A great resource for educators, parents, and children to better understand Sensory Processing Disorder!
Inspiration Maps for iPad
I am very excited about the new Inspiration Maps for iPad. This app supports visual thinking. Visual thinking is a learning style where the learner better understands and retains information when ideas, words and concepts are associated with images. Visual learning helps students organize and analyze information, and think critically. Diagrams and outlines are just some strategies of visual learning.
Check it out: http://bit.ly/SFGUKn
Speech Homework?
Parents often ask me what they should be doing at home with their child in addition to speech therapy. Homework should be a review of what a child is working on in speech therapy. Therefore, it’s not something that should be introduced right away. For example, if a child a working on individual lip movements for /f/ and /v/ productions, activities should be provided to promote carryover of newly learned skills once a more accurate speech sound production is established. I provide my parents with activities and sometimes homework suggestions that can easily be incorporated into the child’s day (e.g., play “I spy /s/ words” on the way to school). I always emphasize that it’s about the frequency not duration. The homework I provide should take a few minutes, but should be targeted 4x/week (especially if therapy is only once weekly). Also, I like to call it “speech practice” not “homework”.
There are plenty of places to get “speech practice” ideas that target sound productions and language development. I like http://mommyspeechtherapy.com/ and http://www.speakingofspeech.com/.
Organizing Your Speech & Language Apps
AAC
Core Words
Alexicom AAC
Picture Board
Lexico Cognition
Autism Lite
Vocab PCS
Custom Boards (full version is not free)
Augie Free (I want, I feel, communication boards)
Talk4Me (actions, places, says aloud)
ABCs/PHONICS/VOCAB
ABC Phonics
Magnetic ABC
Pocket Phonics Lite
Alphabet
ABC
Picture Dictionary
Sightwords
Nouns (Kindergarten.com)
Vocab PCS (animals only)
Word Magic
MeMeTales
PopWords!
ARTICULATION
ArtikPix
Articulation Station
Speech Trainer
TongueTwisters
Phonemes
Articulation!
Blends
CATEGORIES
Which Does Not Belong?
Which Go Together?
Brain-go!
Find Difference (imagination stairs.com)
Who Am I?
Kids cars
Things that go together
ABA -Which one does not belong (alligator applications.com)
Let’s name things (Super Duper)
COLOR/PAINT/CREATE
Draw Stars!
Color ABC
Mini Painters
Color Dog
Painter Star
Picturizr
Toontastic
PuppetPals
Swman Builder
Skitch
Color Slapps
Go Fun!
EI/PRESCHOOL/KINDERGARTEN (Early Language)
Preschool IMM
My First Words
First Words
Animal&Young
Speak Colors
EduPlay
I Like Grandpa (story by Grasshopper Apps)
Sight K Free
Kindergarten Lite
Timmy’s Kindergarten Adventure
My Profession (My first app.com)
EQ IQ CQ
Clean Up
SeeTouchLearn
Lexico-Cognition
Vocal Zoo
CookieDoodle
Cake Maker
More Toast
Aquarium Maker
Seasons!
GRAMMAR/WRITING
Grammar Lite
G.E. Tenses LE
Free Grammar
G.E. Parts of Speech Lite
Silly Sentences2
Figures of speech Lite
PHONOLOGY
Phonics Consonants (abitalk)
Fun Rhyming Lite
Phonics Genius
Minimal Pairs Lite
Build Lite (Bossy r’s, short/long vowels)
SOCIAL/PRAGMATICS
Going Places
Conversation
Emotions
REINFORCERS (activities & games)
Farm Story
Bakery Story
Angry Birds
Cut the Rope
Restaurant
Frosty
Bluster
PickUp Sticks
RadSounds
FarmersMarket
Pluto Piano
Phone4Kids
Racing Cookie
Marbles Memory Game
Pop Balloons
RemembRing
Uno
Fruit Ninja
Talking Tom
Basketball
Touch Hockey
rappaportspeech 