It seems like there’s an app for just about everything these days!  There are several iPad and iPhone applications (apps) available that help address speech and language skills that can be used at home or on the go.  Many of these apps are in the format of games so your child won’t even realize they are working on speech and language skills.   Working on these skills at home will help your child’s speech and language development and will help with carry-over of skills being worked on during speech-language therapy.  Below I have compiled a list of my favorite apps to help with speech and language.

1. Articulation Station by Little Bee Speech

Cost: Free (full version $59.99) Ages: All Ages

Articulation Station is a perfect way to work on articulation skills at home.  Articulation Station contains pictures based around the sounds targeted in speech-language therapy.  For example, if your child’s targeted speech sound is ‘r’ sound, it contains words with ‘r’ at the beginning, middle, and end of words.   The app gives you the option to work on words individually as flashcards or by playing a game.   Once your child has mastered a sound at the word level, he or she can move on to sentence level and then on to simple stories.  This app also can record the child’s production and play it back for immediate feedback.  Parents can easily chart progress by using the percentage correct at the end of each session.

2. Funny Directions by Speecharoo Apps

Cost: $2.99 Ages: 2-10

The Funny Directions app is a great way to practice following directions.  Choose from simple 1-step directions, 2-step directions, or more advanced 3-step directions. While your child is playing this highly entertaining and funny game he or she is learning a variety of different aspects of language (nouns, verbs, and prepositions) and utilizing auditory memory and attention capabilities.

3. WH Question Cards - Pro: Who, What, When, Where, Why by Super Duper Publications

Cost: Free ($11.99 for full version) Ages: 3-13

Wh-Question Cards app teaches children how to correctly ask and answer wh-questions (‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’, and ‘why’).  It has four entertaining learning games for each set of cards and includes enhanced data tracking so educators and parents can keep track of the child’s progress.

4. Peek-A-Boo Barn by Night & Day Studios, Inc.

Cost: $1.99 Ages: 0-3

Peek-A-Boo Barn is a great app for toddlers working on expressive language skills.
In the app, friendly farm animals are waiting to pop out of the bouncing barn and surprise your little one. Try and guess which animal behind the door around the barn and then tap the door to find out.  This also allows the opportunity to work with your child to learn the names of animals and hear the different sounds the animals make.  Older children will enjoy guessing animals by sound, then seeing the animal’s name, which helps develop early literacy skills.  

5. Toca Kitchen Monsters 4+ by Toca Boca AB

Cost: Free Ages: 2-6

Toca Kitchen Monsters is an app that allows you and your child to explore cooking by choosing and preparing various foods for the Toca monster.  As Toca’s meals are being prepared your child is working on many language skills that include verbs, labeling (foods), language expansion (practice 2+ word phrases), wh-questions (‘what’, ‘who’ ‘where’, ‘when’, ‘why’), following directions, and environmental sounds.

6. Let’s Use Language Pro: Language Development by Everyday Speech LLC

Cost: $4.99 Ages: 6-15

Let’s Use Language Pro: Language Development focuses on literary-based language development and was written by a speech-language pathologist.  The app comes with 10 stories. Each story comes with a lesson for four targeted concepts vocabulary, sequencing, categories and opposites.  

Using apps to work on speech and language skills will give your child a fun way to work on speech and language development.   Additionally, feel free to contact In Home Speech Solutions if you have questions or concerns we can help answer.

Jennifer Price M.S., CCC-SLP Lead Speech-Language Pathologist & Owner