As I am exploring the world of apps, I am finding there is a pattern in my behavior. In much the same way that I am drawn to outstanding toys, books and games for the mass market versus products marketed to “therapists,” I also enjoy taking a look at general apps in education and seeing how I can use them to spark up a speech therapy session.

I was sent “AlphaTots” by Spinlight Studios and started out just enjoying playing it myself! Oh dear, I am becoming a preschooler. It’s simplicity is what makes this app adaptable to therapy. Choose your letter and it flies by as the audio says the letter and the sound it represents. Each sound’s activity is a verb acted out in various clever ways. You can “Zap” the spaceships for Z, build a robot for B,  or my personal favorite which somehow makes me laugh every time is “vacuum” for V where an elephant’s trunk sucks up peanuts. The trick is teaching your little clients to pause before moving ahead on a task and using the images to:

  • practice verbs
  • repeat articulation sentences
  • describe what they are doing.
Let me know if you’ve found some other ways to use “AlphaTots” in your speech therapy sessions.
“AlphaTots” was provided by Spinlight Studios for review.