I’m sure we all know what an iPad is,if you don't, I highly recommend getting one. This amazing tool has attracted
people as young as babies, up to my grandfather’s age! I recently showed
my grandfather the Galaga game and he was thoroughly entertained for quite some
time. If you simply show this simple device to a child, you can see their eyes
light up with wonder.
It all started when the iPad was given to me as a graduation
gift a few years ago, and it has been such a wonderful resource since! Over the
last few years, I have downloaded and trialed several apps. I’d like to share
with you my top 10 favorite apps for development!
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1.
Peekaboo
Barn for $1.99 It all starts with Animal Sounds! This app is wonderful because it allows you to work on animal
sounds in a very fun way! This app is great for visual stimulation and has an
auditory presentation prior to demonstrating the picture/label for the
animal.
2.
iMommy
App Lite version (free) iMommy $1.99 I LOVE this app! This app is great for eye hand coordination, naming objects and increasing understanding actions! I like to use this app while I use simple
language models, such as “the baby is laughing”, “let’s wash the baby” and to follow directions
such as “turn off the water.”
3.
First
Words Deluxe $4.99 This app is wonderful as it contains vocabulary from a variety of categories. You can choose
animals, things in the home, colors,shapes or other categories. This also helps
children develop phonemic awareness.
whole body experience approach to keep your child interested and involved.
5.
Caillou’s
World $2.99 Caillou’s world is a
great app to assist in Identifying letters. It also assists with
visual discrimination as the child needs to search for the item that
is flashing in color with a black and white background. Once the
child clicks on the picture, he/she is able to view the spelled
word and must find the first sound of the word. For example,
“Sunflower. Sunflower starts with the letters S.” The child must then
match the correct letter with the first sound in the word. Kids
really enjoy this app!
6.
Articulation
Station $2.99/3.99 or 5.99 per letter sound. This app is particularly helpful if your
child is having a difficult time with a specific speech sound. I truly believe
in this app. I helped a child who was unable to say his k’s and
g’s by using this app. The greatest feature is that you are able
to record and play back a child’s production of the word and they are
able to hear themselves. This auditory feedback is a wonderful
feature that allows children to compare the way the word should sound
(model on the app) versus the way they might be pronouncing it.
7. Barbie
I can Be FREE. This app can be used to teach children how to sequence steps. Most of the time, I use
this app as a reward since it seems to be a favorite amongst the girls.
Implement this as a reward for completing an educational
program or homework. They can choose to either make a pizza,
bake a cupcake or be a Veterinarian. It also helps with developing eye-hand coordination. The best part is it’s free!
8.
Little
Writer FREE This app is fantastic for teaching fine motor skills. Children must follow the line to create a
letter. The graphics are colorful and neat! This will help with eye hand coordination, and overall fine motor skills.
9.
Laugh
& Learn. Where’s puppy’s nose? For baby By Fisherprice, FREE. This app is geared towards the little ones
starting to learn body parts. I think it’s great because of how
interactive it is and how the animals are very animated. It’s a simple concept,
to help kids learn parts of the body. I like this one. It's a must have!
10.
Fitquest
Lite- FREE Get your kids moving and grooving! I recommend having a safe case for your iPad should you
choose to use this game. This game allows your child to get active,
and works on gross motorskills such as walking, hopping and
ducking. The music is cute and one of the games requires the child to jump
over a snake. This is great exercise for your kids instead of having
them sit down while using the iPad.
I hope you find this list useful! Please share your ideas, comments or suggestions below. We would love to hear from you!
Mailin Justiniano, M.S.,CCC-SLP
Hanen Certified Speech-Language Pathologist.
Mailin is a Speech-Language Pathologist who has come to embrace the technology side of treatment! She loves finding new apps to assist children in reaching their maximum potential in therapy. She is Hanen-certified and enjoys working with kids. She has experience with a variety of diagnoses and disorders such as Cri Du Chat, Autism, language delay, Selective Mutism, Auditory Processing, Down's Syndrome, Articulation, Fluency and many more. Her favorite part of being a speech therapist is being able to "play with a purpose" and educate parents.
