Tag Archives: speech therapy ideas

Toca Hair Salon

Posted on by
2

Price: 1.99

Seller: Bonnier Digital Services AB

Tablet: iPad

Educational Aspects:

  • Verbs
  • Pronouns
  • Labeling
  • Sequencing/ retelling steps
  • Attending
  • Following directions/giving directions
  • Turn taking

Description:

Toca Hair Salon puts you in charge of being a hairdresser! With a variety of six characters to choose from and multiple tools found in a real hair salon, there are endless possibilities to what can be done.

Review:

Toca Hair Salon is one of the most entertaining, visually appealing, fun yet educational apps available in the App store.  You will know when you have found a Toca Boca app because their kid friendly, rainbow-smile exposed mouth will be showcased in the bottom right corner.  Once you venture into this app, your ipad screen will be transformed into a virtual hair salon.  Their unique layout, and simple design make this app extremely easy to use and operate.  As a therapist, targeting goals with this app can’t get any easier.  It allows us to work on verbs and pronouns as our client(s) sequence out the steps to a haircut.  When you’re all done with your virtual creation, you can also practice retelling the hair salon steps.  Additionally, it allows us to work on some of the harder goals in therapy, such as attending (staying on a task/activity for a specific amount of time).  As if all of these reasons weren’t enough, Toca Boca Hair Salon provides kids and teens with a creative outlet.  This allows them to make the ultimate decisions in “what looks cool” and transform their character’s hair into their own personal vision.

Pros:                                                                   Cons:

  1. Easy to use & operate                                   1. Lacks ethnic hair choices (curly, etc…)
  2. Kid friendly graphics
  3. Array of salon tools
  4. Affordable price
  5. Camera option allows for saving, printing, and emailing picture(s).

Toca Boca in my opinion has conquered and paved the way for great apps in the App store.  They have a practical price point, outstanding graphics & animation, educational based apps, and a huge fan base.

Be the first to enter the promo codes below to download Toca Hair Salon for free!

LRHFPJAJ9JY6

RJXFMTMHEMJX

Click to view and/or purchase Toca Hair Salon

Andrea Flynn, B.A., SLPA

FUN with Directions

Posted on by
Reply

Price: $9.99

Seller: Hamaguchi Apps for Speech, Language & Auditory Development

Tablet: iPad

Educational Aspects:

Provides simple to multi-step directions including:

  • Colors
  • Objects
  • Prepositions
  • Spatial concepts
  • Adjectives

Provides reinforcing sounds and animations for correct answers

Description:

FUN with Directions is an engaging app used to target listening and following directions skills.  There are 10 concepts (give, touch, open, close, top, middle, bottom, push, color, erase) to choose from and three different levels within the settings (easy, intermediate, advanced).

Review:

FUN with directions is an aesthetically pleasing app with child-friendly pictures and easy-to-use settings. The user is able to select the appropriate level for the child as well as which concepts will be targeted. Voice commands, other sound features, and text settings are also customizable. Correct answers are rewarded with simple sounds and animations that provide some built-in reinforcement. The three level settings (easy, intermediate, advanced) are very broad with large gaps in ability between each and the user is not able to select specifics within each level (i.e. 1 vs. 2 step directions). Additionally, on some pages within the levels, only the correct item will move which provides the child with unintentional cues as well as limiting the user to the direction given (i.e. no spontaneous or follow-up directions). This app is also a bit overpriced, however it can be used to address a variety of goals or concepts of varying skill levels.

Pros:                                                           Cons:

  1. Customizable settings                           1.  Price
  2. Many pages                                           2.  Broad range between levels
  3. Simple illustrations and layout               3.  Limited to direction given
  4. Reinforcing animations/sounds
  5. Variety of concepts

Fun With Directions is a simple and user-friendly app that successfully targets single and multistep directions through a variety of concepts.

Click to view and/or purchase FUN with Directions.

Provided by: Lillian Vosa, M.S., CCC-SLP

Welcome!

Posted on by
4

Welcome to Speech N’ Teach Apps!

This is my first official post and I just wanted to give a basic summary of what to expect.

1. Twice a month, I will be picking one app from the App Store to review and try out in depth.

2. I will then be teaching how to incorporate the app from an educational/speech related standpoint to use in every day play on the iPad.

To start, I would like to get people’s feedback on the apps we review and teach.  So, on the weeks where we do not release a new app, I would like people to discuss that app and post questions they may have.  Or if you have any app suggestions of an app you would like us to review and teach, this is a good time to post that in the “App suggestions” section.

Simple, easy, and to the point!

Stay tuned for Speech N’ Teach Apps official launch date.