As 2014 comes to an end, Yapp Guru is looking at which apps are the Top Ten apps that the App Experts loved in 2014. My iPad has had such a crazy 2014! I went from working in 2 elementary schools with K-5 and children with severe Autism (including many nonverbal students) to working within the Early Intervention system with clients 0-4 on my caseload. However, I want to give you my Top 10 from the entire year… these are apps that stay on my iPad instead of floating in the cloud and are used most frequently. Some of them made their debut in 2014 but others have been around for a bit. Regardless, these are the apps I recommend to you!
(In no particular order of course!
Articulation Test Station – $49.99
I love using this app for RtI screener, speech samples during evaluations, and progress monitoring. It is incredibly easy to use and is always my go-to for a quick paperless evaluation/screener! Watch for sales but it’s worth the $50, and I don’t say that easily!
Peekaboo Barn – $1.99
This is one of my favorite apps for preschool clients. We utilize it to work on following directions, identifying animals, and labeling. We can also talk about the animal attributes, what’s in the barn, and more.
Avokiddo Emotions – $2.99
I love to use Avokiddo emotions with a wide range of clients. We use this with social goals to identify emotions, talk about why the character feels that way, etc. We also use this to work on attributes, actions, describing, requesting, and so much more. It’s a well-made and versatile app!
ArtikPix Level Plus – #29.99
This is a very versatile and clean app for articulation therapy. I love the way it is set up and remembers settings and data between sessions. If you work with a lot of articulation clients and/or RtI for Articulation, this app is a great investment!
aacorn – $189.99
AAC is an ever-changing area. This app is great for some students and a great way to introduce AAC to younger children. It learns the student and can be customized completely. I also love that they offer free version to SLPs for therapy and trials. Plus, of all AAC options, this is one of the best made and affordable options. I have used this with nonverbal elementary students as well as nonverbal children under 3. With some training, it can be utilized by most students easily.
Soundable – FREE
Sometimes you have to kick back and relax with a nerdy little SLP game. Soundable is a great refresher for IPA and fun SLPs! Think of it as Scrabble with IPA! Enjoy!
Toca Kitchen Monsters – FREE
This is a great free app from Toca Boca. As a general reinforcer, it is goal. However, if you dig deeper you’ll find that you can do following directions (which food to pick, how to cook it, etc.), talk about attributes, vocabulary, and much more!
I Dare You Articulation – $4.99
This app has been a favorite of mine since it’s arrival in the app store. My older articulation students love it! We even were able to go around our school with the app and “dare” some teachers and the principal to do the dares by utilizing good speech sounds. It was so motivating and the staff loved it! Erik X. Raj has so many motivating articulation apps!
Real Vocabulary Pro – $29.99
I really enjoy how this app targets vocabulary learning in students K-5. You can work on antonyms, synonyms, definitions, multiple meanings, and idioms within this app. It also keeps data for you! There are reinforcer games as well which is helpful for older clients!
Sentence Ninja – $19.99
Sentence ninja is a great way for students to work on grammar and syntax. It can also be used for language and articulation carry-over. It’s a very motivating theme for students and they enjoy working on this app during sessions. It has built-in data tracking also.
There are so many incredible apps being added to the marketplace each day. These 10 were my favorites of 2014 and I can’t wait to see what 2015 will bring! I hope you’ll visit the other blogs in this linky to see which apps they loved this year!
Appy New Year!!!
Thanks for this great list of apps! I looked at the aacorn website. They are featuring their app at 1/2 price until January 2, but there is no free version available for SLPs. Do you have different information?
Thanks for asking Trish. SLPs can register for an evaluation copy here: http://aacornapp.com/evaluation/ Enjoy!
Thank you for this informative post! I will be checking out the Sentence Ninja!