The iPad Isn't Just for Fun - It's for Language, Too!

Let’s face it--children love to play on the iPad!  I don’t base all of my therapy sessions around my LED screen, of course. However, there are a few apps that I just simply cannot live without.  Did I mention most of them are FREE?? 

Let’s start with the perfect “cause and effect” app for young children: Peekaboo Kids.  I use this app a lot when I am working with children on requesting things such as “more” or “open”.  It is also great for labeling and expanding vocabulary.  Children have the choice to open a barn and discover different farm animals, open a garage and discover different types of vehicles, or even open a stage curtain and discover different musical instruments.  It is a HIT with my early intervention children and my young school age children as well. 

Moving right along to my next favorite app, which consists of a funny alien that performs 25+ actions: POGG. Most of my children are laughing and giggling while answering questions such as “What is he doing?” or “Can you show me the picture where he is eating?”.  This app is great for working on present progressive tense (verb+ing) and identifying actions as well as answering “Why” questions.

The last app that I want to share with you is called Sago Mini Friends.  I allow my children to pick a character and they can walk along to different friend’s houses.  Knock on the doors and find out what fun activity is in store.  My toddlers love these activities, which include dressing up, blowing bubbles, popping balloons, and eating a snack just to name a few.  This app is great for expanding sentence length, taking turns, and also for expanding vocabulary skills.  Hopefully your children will enjoy these apps and can work on improving their speech and language skills in addition to having fun!

--Breann Voytko M.A., CCC-SLP