We all know that kids love using our iPad and iPhones–it’s been called a child’s new best friend. I am amazed at the ease with which a 2 year-old, delayed in language, quickly manipulates figures on his dad’s iPhone and learns to play games and answer questions with images.
The iPad and iPhone are also great devices to bring in your bag of therapy materials to break up activities with a little technology. My only problem is that I have to introduce an educational game on my iPhone as the last activity or the child gets upset!
Speech Therapist Poorani Doonan, recently introduced me to six apps that she developed, “Speech With Milo” to be used to build children’s language skills. At $2.99 each, Verbs, Prepositions, Sequencing, Interactive Storybook, as well as Verbs and Prepositions in Spanish are a bargain at a time when we often have no budget for new materials.
I reviewed one of the best new apps, “Speech With Milo-Sequencing” which is a treasure of 35 sequencing exercises from riding a bike, catching a ball, playing in the rain or climbing a mountain. Well-designed from an educational point of view, this app is also cleverly entertaining as little mouse, Milo and his raccoon friend, Melvin act out the three-part sequences. Pull the pictures into the correct box, first, next and last and you will hear applause if done correctly. After you put the cards in order, press “Play” to animate the sequence, giving the child an opportunity to narrate the sequence himself.
I would definitely recommend this app for speech therapy as well as general language learning for typically developing children. I will say that the images are small on the iPhone as compared to the iPad so be aware of what child you are working with and whether they would benefit from a larger screen.
Let me know what other apps you are finding helpful in speech therapy.
The above opinions are solely those of the author. “Speech With Milo–Sequencing” was provided for review by “Speech With Milo”
