Saturday, July 27, 2013

App for Apraxia


               

Speech Therapy for Apraxia: In order for me to recommend a therapy app, I need to feel that it can simplify the life of the therapist and will be a fun learning experience for children. Unfortunately, Speech Therapy for Apraxia fulfills neither of these requirements.

This app was developed by the Blue Whale Apps and the National Association for Child Development. It offers motor planning exercises based on sound group and level of difficulty. The consonant sounds are grouped as follows: b p m, d n t, g k h, w, f v, s z, sh ch j, and  l r. There are eight levels of difficulty. All levels work with CV structures only. Level 1 presents one syllable at a time, Level 2 presents three repetitions of a syllable, Level 3 requires five repetitions of the same syllable, Level 4 targets fours repetitions of the same syllable then a vowel change for the fifth CV syllable. Level 5 contains two syllables with the same consonant but different vowels, the vowels in the CV syllables change for Level 6 but the consonants remain the same and the syllables are presented in random order. Level 7 has CV syllables with differing vowels and consonants, but the consonants are from the consonant group targeted. Level 8 offers a random combination of the syllables in Level 7, but the user must have worked through two consonant groups in order to work at this level.

The app provides pictures or the written word (example "luh") for each syllable. But I am not sure that is necessarily good. For me, the picture is a visual aid that may make the task easier. The CV syllables can be heard by tapping on the pictures.

The tasks involved in this app are so simple that one does not need an app for them. The therapist can simply ask the client to repeat a syllable any number of times she desires. Changing the vowel in a CV syllable, randomizing syllables, and changing consonants for the client to repeat can easily be done  spontaneously by the therapist at each level.  The app offers no animation, interactivity, rewards, database, scoring or recording/playback features.

Ages: 3 to adult
Rating: +
Developer website: www.nacd.org and bluewhaleapps.com
Costs: $4.99 
Availability: iPad, iOS and Android.