My name is Junior and I am 12 years old. I have many of challenges but that doesn't stop me from loving life and living each day to the fullest. I have so much to say but can't talk in the typical way so this blog will give you a chance to hear my "voice".
http://juniorsvoice.blogspot.com/
This list is apps that we use often (or used often and Junior has now outgrown). Most of these apps have minimal background clutter and simple pictures so he is better able to focus on what he is doing. Most also have a nice response when he gets something right(clapping, loud noise, music etc.) which Junior really likes.
First our most used phonics/spelling/writing apps.
TeachMe: Kindergarten - 24x7digital LLC - this app allows you to keep track of what your child has learned and you can adjust the levels. It works on math and reading skills and is an app that we use regularly.
Word Magic - anusen.com - Probably our most used word app. It allows you to specify the number of letters you want in the words. Which letter you want to be left out for the child to fill in(first, middle, last), and allows you to set a timer if needed. The same company that makes this app makes several others which we have also been very pleased with. Work on different things but all the same style which for us is good.
Miss Spell's Class - Dictionary.com - (made by the same company who created Word Magic) this is an app I recently got. It gives a picture and says the word, the child then adds the letters. A good app for learning to spell. I think this will be one that gets a lot of use as Junior's reading skills improve.
Alpha Writer, by Montessorium - Montessorium, LLC. - This is an app I just found today and though I rarely buy apps this was worth the purchase. The voice says the correct sound (not the letter name) and allows you to use blends which it will also pronounce. It can be done in a quiz type form or as a story board where the child can create words and add picture magnets. There aren't a huge number of pictures magnets available but I am still impressed, I would love it if something like this were available but you were able to add your own pics.
ABC - Magnetic Alphabet HD - Learn to Write! For Kids - Dot Next - Another app that gets a lot of use in our house. Basically it is a magnet board. You put up the letters you want. There are upper and lowercase letters, numbers, etc.
Alphabet Tracer - EllieSoft - An app we don't use as often but still like. It allows you to trace a letter or words. My only complaint is that it says the word names but not the sounds. I usually turn the sound off when we use this app.
ABC Alphabet Phonics - Preschool Kids Game Free Lite - GrasshopperApps.com - another app we like but don't use often. Like the previous app it uses letter names instead of sounds. Junior likes it because when you get a word right all the letters get up and dance.
ABC Phonics Animals Writing HD - for iPad - Brain Counts (same name as the previous but a different app, this one has four animals on the app symbol) - Allows you to trace letters or words, says the word and has a picture with each word which makes noise when touched. A fun app for early readers needing lots of repetition. We do enjoy this one and use it occasionally.
FirstWords: Deluxe - Learning Touch - This is a great app for beginning readers. It is too easy for Junior because it is matching letters in words but for a child working on learning the letters it is great. We still do it occasionally just for fun.
Intro to Letters, by Montessorium - Montessorium, LLC. - Great app for learning letter sounds. Trace the letter and the app voice says the sound of the letter. Also has blends which the app says the sound for. Allows you to record your own voice saying the sounds.
Letter Writer Space (Kindergarten ABC's) - Barking Dog Interactive/ Letter Writer Oceans (Preschool ABC's) - Barking Dog Interactive - This is 2 apps the space has the child trace lowercase letters and the ocean has upper case. A fun app which Junior enjoys.
Thanks Junior and Junior's Mom.... You all are my heros!!!!
This blog is designed to document infants/toddlers with disabilities using an iPad to promote their development. I hope to show how this new technology can help children with disabilities develop their communication, play, pre-literacy, cognitive, visual/auditory and motor skills.
Showing posts with label Guest Blogger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guest Blogger. Show all posts
Friday, February 18, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Guest Blogger ... Krista tells us about Leah and her favorite apps
My daughter, Leah will be 6 in March. She is non-verbal. She has a history of infantile spasms. She has cortical visual impairment, global developmental delays, and complex partial seizures.
Leah has had her iPad for about 6 weeks. At first she needed hand over hand assistance to point and use the apps. She now points on her own and can do some of the apps independently.
Our ultimate goal for the iPad is for Leah to use it as a communication device, but we've found that it is also helping her in other areas. It's helped her with her receptive language, vision, cognition, and fine motor skills.
Leah takes her iPad to preschool with her every day. They use it in circle when they talk about the weather. She uses it at lunch and snack to request food. Her therapists also use it with her in various ways.
One of the neatest things that I've seen Leah do with the iPad is transfer skills from school to home. I was working with her one day on a number app. There were numbers 1-10 randomly arranged on balloons. The objective was to "pop" the balloons in numeric order. I planned on helping Leah by doing hand over hand. Before I could do that, she touched the number one. She continued the whole way up to and including number six. I was amazed! I talked to her teacher and asked her if she had been working with Leah on her numbers and she said that she has her put them in order every daynat school. It was really neat to see that she could transfer that skill that she learned at school to that app on the iPad at home.
Our top ten apps are:
Tap Tap Baby - MoonFry Labs
Baby Rattle Toy: Christmas Edition - SelenaSoft
Discover Musical Instruments - Mathieu Brassard
Baby Finger HD - DJ International
Virtuoso Piano Free 2 HD - Peterb
Itsy Bitsy Spider HD - by Duck Duck Moose - Duck Duck Moose
Wheels on the Bus HD - Duck Duck Moose
Old MacDonald - by Duck Duck Moose - Duck Duck Moose
TapToTalk™ - Assistyx LLC
Adam's Game - Toddler Voice Flash Cards - Sol Robots
Thanks Krista ... Looking forward to hearing more about Leah and her iPad.
Leah has had her iPad for about 6 weeks. At first she needed hand over hand assistance to point and use the apps. She now points on her own and can do some of the apps independently.
Our ultimate goal for the iPad is for Leah to use it as a communication device, but we've found that it is also helping her in other areas. It's helped her with her receptive language, vision, cognition, and fine motor skills.
Leah takes her iPad to preschool with her every day. They use it in circle when they talk about the weather. She uses it at lunch and snack to request food. Her therapists also use it with her in various ways.
One of the neatest things that I've seen Leah do with the iPad is transfer skills from school to home. I was working with her one day on a number app. There were numbers 1-10 randomly arranged on balloons. The objective was to "pop" the balloons in numeric order. I planned on helping Leah by doing hand over hand. Before I could do that, she touched the number one. She continued the whole way up to and including number six. I was amazed! I talked to her teacher and asked her if she had been working with Leah on her numbers and she said that she has her put them in order every daynat school. It was really neat to see that she could transfer that skill that she learned at school to that app on the iPad at home.
Our top ten apps are:
Tap Tap Baby - MoonFry Labs
Baby Rattle Toy: Christmas Edition - SelenaSoft
Discover Musical Instruments - Mathieu Brassard
Baby Finger HD - DJ International
Virtuoso Piano Free 2 HD - Peterb
Itsy Bitsy Spider HD - by Duck Duck Moose - Duck Duck Moose
Wheels on the Bus HD - Duck Duck Moose
Old MacDonald - by Duck Duck Moose - Duck Duck Moose
TapToTalk™ - Assistyx LLC
Adam's Game - Toddler Voice Flash Cards - Sol Robots
Thanks Krista ... Looking forward to hearing more about Leah and her iPad.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
A Guest Speech Therapist Shares her Favorite Apps
Preschool and Kindergarten (and younger), I would suggest:
1) Wheels on the Bus HD - Duck Duck Moose
2) Fish School HD - by Duck Duck Moose - Duck Duck Moose
3) Speech with Milo: Verbs - Doonan Speech Therapy
4) Cookie Doodle - Shoe The Goose
5) Vocal Zoo - iPad edition - Funny i Games
6) Any Flashcard Set from Kindergarten.com
7) Recorder HD - Decipher Media (or any voice recorder....kids love to listen to themselves)
Elementary age:
1) ArtikPix - Full - RinnApps
2) Language Builder for iPad - Mobile Education Tools
3) Sentence Builder for iPad - Mobile Education Tools
4) PegLight - Knert Software
5) Bubble Snap - Neil Daniels
6) What Does Not Belong? - Brain-Go LLC
7) What Goes Together (WGT)
8) Cookie Doodle - Shoe The Goose
9) Guess 'em - GameWeaver (use as a game board, not interactive)
10) Mad Libs - Penguin Group USA
11) Recorder HD - Decipher Media
Thanks so much!!!
1) Wheels on the Bus HD - Duck Duck Moose
2) Fish School HD - by Duck Duck Moose - Duck Duck Moose
3) Speech with Milo: Verbs - Doonan Speech Therapy
4) Cookie Doodle - Shoe The Goose
5) Vocal Zoo - iPad edition - Funny i Games
6) Any Flashcard Set from Kindergarten.com
7) Recorder HD - Decipher Media (or any voice recorder....kids love to listen to themselves)
Elementary age:
1) ArtikPix - Full - RinnApps
2) Language Builder for iPad - Mobile Education Tools
3) Sentence Builder for iPad - Mobile Education Tools
4) PegLight - Knert Software
5) Bubble Snap - Neil Daniels
6) What Does Not Belong? - Brain-Go LLC
7) What Goes Together (WGT)
8) Cookie Doodle - Shoe The Goose
9) Guess 'em - GameWeaver (use as a game board, not interactive)
10) Mad Libs - Penguin Group USA
11) Recorder HD - Decipher Media
Thanks so much!!!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Another Occupational Therapist Recommendations for Apps
Another Occupational Therapist top ten list of apps:
Alphabet Tracing - Oncilla Technologies Inc I love using this with my handwriting kiddos for fine motor skills, letter formation and identification.
Alphabet Song - Oscar's Apps One of my really autistic kiddos will sit and look and touch the highlighted letter and really attend to this app. This app helps with letter identification and recognition. ( I cannot tell you how many handwriting referrals I get and the child cannot identify the letters of the alphabet.
Virtuoso Piano Free 3 - Peter Nagy for cause and effect for my more severe and profound students. For my students with fine motor difficulties it is great for finger individuation and isolation.
Talking Carl - Awyse great for increasing a Childs vocalizations and verbalizations.
Wheels on the Bus HD - Duck Duck Moose by duck duck moose (love all their apps, itsy bitsy spider and baa baa black sheep) interactive music and cause and effect.
TapSpeak Button for iPad - Ted Conley Great for letting non verbal students choose activities and communicate. It is a BIG MAC on the Ipad. (could be used in so many different ways).
Pocket Pond HD - JOHN MOFFETT cause and effect (my multiply impaired kids LOVE THIS!
Vocal Zoo - iPad edition - Funny i Games great cause and effect, interactive and I love that is turns like the pages of a book. My more severe and involved kiddos are able to turn the pages.
Glow Draw! - Indigo Penguin Limited Great for my students working on prewriting skills such as vertical and horizontal strokes as well as imitating simple shapes.
TapToTalk™ - Assistyx LLC Reasonable communication system. However, this is better for someone who knows what they want and are just unable to verbalize it
Thanks Martha
Alphabet Tracing - Oncilla Technologies Inc I love using this with my handwriting kiddos for fine motor skills, letter formation and identification.
Alphabet Song - Oscar's Apps One of my really autistic kiddos will sit and look and touch the highlighted letter and really attend to this app. This app helps with letter identification and recognition. ( I cannot tell you how many handwriting referrals I get and the child cannot identify the letters of the alphabet.
Virtuoso Piano Free 3 - Peter Nagy for cause and effect for my more severe and profound students. For my students with fine motor difficulties it is great for finger individuation and isolation.
Talking Carl - Awyse great for increasing a Childs vocalizations and verbalizations.
Wheels on the Bus HD - Duck Duck Moose by duck duck moose (love all their apps, itsy bitsy spider and baa baa black sheep) interactive music and cause and effect.
TapSpeak Button for iPad - Ted Conley Great for letting non verbal students choose activities and communicate. It is a BIG MAC on the Ipad. (could be used in so many different ways).
Pocket Pond HD - JOHN MOFFETT cause and effect (my multiply impaired kids LOVE THIS!
Vocal Zoo - iPad edition - Funny i Games great cause and effect, interactive and I love that is turns like the pages of a book. My more severe and involved kiddos are able to turn the pages.
Glow Draw! - Indigo Penguin Limited Great for my students working on prewriting skills such as vertical and horizontal strokes as well as imitating simple shapes.
TapToTalk™ - Assistyx LLC Reasonable communication system. However, this is better for someone who knows what they want and are just unable to verbalize it
Thanks Martha
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Jeremy Brown's App Recommendations for Students with Autism Part 2
LANGUAGE ARTS
Starfall ABCs - Starfall Education [iPhone\iTouch
$2.99]
Alpha Writer, by Montessorium - Montessorium, LLC. [Universal
$4.99]
Word Magic - anusen.com [Universal
$0.99]
ACT Spell - Cool Tool Apps [iPad
$2.99]
PhotoCross - Terrier Software [iPad
$1.99]
Word Play for iPad - Visual Hierarchy [iPad
$1.99]
Silly Story Maker iPad edition - Miller Designs [iPad
$1.99]
Sentence Builder for iPad - Mobile Education Tools [iPad
$1.99]
Build A Story - Girl's World Pty. Ltd [iPad
$2.99]
Children's eBooks
Barnes & Noble NOOK kids - The Largest Collection of Children's eBooks - Barnes and Noble Kids [iPad
FREE & purchase books individually]
Kiwa Media [iPad & iPhone\iTouch versions
$4.99\each]
Oceanhouse Media (Berenstain Bears, Dr. Seuss, etc.) [Universal
$1.99-$3.99\each]
ReadMe Publications, Inc. [Unviersal
FREE & additional in-app purchases]
MATH
My Underwear - Thumb Arcade [Universal
$2.99]
Intro to Math, by Montessorium - Montessorium, LLC. [Universal
$4.99]
Park Math HD - by Duck Duck Moose - Duck Duck Moose [iPhone\iTouch
$1.99] & Park Math HD [iPad
$1.99]
iTouchMath - KONSTRUCT LLC [iPhone\iTouch
FREE]
Audio Slide A Math Learning Subtraction - WILLHALL SIAU [iPad
$0.99]
First Calculator - Talking Calculator for Kids - St. Madeleine Sophie School [Universal
$0.99]
Math Step123 - wxyzsoftware.com [iPhone\iTouch
$0.99]
Coin Math - Recession Apps [iPhone\iTouch
$1.99]
Kid Klok - Animated Speech Corporation [Universal
$0.99]
Telling Time HD - My Turn Mobile [iPad
$2.99]
MUSIC & SONGS
Wheels on the Bus HD - Duck Duck Moose [iPad
$1.99]
Kids Song Machine HD + 10 songs - Genera Kids [iPad
$1.99]
My First Songs - Ringzero Game Studio [iPad
$2.99]
Discover Musical Instruments Free - Mathieu Brassard [iPhone\iTouch
FREE]
Magic Piano - Smule [iPad
$0.99]
Ocarina - Smule [iPhone\iTouch
$0.99]
Genikids Orchestra for iPad - Waterbear Soft inc. [iPhone\iTouch
$1.99]
FUN
Blocks!! - miSoft [Universal
$1.99]
Furry Friend - Plutinosoft [Universal
FREE]
LightMyPeg - Mark Schoer [iPad
$0.99]
PhotoMatch Kids HD - Weily Apps [iPad
$3.99]
Timber! - miSoft [Universal
$1.99]
Sorry it took so long for Part 2. In my neck of the woods the internet and the weather are not always friends. Thank you so much Jeremy for such a complete list. Keep up all the hard work.
Bridget
Starfall ABCs - Starfall Education [iPhone\iTouch
$2.99]
Alpha Writer, by Montessorium - Montessorium, LLC. [Universal
$4.99]
Word Magic - anusen.com [Universal
$0.99]
ACT Spell - Cool Tool Apps [iPad
$2.99]
PhotoCross - Terrier Software [iPad
$1.99]
Word Play for iPad - Visual Hierarchy [iPad
$1.99]
Silly Story Maker iPad edition - Miller Designs [iPad
$1.99]
Sentence Builder for iPad - Mobile Education Tools [iPad
$1.99]
Build A Story - Girl's World Pty. Ltd [iPad
$2.99]
Children's eBooks
Barnes & Noble NOOK kids - The Largest Collection of Children's eBooks - Barnes and Noble Kids [iPad
FREE & purchase books individually]
Kiwa Media [iPad & iPhone\iTouch versions
$4.99\each]
Oceanhouse Media (Berenstain Bears, Dr. Seuss, etc.) [Universal
$1.99-$3.99\each]
ReadMe Publications, Inc. [Unviersal
FREE & additional in-app purchases]
MATH
My Underwear - Thumb Arcade [Universal
$2.99]
Intro to Math, by Montessorium - Montessorium, LLC. [Universal
$4.99]
Park Math HD - by Duck Duck Moose - Duck Duck Moose [iPhone\iTouch
$1.99] & Park Math HD [iPad
$1.99]
iTouchMath - KONSTRUCT LLC [iPhone\iTouch
FREE]
Audio Slide A Math Learning Subtraction - WILLHALL SIAU [iPad
$0.99]
First Calculator - Talking Calculator for Kids - St. Madeleine Sophie School [Universal
$0.99]
Math Step123 - wxyzsoftware.com [iPhone\iTouch
$0.99]
Coin Math - Recession Apps [iPhone\iTouch
$1.99]
Kid Klok - Animated Speech Corporation [Universal
$0.99]
Telling Time HD - My Turn Mobile [iPad
$2.99]
MUSIC & SONGS
Wheels on the Bus HD - Duck Duck Moose [iPad
$1.99]
Kids Song Machine HD + 10 songs - Genera Kids [iPad
$1.99]
My First Songs - Ringzero Game Studio [iPad
$2.99]
Discover Musical Instruments Free - Mathieu Brassard [iPhone\iTouch
FREE]
Magic Piano - Smule [iPad
$0.99]
Ocarina - Smule [iPhone\iTouch
$0.99]
Genikids Orchestra for iPad - Waterbear Soft inc. [iPhone\iTouch
$1.99]
FUN
Blocks!! - miSoft [Universal
$1.99]
Furry Friend - Plutinosoft [Universal
FREE]
LightMyPeg - Mark Schoer [iPad
$0.99]
PhotoMatch Kids HD - Weily Apps [iPad
$3.99]
Timber! - miSoft [Universal
$1.99]
Sorry it took so long for Part 2. In my neck of the woods the internet and the weather are not always friends. Thank you so much Jeremy for such a complete list. Keep up all the hard work.
Bridget
Monday, January 17, 2011
Guest Blogger Pam tells us all about her Best Investment
The Best Investment
This summer our family invested in an iPad. I was so excited because it had the potential to offer my daughter Makenzie, access to many different kinds of activities despite the limited motor skills she possessed in her arms and hands.
I had no clue the day I stood in the Apple store purchasing our iPad what a huge impact it would make in Makenzie's life!
We purchased a case from incase, a SD card reader from Apple, the invisisheild by ZAGG, and the bumper case with mount and bluetooth speaker from RJ Cooper to officially accessorized our newtoy therapy tool. I wrote a review on my blog shortly after Makenzie began using her iPad on how we were able to set up the iPad with all of these accessories to best accommodate Makenzie's needs right here.
We started with simple apps. I bought a bunch of flashcard type apps with letter, colors, shapes, and numbers. Makenzie also loves books so we found some Dr, Suess books, a Toy story book, and her favorite by far, Little Bella's I close my eyes. I also found a bunch of apps like magic piano, vocal zoo, the wheels on the bus, toddler Juke Box and I love Fireworks that were also a huge hit.
Makenzie reached out and touched her iPad with enjoyment, outside of therapy, for the first time since her accident. This mommy was so very proud and incredibly excited!!!

I began searching for apps that were a bit more challenging. With the help of friends and Babies with iPads I found several new apps that Makenzie really enjoyed. Sparkablities, Tap Speak Sequence, answers, rattle, shapes, letter trace, talking tom, numberland, choice maker, and Winnie the Poohs Puzzle Book.
Makenzie began to make choices, she showed us that she knew some of her letters, shapes, numbers, and animal names. She was isolating moving objects on the screen, touching smaller pictures with her pointer finger, and lifting her arm higher then ever before. Not only was she doing this with the iPad but she also realized she could use her arms to touch and play with so many other things.
I find new apps every day that help Makenzie learn and grow. Sometimes it seems like a silly thing to say but..... the iPad has changed Makenzie's life in so many ways! It is truly the best therapy tool I have ever invested in!
Thanks Pam and Makenzie...Beautiful Story
This summer our family invested in an iPad. I was so excited because it had the potential to offer my daughter Makenzie, access to many different kinds of activities despite the limited motor skills she possessed in her arms and hands.
I had no clue the day I stood in the Apple store purchasing our iPad what a huge impact it would make in Makenzie's life!
We purchased a case from incase, a SD card reader from Apple, the invisisheild by ZAGG, and the bumper case with mount and bluetooth speaker from RJ Cooper to officially accessorized our new
We started with simple apps. I bought a bunch of flashcard type apps with letter, colors, shapes, and numbers. Makenzie also loves books so we found some Dr, Suess books, a Toy story book, and her favorite by far, Little Bella's I close my eyes. I also found a bunch of apps like magic piano, vocal zoo, the wheels on the bus, toddler Juke Box and I love Fireworks that were also a huge hit.
Makenzie reached out and touched her iPad with enjoyment, outside of therapy, for the first time since her accident. This mommy was so very proud and incredibly excited!!!
I began searching for apps that were a bit more challenging. With the help of friends and Babies with iPads I found several new apps that Makenzie really enjoyed. Sparkablities, Tap Speak Sequence, answers, rattle, shapes, letter trace, talking tom, numberland, choice maker, and Winnie the Poohs Puzzle Book.
Makenzie began to make choices, she showed us that she knew some of her letters, shapes, numbers, and animal names. She was isolating moving objects on the screen, touching smaller pictures with her pointer finger, and lifting her arm higher then ever before. Not only was she doing this with the iPad but she also realized she could use her arms to touch and play with so many other things.
I find new apps every day that help Makenzie learn and grow. Sometimes it seems like a silly thing to say but..... the iPad has changed Makenzie's life in so many ways! It is truly the best therapy tool I have ever invested in!
Thanks Pam and Makenzie...Beautiful Story
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Guest Blogger...Kelly tells us about AnnaKate getting an iPad for Christmas
AnnaKate got an Ipad for Christmas. Sounds a little extravagant for a 4 year old, unless you are a special needs parent and then you understand. The Ipad has become quite the communication tool. I wanted to share how we have been using it with AnnaKate.
First, the case…
I was a little hesitant to get the OtterBox case but after a few negligent tosses by sweet girl…we knew it was the right move. The OtterBox makes the sleek, light Ipad a little heavy and bulky but it is great for protection. It even came with a screen protector that went on perfectly. I highly recommend this case if you have a rowdy child using the Ipad. :)
The purpose…
The purpose of the Ipad is to provide AnnaKate with an alternate way to communicate as she develops her speech.
The apps…
I have spent an extensive amount of time researching communication apps. The gold standard right now is Proloquo2Go - AssistiveWare. It is an amazing communication program. I have not purchased it for 2 reasons:
1. It is $199.99.
2. It is a little more than what we need right now for AnnaKate. I could program it to suit her needs for now but I have decided to try some less expensive and more simplified apps first.
Communication apps we are currently using:
Verbal Victor - Seed Stage Associates, iCommunicate for iPad - Grembe Inc. and
My Choice Board - Good Karma Applications, Inc
We have set up one entire icon screen with all of AnnaKate’s apps. She knows to swipe to her screen to find her apps.
Here is a screen shot of Verbal Victor - Seed Stage Associates, . Right now it is AnnaKate’s favorite communication tool. It is very basic and only costs $9.99. I like that AnnaKate can easily move through the screens to find the phrase she may want to say. I can see how she could outgrow this app but it is easy to use and great for our needs right now.
This is iCommunicate for iPad - Grembe Inc.. I like this too but we don’t use it nearly as much as Verbal Victor. It is not as easy for AnnaKate to navigate by herself. It costs around $20.00
My Choice Board - Good Karma Applications, Inc is great! This helps us with alleviating some frustrating moments in our house. We have created boards for what she wants to eat for meals, what she wants to watch on television, what she wants to play, etc. She loves touching the picture and hearing the word. This app costs about $9.99. Visually it is the most “cute” of all the apps with the neat little clipboard.
Other uses…
I was very hesitant about AnnaKate using the Ipad for non communication things. I didn’t want it to become a play toy and not be used for the intended purpose. I quickly found out that she needed practice learning to swipe, move through screens, etc. So we downloaded some apps that would help with that as well. So these are fun apps but help with navigation too. They also all expose her to language. It was neat for us to see how fast AnnaKate picked up using the Ipad.
Fun apps..
She loves being able to play her own music with Toddler JukeBox: Twelve Children's Songs (Wheels on the bus and more!) - Tipitap.
Peekaboo Barn - Night & Day Studios, Inc. is a cute app that practices animal names and sounds.
This is a great interactive Sweet Dreams, Maisy by Lucy Cousins - Iceberg Reader book.
Duck Duck Moose has made some great apps. We have most of them. This is Baa Baa Black Sheep - by Duck Duck Moose - Duck Duck Moose. AnnaKate has to find objects, match objects and navigate through the pages.
Babies with Ipads (the blog and Facebook page) has been a great resource for us. It lists great apps and also notifies you when useful apps are on sale or free.
The Ipad has become a great addition to our family. It has helped AnnaKate’s communication immensely and has become a fun thing to do together.
*This is a picture of AnnaKate and Billy listening to music last night. AnnaKate was changing songs with her feet! Silly girl…


Thanks for sharing AnnaKate's experiences with the iPad so far. Looking forward to reading more by visiting http://theweekesfamily.blogspot.com/.
First, the case…
I was a little hesitant to get the OtterBox case but after a few negligent tosses by sweet girl…we knew it was the right move. The OtterBox makes the sleek, light Ipad a little heavy and bulky but it is great for protection. It even came with a screen protector that went on perfectly. I highly recommend this case if you have a rowdy child using the Ipad. :)
The purpose…
The purpose of the Ipad is to provide AnnaKate with an alternate way to communicate as she develops her speech.
The apps…
I have spent an extensive amount of time researching communication apps. The gold standard right now is Proloquo2Go - AssistiveWare. It is an amazing communication program. I have not purchased it for 2 reasons:
1. It is $199.99.
2. It is a little more than what we need right now for AnnaKate. I could program it to suit her needs for now but I have decided to try some less expensive and more simplified apps first.
Communication apps we are currently using:
Verbal Victor - Seed Stage Associates, iCommunicate for iPad - Grembe Inc. and
My Choice Board - Good Karma Applications, Inc
We have set up one entire icon screen with all of AnnaKate’s apps. She knows to swipe to her screen to find her apps.
Here is a screen shot of Verbal Victor - Seed Stage Associates, . Right now it is AnnaKate’s favorite communication tool. It is very basic and only costs $9.99. I like that AnnaKate can easily move through the screens to find the phrase she may want to say. I can see how she could outgrow this app but it is easy to use and great for our needs right now.
This is iCommunicate for iPad - Grembe Inc.. I like this too but we don’t use it nearly as much as Verbal Victor. It is not as easy for AnnaKate to navigate by herself. It costs around $20.00
My Choice Board - Good Karma Applications, Inc is great! This helps us with alleviating some frustrating moments in our house. We have created boards for what she wants to eat for meals, what she wants to watch on television, what she wants to play, etc. She loves touching the picture and hearing the word. This app costs about $9.99. Visually it is the most “cute” of all the apps with the neat little clipboard.
Other uses…
I was very hesitant about AnnaKate using the Ipad for non communication things. I didn’t want it to become a play toy and not be used for the intended purpose. I quickly found out that she needed practice learning to swipe, move through screens, etc. So we downloaded some apps that would help with that as well. So these are fun apps but help with navigation too. They also all expose her to language. It was neat for us to see how fast AnnaKate picked up using the Ipad.
Fun apps..
She loves being able to play her own music with Toddler JukeBox: Twelve Children's Songs (Wheels on the bus and more!) - Tipitap.
Peekaboo Barn - Night & Day Studios, Inc. is a cute app that practices animal names and sounds.
This is a great interactive Sweet Dreams, Maisy by Lucy Cousins - Iceberg Reader book.
Duck Duck Moose has made some great apps. We have most of them. This is Baa Baa Black Sheep - by Duck Duck Moose - Duck Duck Moose. AnnaKate has to find objects, match objects and navigate through the pages.
Babies with Ipads (the blog and Facebook page) has been a great resource for us. It lists great apps and also notifies you when useful apps are on sale or free.
The Ipad has become a great addition to our family. It has helped AnnaKate’s communication immensely and has become a fun thing to do together.
*This is a picture of AnnaKate and Billy listening to music last night. AnnaKate was changing songs with her feet! Silly girl…
Thanks for sharing AnnaKate's experiences with the iPad so far. Looking forward to reading more by visiting http://theweekesfamily.blogspot.com/.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Guest Blogger... Angie with Isaac and Speech Therapy with the iPad
Speech Therapy and the Monster at the end of this book
So The Monster at the End of This Book (for iPad) - Sesame Street is a HUGE hit! We've read this book to him since he was little - but there is something about having Grover tell the story makes my kids go nuts! They love this app for ipad. It is adorable. :)
Per Isaac's speech therapist's recommendation (and with her help), I programmed a storyboard on iCommunicate for iPad - Grembe Inc. with words like cow - with two sounds for the word - like moo moo, in order to encourage Isaac to make two syllables at a time. We talked about apraxia a lot and how in order to help with sequencing its good to encourage two of the same sounds at first and that will hopefully lead to two different syllable sounds later on. Wow I'm not very articulate at explaining that. Anyways, I have storyboards now with train - choo choo, clown - ha ha, owl - hoot hoot and so on. I also am making story boards with simple sounding words of the p, b, m variety. So pot, potty, pool, pop etc. just to encourage specifically the p sound. Its just like flashcards with my voice saying "pop pop pop" etc. I'm really excited because it sounds like a great way to encourage speech that we haven't really focused on. I mean we do flashcards all the time but this seems more . . . concentrated? Anyway I'm excited.

So The Monster at the End of This Book (for iPad) - Sesame Street is a HUGE hit! We've read this book to him since he was little - but there is something about having Grover tell the story makes my kids go nuts! They love this app for ipad. It is adorable. :)
Per Isaac's speech therapist's recommendation (and with her help), I programmed a storyboard on iCommunicate for iPad - Grembe Inc. with words like cow - with two sounds for the word - like moo moo, in order to encourage Isaac to make two syllables at a time. We talked about apraxia a lot and how in order to help with sequencing its good to encourage two of the same sounds at first and that will hopefully lead to two different syllable sounds later on. Wow I'm not very articulate at explaining that. Anyways, I have storyboards now with train - choo choo, clown - ha ha, owl - hoot hoot and so on. I also am making story boards with simple sounding words of the p, b, m variety. So pot, potty, pool, pop etc. just to encourage specifically the p sound. Its just like flashcards with my voice saying "pop pop pop" etc. I'm really excited because it sounds like a great way to encourage speech that we haven't really focused on. I mean we do flashcards all the time but this seems more . . . concentrated? Anyway I'm excited.
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