There’s an App for that! We have all heard the slogan, and with advances in technology, it has never been more applicable than in the realm of speech-language pathology. In Part 1 of our series, we identified the top 10 apps for Parents to incorporate into their child’s treatment program, to provide a comprehensive approach and make learning fun! In part 2, we have identified the top 10 apps for Speech-Language Pathologists, incorporating a wide range of benefits and use. If you have experience with the apps listed below, we would love to hear from you!
1. ArtikPix
Cost: Free (Full version is $29.99)
This articulation app enables children to practice their speech using flashcard and matching activities. Collecting, saving and exporting time-stamped data (per student) is possible for individual sessions – and group therapy for up to four children at a time. The free version gives you “th,” “w,” “y,” and “h” decks; an additional 20 are available as an In-App purchase, with discounts available for all or multiple decks.
2. Sensory CineVox
Cost: Free
Want to encourage children to make certain sounds, and be visually engaged in the process? CineVox, a speech therapy game tool, responds to sounds with fun graphics. There are 21 different visual effects that show patients the results of their vocalization. Variations in producing fricative sounds (e.g. shhh) will change the display appearance.
3. Word Vault / Word Vault Pro
Cost: Free / $5.99 per month / $54.99 per year
This app is designed for both children and adults. You can access audio and high-definition images for 8100 words, 1800 phrases & sentences, and 115 stories to address articulation and language skills. This includes real-world photos for over 3800 minimal pairs as well as almost 300 multi-syllabic words. There are over 120 categories for language building and over 25 social language categories. Interactive materials found with the Pro version are located in the Phonology, Language, and Social Vaults. You are able to create individual or group files to track the data of your clients.
4. Keyword Understanding
Cost: $9.99
Aimed at enhancing comprehension in children with autism and special needs, this is one of the best apps for speech therapy with exercises to practice auditory and written instructions.
It has three modes:
- auditory only
- text only
- auditory and text
With an easy to use interface, colorful photos, and 3D objects, users can create thousands of “tasks” for the patient to perform.
For example, you can create the task, “Touch the flower,” and follow it up with, “Touch the vase.”
Eventually, when the child has mastered simple task comprehension, you can create a more complex task, “Touch the flower and then touch the vase.”
5. Let’s Be Social
Cost: $9.99
This speech therapy app provides exercises to practice a pragmatic language or social skills.
There are 40 lessons that are divided into five skill sets:
- personal interactions
- navigating the community
- school behavior
- handling change
- social relationships
Lessons depict “normal” interactions and teach the patient what the expected emotions and behaviors are in that interaction. This is shown through a video with thought bubbles to reinforce learning.
Users can also create their own lessons thanks to the intuitive interface.
6. Speech Tutor 
Cost: Free (Full version is $9.99)
Have you ever wished you could show a child the inside of the mouth as they practice sounds? Speech Tutor, another one-of-a-kind speech therapy app, makes the face visually transparent as sounds are being made. The animation is viewable at three speeds and can be paused – helping students see where they have succeeded and where further speech therapy practice is necessary. There are 132 animations, recording capability – and, if practicing speech with parents at home, tips provided by SLPs. Search for the free version in iTunes (“SpeechTutorFree”), or download the full version.
7. Dysphagia2Go
Cost: $39.99
Dysphagia2Go is a revolutionary app connecting the dysphagia assessment world to technology. Dysphagia2Go offers an easy to use, HIPPA compliant resource to complement your Clinical Dysphagia Evaluation.
Dysphagia2Go guides you through the evaluation process with reminders to assess medications, cranial nerves and all the areas on which any good dysphagia evaluation should focus. This app provides a thorough evaluation report template developed by speech pathologists who have drawn upon their experience in varied settings to provide extensive opportunities to record chart reviews, assessment data, and recommendations in a single document, which can then be printed or e-mailed directly from the user’s iPad.
8. Speech Sounds on Cue (US English)
Cost: $12.99
Speech therapy treatment software for articulation difficulty caused by apraxia of speech or other speech difficulties. The aim of this app is to increase the intensity of treatment for people with apraxia, combining J. Rosenbek’s integral stimulation approach with B. Hill’s carrier phrase facilitation drills.
This is the US version of the application, with all audio and video recorded by the US speech pathologist Terri Nichols, MS, CCC-SLP, Clinical consultant to Bungalow Software, Virginia USA who also recorded for the Windows/Mac version.
This application shows how to produce speech sounds and words and encourages speech, even in people with severe speech difficulties. This easy to use iPad application contains over 500 videos, sound clips and color photos designed to help adults and children to produce the consonant speech sounds in isolation, in words, and in sentences. Now includes recording, playback, rhyming words, and randomization.
9. Language Therapy 4 in 1
Cost: $74.99
You are able to purchase any of the 4 apps included in this robust collection individually if desired. The full app includes over 700 core nouns, verbs, and adjectives, thousands of exercises and activities, as well as recommendations on what to focus on next based on the clients’ scores. The 4 areas include: Comprehension Therapy (understanding spoken language), Naming Therapy (to strengthen word-finding skills), Reading Therapy (addressing literacy skills), and Writing Therapy (addressing spelling skills).
10. InnerVoice: Communication
Cost: $99.99
InnerVoice is a universally designed, easy-to-use, and engaging communication tool that teaches speech, language, and social communication skills to people with a variety of abilities.
InnerVoice can work like a typical communication device: letting your thoughts and feelings be heard and understood by others. Unlike traditional speech-generating apps, though, InnerVoice combines artificial intelligence technology with facial expressions, emotions, tone-of-voice, written words, and videos — providing a complete multi-sensory learning experience.
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