great app for identifying basic vocabulary from sets of five. Easy to edit settings for the needs of a students. I use the home version because I just track the data on my own and do not need the Pro Version. I love that it can be set for multiple languages! I mostly use this with my preschoolers, it is a common need for my non-verbal students. Cute videos will play after a certain number of tasks as reward/incentive to do more. 


Picture The Sentences by Hamaguchi Apps
Cost: $9.99
Features/Use: This app displays a sentence with pictures cues and optional text. There is a wait time after the sentence is displayed, which can be adjusted under "settings".  After that, the student needs to select a picture that matches the sentence. Great for auditory processing. I've also used it to practice understanding of pronouns or prepositions. A game called "pick a door" shows up every few turns as the "reward". 



Bitsboard by GrasshopperApps.com
Cost: FREE
Features/Use: GrasshopperApps.com makes a bunch of great free apps. Especially for identifying letters, numbers, objects, and they have a few free short books as well. I use "Bitsboard" the most because it is a great "flashcard" type app. It comes with a set of boards and I use the action/verb based ones the most. However, you can also download from a large selection of free sets from everything to vocabulary, adjectives, telling time, and sight words!


SimpleSort by KidsandBeyond, LLC
Cost: 0.99
Features/Use: This is my favorite sorting app because it can be set in both Spanish and English, you can choose your own categories, and how many categories to sort. I like the visuals and my students are easily engaged. You can "learn" the vocabulary items and review before having them practice sorting. It can be easy for student to memorize or even guess their way through this application with out actually paying attention though. I find this to be true with sorting activities in general. See my note on facilitation below. 


Alien Assignment by Fred Rogers Center at Saint Vincent College
Cost: FREE
Features/Use: Another app creator that has a handful of really cute free apps if you feel the need to check out the others. This is a wonderful play app with a short story. A family of alien's crash lands and needs their ship fixed. The students have to find items and take pictures of them in order to help them fix the ship. For example, if the ship's air conditioner breaks the student's are prompted to take a picture of "something cold". Great for basic concepts. HUGE kudos to one of the preschool teachers I work with for showing me this app!

When working with ipads remember to FACILITATE the learning experience.
"A big part of learning is going from what we know and understand and making connections to the new things we're taking in. If you're not there with them, interacting with them while they're engaging with the ipad, you're not going to make those other kinds of connections."
-Angela Booker, UC Davis
Professor of Education

For example, some children can easily memorize the takes in a sorting app, vocabulary app, or sight words. On a spelling app a child may look like they are spelling but then not relate to the actual word in print. Always be there to interact with them and give lots of praise. Back up what you do on an ipad in order to connect to real life! Example, act out some of the concepts you practice on these apps during playtime, tabletop activities, or out in the real world!