I've been meaning to post about some of the apps that Caitlin uses for speech. She doesn't use the IPAD during therapy. However, we've been using it as a supplement. We used to sit at the table and do flashcard and games..and we still do this...but it's great to have another option for her. The more she practices, the better.
We spoke with her speech therapist and she said that they do not recommend kids using an IPAD under the age of 3 because of child's brain development. However, she said if it's used in the right way, it's a great additional tool. To be used correctly, Caitlin has to be verbally interacting with it. She can't just sit and push buttons. How do we do this? Simple...when we teach her a new game, we teach her that the only way it moves to the next page is by her talking. Is it true? Not in most cases. But she doesn't know that!
It's adorable to watch her practice and yell so loud at the IPAD! :) I should add I am always supervising her and we are working together when she's on my IPAD. It's not a babysitter...it's therapy supplement! :)
Now, when we got the IPAD and I started researching apps, I was SHOCKED. The prices of apps that are helping kids is RIDICULOUS! Kids can play Angry Bird for free...but to buy the speech app I had heard about was $299.99. That's right, some of the speech apps are $300 bucks! Such a shame! And a majority are between $19.99-$199.99. CRAZY, I know!
But with A LOT of research and little luck, we have a found a few apps in our price range that are helping Caitlin! Also, a lot of the apps can be used on both the IPAD and my IPHONE, but you only have to pay for it once and it downloads on both devices!!!!
So, here are a few of the apps we are using that we like:
Tiga Talk: In Tiga Talk, they give a letter sound and Caitlin has to practice. Then, they have fun games to practice her sounds...like everytime she makes the "d" sound, a ballon pops and eventually she gets to see a picture behind the balloons. It's been really great to practice her individual sounds. I can also adapt the app to only work on the sounds she needs. There is a microphone so the child has to make a sound to get "credit" for the sound. The only downfall is that it doesn't have to be the correct sounds, just any sound...but it's great practice and she doesn't get frustrated if it's wrong! :) We love this app and have it on both devices!!!!
Speech for Apraxia: This is a new one I just found and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! It comes from the NACD (National Academy for Child Development). For this app, I pick the sounds we are working on (and they are in order the same way she follows her sounds in speech, starting with BPM first, then DNT, etc). Then, I can pick up to 8 levels. You start at level one with one sound (bay). Then you move to new levels like level 2 (bay,bay, bay), level 3 (bay, bay, bay, bay, bay), level 4 (bay, bay, bay, bay, be), level 5 (bay, bee, bay, bee, bay), level 6 (bay, bay, bee, bee, bye), level 7 (bay, bee, bay, pa, pa), and level 8 (bay, pa, tuh, nuh, nye). For any children in speech therapy, it really mimics what Caitlin does in speech. The pictures are easy for kids as young as 2 to understand and you can touch each picture and it makes the sounds.
I LOVE this app so much...and the best reason is that it was only $4.99! When I bought it, it said $4.99 this week only as an introductory special..so the price may go up, but for 5 bucks, it's the best app we've used yet!!!!
Articulation Station: This is a good app for word practice. The downside of it is you have to pay $1.99 for each sound. We've only invested in the p and the b so far. You can pick words that have the sound at the beginning, middle, or end. You can also pick the letter combos you want. It's been good for extra practice, but would cost almost $45.00 to buy all the letters. :( So I recommend it if you have a few letters you want to really work on!
Starfall ABC: We actually bought this one for our 4 year old daughter because it's great for letter practice. (If you go to their website, they have phonics practice and Abigail was learning a lot of reading skills there, but it's not available for IPAD yet). I want to make sure we are still working on all the other skills Caitlin needs for preschool next year. For Abigail who developed typically in terms of speech, by 2 1/2, we were really practicing letters and their sounds. With Caitlin, we have put those things on the backburner, but I want to keep up all her other skills because the words will come..and the skills have to be there too. So this great to practice letters. Not to mention sounds. For example, for the letter b, it makes the "b" sound everytime you change the page, so she's constantly practicing that sound. We love this app..and have it on my phone too!
Monkey Lunchbox: My sister introduced us to this on her Iphone a few years ago..and it's still a favorite. I know lots of kids love this one. Again, we don't use this for "speech" as much, but more to continue to build all her other skills like colors, matching, counting, etc. It's a fun but educational app...my favorite!
Those are a few of our favorite apps!!! We are very grateful that we were able to get an IPAD and give Caitlin one more outlet for practice. With apraxia, it's practice, practice, practice!!!!!
In other "All Things Apraxia" news..in 2 weeks I'm attending a free parent webinar on successfully transitioning kids from an IFSP (what Caitlin has now in the early intervention system) to an IEP (what Caitlin will get when she turns 3 and transitions into speech in school, etc). I have heard I'm in for quite a battle (and I've sat in may IEP meetings as teacher so I know how frustrating they can be for parents) so I figured I'd better start preparing, even though I have a few more months. It's being sponsored by CASANA (Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America) and I'm looking forward to getting more information. If anyone wants more info, let me know!!!!
Keep Calm...and Talk on! ;)
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