Top 10 Apps for Speech and Fine Motor Development

Guest blogger and Speech-Language Pathologist, Mailin Justiniano, shared with us the top 10 apps for speech and fine motor development... 

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!




 



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.

 

4.       Actions Flashcards Kindergarten.com app $1.99 This app is an excellent tool to help children improve comprehension/understanding by learning actions. To make this app even more interactive, you can have the child push an action and then proceed to act it out. This would make for a fun activity taking a
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.  

Budget Friendly Summer Fun!

Jackeline Gurdian, Occupational Therapist

It’s officially summer! Your kids have been waiting for this day since last August, but if your summer entertainment budget is a little low, we can help! Keep reading for fun and affordable activities that have been kid and therapist tested and approved (and you might have some fun too!). Don’t forget you can always tweak these to fit your kid’s age and abilities. Be creative!

Go fishing!

It is really really hot outside so playing with water is a no brainer! Lately most big stores like Target, Walmart or Toys "R" Us have lots of affordable (even $1 section) water toys.
Ok so for fun fishing activity without worrying about the dangers of fishing with toddlers, first buy a plastic wading pool ($7 at Toys "R" Us), magnet letters or toys and you can find a magnet child’s fishing rod or even make one! Here is an easy tutorial to make your own game- Click here!
Some ways to change this game to challenge your child or be more interactive:

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Signing up for our email feeds is a great way to stay up to date with all of our post and to make sure you don't miss out on good information.
Thank you and Good Luck!

Bilateral Coordination Skills

Doesyour child have poor bilateral coordination skills?

By Jackie Gurdian, MS OTR/L
 

A bilateral skill is the child’s ability to utilize bothsides of the body for activities. A child with poor bilateral skills wouldprefer to use one hand than use both hands together for activities that requiretwo hands. Some children with hemiparesis have significant weakness in one sideof the body. It’s important to incorporate affected side to increase functionaluse of hand.

Below you will find some fun activities to incorporate inthe home to promote bilateral skills. Remember to have fun!

Bilateral Activities

Everyday household activities

• Carry container
• Help clear table after lunch, dinner, etc.
• Open packages (candy for increased motivation)
• Push large object on floor such as laundry basket or garbage
• Help with mixing food (ex: cake mix)
• Twist to ring water out of towel
• Hold cup

 

 

 

 

• Spread butter/peanut butter on bread/crackers or frosting on cookies
• Place empty containers inside each other (yogurt, butter)
• Bath time: fill up containers with water and pour them out

School and fine motoractivities

• Cut paper
• Tear paper

 

 

 

• Hold paper down with affected hand and draw/color with the unaffected hand

Sports

• Play catch
• Monkey bars

 

 

• Jump rope
• Swim
• Hold on to swing with both hands

 

 

 

• Hold baseball bat
• Ride bicycle

 

Games and toys

• Blow bubbles and have child pop by clapping

 

 

 

• Play finger games (Itsy Bitsy Spider)
• Sew or string beads
• Snap/Pop beads
• Lego’s
• Playing 2 handed musical instrument (drums, recorder, piano, guitar)
• Push a cart (play stroller, shopping cart, lawn mower, etc.)
• Play videogame with controller
• Remote control car, plane or boat
• Fly a kite
• Create “jungle”- clear cushions off couch and chairs and have child crawl and climb through “jungle”
• Make sand castles at the beach
• Crawl through a maze

 

• Scooter board game

 

• Wheelbarrow walk
• Play Simon Says

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contactme at speakeatplay@gmail.com. As always please consult your child’s physician before any activity.

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Source: Case-Smith, Jane. Occupational Therapy for Children,6^th edition.

Developmental Milestones

Is your child meeting all milestones on time?

by Jackie Gurdian, MS, OTR/L

You and your pediatrician should be checking thesemilestones regularly to assure that your child is meeting their milestones ontime. Early intervention is key to success for your child’s life.   

Here are some basic milestones from birth to three years ofage that the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests to look out for. Don’tforget to consult with your doctor.

Birth-3 months

·        Able to track toys

·        Reacts to sounds

·        Smiling 

·        Raises head and chest when lying on stomach

·        When placed on firm surface push down on legs

·        Grasps and shakes toy

·        Swipes at toys

·        Brings hands to mouth

      ·        Recognizes familiar people and objects

·        Able to track moving objects

4-7 months

·        Rolls both directions

·        Raking grasp

·        Transfer objects from one hand to the other

·        Sit independently

·        Enjoys social play and play with mirror images

·        Able to find partially hidden images

·        Attempts to get objects that are out of reach

8-12 months

·        Sits independently and get in positionindependently

·        Crawls

·        Pulls up to stand

·        Cruises furniture

·        Separation anxiety begins

·        Finger feeds independently

·        Imitates people and toys

12-36 months

·        Walks independently

·        Run

·        Kick a ball

·        Stand on tiptoe

·        Pulls toys when walking

·        Imitates behaviors

·        Enjoys playing with children

·        Sorts by shape and color

·        Enjoys playing imaginary play

Thanks for reading, and be sure to read my other posts for more information. Feel free to contact me with anyquestions! speakeatplay@gmail.com

Source: American Academy of Pediatrics, www.HealthyChildren.org