NACD had released the Home Speech Therapist – Apraxia. It is described as a convenient, effective tool for Children with CAS/dyspraxia, Adults with apraxia, and traditional articulation practice. It was developed by NACD with a certified SLP. It targets various phonemes and moves through a progression of levels that challenge motor planning for speech. This is the home screen:
It gives a nice instruction page and has a link to the Progress Tracking (additional fee).
After choosing “Get Started” you will see this screen:
Choose the sounds that you would like to target with the client. You will then see this screen:
Choose which level of the 8 available levels you would like to work at. Descriptions of the levels are provided to the right. You will then be taken to the exercises.
All exercises have illustrations attached to the sound/task. Here are examples of each level:
Level 1: One syllable at a time.
Level 2: Three repetitions of one syllable.
Level 3: Five repetitions of the same syllable.
Level 4: Four repetitions of the same syllable and change to a different syllable at the end.
Level 5: Two alternating syllables.
Level 6: Same consonants but different vowels with random arrangement.
Level 7: Random arrangement of syllables in a varied consonant group.
Level 8: Random combination of any syllables worked on through level 7. Different consonant groups may be used.
Progress tracking is available with this app but I am not able to speak about it because I was not able to use it in the version I was able to review.
Overall, this is a good app that I use with lower functioning and nonverbal students to introduce sounds. It would also be a good app for students with diagnosed Apraxia! Here is my quick pros/improvements list:
Pros:
- Nice, colorful, stimulus illustrations.
- Clear voice on stimulus items.
- You can easily change between levels.
- All consonant groups are well organized and listed in order of typical acquisition.
- Easy to use and a good price for the included amount of stimuli and levels.
- Most likely easy for parents to use at home with the advice of level and consonant groups provided by a licensed SLP.
- It’s available on a wide variety of devices!
Improvements:
- Data tracking not included in the app – in app purchase available but it should just be included.
- You have to manually initiate each syllable instead of an option to play the entire sequence.
- Single-client app unless you have more than one working on the same consonant group. Wish you could use it with two or more clients that are different levels.
Overall a good and useful new app! It is currently available for $4.99 in the following app stores:
Disclosure: NACD provided a copy of this app for review. No other compensation was provided and all opinions are that of the author.
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