4 fun apps to use during therapy

Apps are part of daily life now. Certainly for children, who come across them every day just like we do. Apps can be handy during therapy too. For some patients, using an app in therapy works as a motivation tool. For others it helps to visualise the exercises, think of voice therapy for example.

Number 1: Karaton

For most of you the name Karaton will ring a bell. The therapy game of choice for practising different reading skills has become hugely popular over the last 2 years. It is a fine tool for giving your patients that bit of extra motivation in therapy.

As a speech therapist you have an overview of all the children you support with Karaton and you can set tailored exercises for each child. You do that in the Karaton Academy, which was built for exactly that. Not unimportant: the makers of Karaton work closely with the Hogeschool Gent. Their educational tool is scientifically grounded because of it. They use proven techniques in game form.

During therapy you can use the specially designed “therapy island”. The exercises sit close together there, so as a therapist you do not waste precious time wandering around an island looking for exercises.

What is good about the game is that it leans very closely on the world the children live in. They know Minecraft and the other tablet-based games they play at home and with their friends inside out. That makes practising feel less like practising, which keeps them motivated during therapy. So Karaton is a fine addition alongside classic reading therapy.

PRICE: 96 euro / year

Number 2: MTRL articulation app

An app for treating articulation problems is always handy to have in a speech therapist’s therapy toolbox. Next to using cut-out playing cards and that same game of goose over and over, this app is a welcome change.

The MTRL Articulation Application lets you train 9 speech sounds (D, K, L, N, R, S, SCH, T, Z). The app can be used in every phase of articulation therapy. Each level comes with different games in which the sounds can be trained through target words, over 96 per target sound. As a therapist you can set the level of the exercises. The position of the target sound can be selected as well. The images that come with the games and exercises are attractive and clear for the children.

The design is very basic, so as a speech therapist you can get going straight away. No need to work through a complicated manual first or to sit out long and expensive workshops. You are up and running with this fine articulation trainer in no time. The only drawback of this app is that it was developed for iPad only and is therefore not available for Android devices.

A small tip: as a member of Logopedia you get a discount on MTRL products, which of course makes the purchase that bit more interesting.

PRICE: 34,99 euro

Number 3: dB meter

As a voice therapist it is always handy to have a dB meter as an app. These are of course not always 100% reliable and not always calibrated. Still, it gives your patient a good indication and a visualisation to work with during the exercises. Certainly when you are training voice volume and loudness control.

In the App Store and on Google Play you will find plenty of good dB meters. But it is sometimes hard to find your way among them. The choice is enormous. We mainly recommend the Sound Meter – Decibel meter & Noise meter from tools dev. The app is very complete and still stays clear and simple to use. It also has very good reviews in the Play Store. The drawback is of course, as with everything that is free, the ads you have to put up with.

PRICE: Free + in-app purchases

Number 4: Dubable

For some this app will ring a bell under the name of the Ketnet Dub app. In a playful way, the children can read at their own level during therapy and practise without it feeling like an exercise. Ideal to use as a filler in between, or as motivation, as a reward.

For those not yet familiar with this app: the aim is to dub an animated clip. The children choose a character based on the difficulty level. The text they have to speak appears on the screen and the sentences are written to match the chosen difficulty. The makers used the AVI reading level for this. Afterwards the children can watch the end result. A clip in which they play the lead.

The stories are great fun and will certainly appeal to a lot of children. The animations are beautifully done as well. This app has been handled very professionally.

PRICE: Free