“The iPad is more than a device; it is a game changer not only for speech therapists but also for parents, educators and most importantly for children.” GeekSLP.com
For Speech Therapy
Articulation Apps
March, 2011
Using Evidence Based Practice to guide the use of apps for Articulation With the release of touch devices by Apple, inc and the d e v e l o p m e n t o f s e v e r a l applications that target speech and sound disorders, speech therapists have the opportunity to deliver engaging therapy sessions. The feedback heard from speech therapists on how these devices have signi=icantly improved the quality and ef=iciency of their services does not directly translate into the awareness of how these applications are not only a fun therapy tool that will maintain the student’s attention and interest for
longer periods of time, but are also the result of the integration between evidence based research and one of the most advanced pieces of technology of the century. With over 14 applications for articulation on the app store, speech and language pathologists have the opportunity to deliver more entertaining articulation sessions that provide automatic feedback to us as clinicians as well as to the student. Articulation applications range from basic memory games to more complex apps that were designed to analyze
and determine patterns in speech errors.
Content: The Sunny Articulation Test Mobile Articulation Test Articulate it! /r/ intensive SLP Match2Say
Smarty Speech Spanish
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Barbara Fernandes, M.S; CCC-‐SLP is a practicing trilingual speech All rights reserved to Geek SLP and language pathologist in the Dallas area. Barbara is the founder and CEO of Smarty Ears and has created over 21 applications for speech therapists. Barbara Fernandes is also the person behind GeekSLP.com a FREE blog, app and video podcast teaching SLPs how to implement technology into their practices.
2011
Sunny Articulation Test DESCRIPTION:
The Sunny Ar/cula/on Test (SAT) is an individually administered qualita/ve clinical tool for screening, iden/fica/on, diagnosis and follow-‐up evalua/on of ar/cula/on skills in English speaking individuals. The Sunny Ar/cula/on Test can be used with individuals of all age groups. The Sunny Ar/cula/on Test is compa/ble with the iPhone, iPod Touch & the iPad.
This is not a test for determining eligibility- it is not standardized. This is a test used
for identifying patterns of speech errors.
Features of the Sunny Articulation Test: a. Ability to enter student’s name and track progress over /me; b. Tests all phonemes of the English language including clusters; c. Offers two op/ons: Screening & Full Assessment d.Ability to record student’s produc/on with the same tool you are using to administer test; e.Complements informa/on of standardized measures; f. E-‐mail test results immediately aLer administra/on;
g.Automa/c analysis of speech produc/on by: i. Manner ii.Phoneme iii.Posi/on in the word iv. Voicing Features v. Error type (Subs/tu/on, Dele/on, Distor/on) on Full assessment only.
Provides immediate posi/ve feedback to students throughout the test administra/on; Sample recording of target word is available as you touch each image; Compa/ble with the iPod Touch, iPhone & iPad; Ability to add notes on the app during the assessment.
USES: The Sunny Ar+cula+on Test can be used to: -‐ Collect informa/on regarding an individual’s ar/cula/on skills; -‐ Supplement data of a standardized ar/cula/on measure; -‐ Determine the presence of an ar/cula/on disorder; -‐ Measure treatment efficacy; -‐ Determine a follow up therapy plan; -‐ Quick administra/on of ar/cula/on screening; -‐ Screens ar/cula/on skills to determine needs for further assessment.
Understanding the Sunny Articulation test: Note Taking capabilities
Transcribed word on top of the screen
Voice Recorder
Compatibility: Articulate it! is an universal application which makes it fully compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch and the iPad.
Target Word
How to enter the data on the Sunny Articulation Test: 1. As soon as you hear that the student is making an error on a specific sound; click on the green transcribed phoneme. A new window will pop-up and ask you to select one of the options: a. Deleted b. Substituted c. Distorted
Simply select the error accordingly and go to the next image.
The Result: Automatic Analyses of Speech errors is a dream come true to speech pathologists. The Sunny Articulation Test provides a detailed analyses of the child’s speech that can be e-mailed right after the assessment containing information in five categories: 1. Position in the word; 2. Manner of Articulation 3. Voicing Features 4. Errors within specific words 5. Types of Errors
Note: On the case above; it is clear to notice that the student assessed is presenting with errors mostly on the final position of the word.
The Result ( continuation):
This is a view of the results screen based on manner of articulation. On the example provided you can observe that the student is 73.3% accurate when producing fricative sounds. When you look closely you notice that all the errors were on Final position. therefore the problem in this case is not the fact that the sounds are fricatives, but the fact that the phonemes are in the end of the word.
Note the list of the transcribed words targeted. The phonemes in green are phonemes produced accurately; the phonemes in red were missed. The associated error is presented next to the word.
The Voicing tab allows therapists to identify if articulation difficulties are related to voicing features of the phonemes.
The error type tab allows clinicians to identify the types of errors demonstrated by client.
Articulate it! Articulate it! and the Evidence: We know what works... Mass practice is essential to progress (Skelton, 2004). With over 1 thousand target words in very portable and organized placed, speech pathologists can provide drill therapy and mass practice to students, while keeping data and engaging the student. 2.According to Ertmer & Ertmer, 1998, Cognitive monitoring of speech production is essential to progress. 1.
Articulate it! allows Speech Therapists to set specific goals for each student. Articulate it! is an application designed to help children practice their pronunciation skills. Articulate it! provides over 1 thousand target words, with associated images and audio modeling organized into three main categories: Phonemes, Phonological Processes, and Mode of Articulation. Home practice has always been a challenge for speech therapists that usually have to Mind time on their already limited agenda to set up homework, and lists of words to send for home practice. ASHA, 2004 demonstrated that home practice leads to signiMicantly faster progress and generalization. Articulate it! not only provides an immediate list of words for practice that can be sent home to facilitate generalization, but with the app store parents also have access to tools for at home
practice which can be shared on a d a i l y b a s i s w i t h S L P s f o r m o n i t o r i n g p r o g r e s s a n d generalization. While applications provide a more practical and contextualized therapy session it also has its pitfalls: the need for ongoing research as new technology is developed and the temptation of the SLP to forget that they are still the therapist. Innovation in any Mield will Mirst face the lack of research. They are almost in opposite sides of the spectrum. However, as more therapists use it, keep data, and explore its potential, we will soon be able to demonstrate the evidence of the therapy tool of the new millennium.
TIP: Articulate it! also allows for
individual goal selection, and individual target’s in a group setting; therefore when trying to b u il d cog n it ive m on itorin g , clinicians can also facilitate that group members monitor each other’s productions.
Articulate it! provides two ways to guide students to monitor their productions: Students are able to check correct or incorrect for each time they produced the words which allows them actively monitor their production. Students are also able to record their own voice during practice and play it back for immediate feedback. It is also possible to compare their own productions to the production of an adult speaker built in the application as they touch the image. 3.It does appear that the decision to work on patterns of speech errors is more efficient and effective than teaching sounds one at a time (Almost & Rosenbaum, 1998; Bernhardt & Major, 2005; Hodson & Paden, 1983, Major & Bernhardt, 1998; Pamplona, Ysunza, & Espinoza, 1999) Articulate it! is the only application that allows Speech Therapists to group sounds by Manner of Articulation. We have also the selected words based on specific phonological processes: such as devoicing, weak syllable deletion, etc..
Compatibility: Articulate it! is an universal application which makes it fully compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch and the iPad.
Features Articulate it! contains over 1 thousand images in all sounds of the English language! Let's take a closer look at the main features of Articulate it:
Easy
Comprehensive
Smart
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Over 1 thousand pictures and target words;
Ability to track multiple students at the same time with separate goals;
Note taking capability: allows SLPs and parents to take notes during practice.
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Audio recordings for every word present on this app! You child can practice saying their sounds on their own by repeating the voice on the app;
Ability to group sounds by Manner of articulation or phonological processes;
Extremely specific results screens- give you percentage based on phonemes/ position in the words/ which words were missed and more...
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Contains ALL consonants in the English language;
Built in voice
recording allows the children to compare their productions with the audio recording;
Note taking capability: allows SLPs and parents to take notes during practice.
Record the voice of your student as you practice:
Target word and image
Take notes as you go along on your session:
The SLP or the Student can mark the responses are accurate or not using the buttons provided on the screen.
Using Articulate it to implement data driven therapy and establish therapy plans: Speech and Language Pathologists are able to access a very detailed result summary after each session. Articulate it! analyses the data, and saves all the sessions and all the voice recordings from the sessions. Speech Therapists are able to e-mail the data immediately after the therapy session. This data can be used to demonstrate progress, and share with parents. One very handy feature on Articulate it! is “ Words to Work on� section, which were collected based on each session. These words can be transformed into a immediate home work list. If more than one student was present on the session, each student will have their own results summary. This data will be saved on the device until the therapist chooses to delete it. This is the end of paper and pencil tallying!
TIPS: 1.E-mail results : Keep a back up of your data. You never know when something could happen to your iPad or iPhone; 2. Review words after the session; 3. Send home the list of words practiced as home work to optimize practice;
Articulate it! allows you to e-mail the results instantly though e-mail. If you have recommended this application to parents; you can ask them to share the results of every practice with you. This way you can monitor carry over of targeted skills.
Mobile Articulation Probes
Mobile Articulation Probes (MAP)
$19.99
Access flashcards of English sounds organized in three categories:
a. Sound b. Phonological Processes c. Manner of Articulation The FIRST articulation app for Speech Therapists available on the app store. Mobile Articulation Probes revolutionized the field of speech therapy when it was released in January of 2010. It has a very simple interface, but key features to speech therapists: organizes flashcards into 3 categories, nearly 1 thousand target words, and tracks accuracy on the go. 1st: Choose your practice mode
2. Select the phoneme
3. Access target words
The results
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Some Information: “Feb 04, 2010 – iPhone applications are now being utilized in Special Education to determine Present Levels of Performance (PLOPs) for articulation skills. PLOPs are the current level of accuracy exhibited by the student at a given period of time. Some state regulations now mandate that PLOPs become part of the assessment data collected when determining the presence of a disability.During therapy speech therapists are required by law to report the child’s present levels
Compatibility: Compatible with the iPhone and iPod touch. However, it also works with a lower resolution on the iPad.
of performance. In the past, speech therapists accounted for PLOPs by marking how many times the stimulus was presented in relation to how many times the response was accurate. This behavior sometimes breaks the flow of therapy and is not time-efficient to the therapist. By using MAP therapists will automatically be tracking PLOPs while presenting the stimulus. MAP has the capacity to track percentage of accuracy per session and over time.” http://www.prlog.org/10519966-iphone-helps-speech-therapists-assess-and-track-present-levels-of-performance-plops.html
When choosing an app for your articulation therapy, many times speech therapists feel tempted to search for the app with the most features. It is important to compare the features, and analyze them to understand which features are important to you as a clinician. Many speech therapists do not need an application that will provide group therapy features such as Articulate it, and will be fine with an app that only allows for individual therapy. I have provided a table that compares two articulation applications developed by Smarty Ears to serve as a starting pointing when shopping for your articulation application on the app store. Sometimes, you will see that just as you probably have more than one deck of cards, you will also want to purchase more than one articulation application. Now you know what you need to know! See bellow a comparison chart:
“The flexibility of the menu was what seemed to grab public school therapists interest the most, particularly the ability to work with multiple students. "You mean I can have one student working on phonological process while the other is working on a specific sound?" said one therapist in disbelief as she watched the app automatically take turns between the two students for whom she had selected different goals. "How many students can I work with at once?" she immediately asked energetically imagining its practicality in her classroom. Articulate it! in it’s current version allows up to four students with specific goals for each student including one or more phonemes, one or more types of speech errors or one or more mode of articulation.” Source: New iPad™ Apps for Speech Therapy and Communication were a Highlight of ASHA 2010 Convention
R intensive SLP is one of Smarty Ears’ articulation apps. rIntensive SLP was developed as a result of “intensive” requests made by our Speech Therapists. Smarty Ears is aware of the high incidence of students seen for their difficulties with /r/. We hope that rIntensive SLP becomes a tool that will help your accuracy levels in teaching the production of the English /r/. With over 450 target words /r/ intensive is the best tool for practicing this "interesting" phoneme. rIntensive SLP uses a phonetic approach to teaching the “r” sound by creating subgroups that will hopefully make your student more successful in therapy. We have divided the /r/ phoneme at he word level as follows: a.Pre-Vocalic /r/ b./r/ Clusters c./rl/ d./Ir/ e./ajər/ f./ar/ g./er/ h./or/ i./ər/ rIntensive SLP has also added two very useful functions:
Compatibility: r intensive is an universal application which makes it fully compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch and the iPad.
1.The “Probes” option. Here you may choose to probe your students and attempt to identify the specific “environment” that you must work on. For example: Your student may only have difficulty with /r/ in clusters and /rl/ but have a good production when the /r/ is in all other phonetic environments. 2.Phrase level. Here we have created a possibility of practicing the /r/ at the phrase level. You may choose to practice the phrase level in conjunction with “word level” or after the student has mastered the “ word level”. rIntensive SLP is the only tool in the market that allows you to not only practice the production of the /r/ phoneme but also tally the percentage of accuracy at the same time with the same tool: your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. For more information visit our website at http://www.smarty-ears.com Smarty Ears has a variety of apps for speech therapists, make sure you check out our selection of apps by searching “Smarty Ears” in your app store.
None of the apps on this document require WI-FI connection. Once you download them to your device you will not need to be connected to the internet to use them in therapy.
Smarty Speech- Spanish on i t a l icu t r A y ng l i n v r o e ss The P L S r n o f e r p d p l i A ch l a u g bilin I am a bilingual speech pathologist, and for those of you who work with Spanish-speaking children you know how frustrating it can be trying to get ready for therapy. Most of the time we are limited to two options: live translation of English materials or spending hours creating our own Spanish materials. The limited resources in Spanish pushes us to creating our own materials on a daily basis. This can be very difficult for us with an already very limited time on our hands to serve so many children. That’s why I created Smarty Speech Spanish!
Features: The sounds are organized in three categories:
1. Phonemes using phonetics alphabet. 2. Mode of articulation 3. Phonological Processes
Over 450 target images and words.
This app allows therapists and parents to work on specific sounds. It works like flashcards. It contains over 500 flashcards in it separated by specific phonemes, mode of articulation, and phonological processes. This is a very useful app not only for bilingual therapists, but also for English-speaking clinicians who should work on speech errors in both languages when treating children with articulation delays.
Compatibility: Smarty Speech-Spanish is an universal application which makes it fully compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch and the iPad.
Match2Say
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Description: Match2Say is the matching game. While children play they say the words and improve their articulation skills at the same time. The iPhone/iPod app contains 3 levels, the iPad app contains 5 levels!
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1. Each deck of cards represents a specific sound; 2. Contains all different types of “r� sounds; 3. Audio recording for all images with different voice characters; 4. Several difficulty levels; 5. Over 1500 images in the whole app; 6. Contains a set for /s/ and /r/ clusters; 7. Universal app: Fully compatible with the iPhone, iPod Touch and the iPad.
Screenshots:
What are people saying about Match2Say:
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FREE APP
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