BEYOND THE APP

Creative ideas for app repurposing

Barbara Fernandes M.S CCC-SLP

geekslp@yahoo.com
www.smartyearsapps.com

ABOUT
• Speech-Language-
Pathologist

• Smarty Ears Founder

• Created over 60 apps

• Smarty Symbols Founder

• GeekSLP Blogger

• Speaker on all things tech

and speech

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
Relevant financial relationship(s), no
relevant non-financial relationship(s)
•I have the following relevant financial
relationship(s) in the products or services
described, reviewed, evaluated or compared
in this presentation.
Smarty Ears:
- I am the owner of Smarty Ears
•I have no relevant nonfinancial
relationship(s) to disclose.
 What you expect: Reality:

OUR GOALS FOR THIS SESSION

➤ Discuss how to strategically
use a child’s interest and
harness that to support the
child in mastering speech and
language goals
➤ Brainstorm planning sessions,
goals and activities that can be
targeted using a variety of
“non-speechies” apps.
➤ Brainstorm creative ideas to
repurpose speech therapy apps
beyond its original intended
purposes

THE REAL GOAL:

WE WILL EXERCISE OUR SLP
BRAIN FOR IMAGINATION AND
CREATIVITY
 I am in love with an SLP by Jonathan Fernandes
I’m in love with an SLP 

Wh wh wh what the fricative is happening to me!!! 
 But when it comes to words 

You g g got me stuttering so nervous can’t you see!! 
 I’m at her mercy 

My speech is slipin slipin ; beauty has taken its toll 
 I’m in love with an SLP 

I’m stopping, fronting, slipping, backing, gliding out Tell my speech language pathologist 

of control!!! 
 I really, really, really just want one little kiss.
I want to b b b be your minimal pair 
 By 

The way you say your words, Oh, it just isn’t fair!!! 
 Jonathan Rippe Fernandes
Wh what the fricative is happening to me!! 
 Barbara Fernandes on drumms
Deafrication has taken the Africa out of me?
I’m in love with an SLP 

But when it comes to words 

I’m at her mercy 

I’m in love with an SLP 

Tell my speech language pathologist 

I really, really, really just want one little kiss.
Wh wh wh what the fricative is happening to me!!! 

You g g got me stuttering so nervous can’t you see!! 

My speech is slipin slipin ; beauty has taken its toll 

I’m stopping, fronting, slipping, backing, gliding out
of control!!! 

P P Please don’t play any of your SLP games with me 

The only prize I need are your eyes looking b b back
at me 

I pwomise I’ll keep workin on my R’s 

But I weally want to hold you in my awms!!!

MEET VICTOR
DON’T BE AFRAID OF TAKING
ADVANTAGE OF A CHILD’S
INTEREST AND MAKING THAT
YOUR ALLY IN PROMOTING
SPEECH, LANGUAGE AND
COMMUNICATION

MEET ONE OF SLPS FAVORITE REPURPOSED TOOLS

➤ How do you repurpose Mr.
and Mrs. Potato Head?
➤ Body Parts
➤ Social Scripts
➤ Vocabulary/Descriptors
➤ Following Directions
➤ Sorting
 DEVICE CAMERA
TO THIS:

FROM THIS:

Speech Trainer3D

THE SLP TEST

LET’S IMAGINE A
SCENARIO…
WHAT WOULD YOU USE THIS APP FOR IF THIS
WAS THE ONLY TOOL YOU HAD ON YOU ONE DAY

DO YOU BELIEVE CHILDREN CAN OVER/

UNDER PERFORM DEPENDING ON THEIR
MOTIVATION DURING THE ASSESSMENT?

NO YES
 CAN WE USE APPS TO LEARN
ABOUT A CHILD’S SKILLS?
•Yes we can!
•Children’s behavior can vary based on
the tools, techniques, and your
attitude during the evaluation
•What is wrong with using the iPad as
a tool in an evaluation?
•The stigma
•The lack of reliability
Pocket Pond
•Are children under performing partly
due to the resources used?

THE GOAL OF EVALUATIONS IS TO GATHER A RELIABLE

PICTURE OF SKILLS THAT ARE INDEPENDENT OF THE
TOOL USED OR THE SKILLS OF THE EVALUATOR
•I am not advocating for ditching standardized paper
assessment (At least not yet)
•Utilize apps as a resource to eliminate the “stranger
effect”
•If you think you can gain more than you will lose why
not?
•Consider asking about the child’s interest - great for
children on the spectrum

CAN WE USE THE IPAD TO

WORK ON SOCIAL SKILLS?
NO YES
 CAUSE AND JOINT CHOICE LABELING
EFFECT ATTENTION MAKING

TURN FOLLOWING
ATTENDING TAKING REQUESTING
DIRECTIONS

JOINT ATTENTION IS KEY IN TARGETING

SPECIFIC GOALS WITH YOUNG LEARNERS.

FEED THE ANIMALS AND MORE

IPAD +SLP =
PURE MAGIC
- Say.. I want color… “ yellow”

- Say.. I want color…

- Say.. I want color…

- (Makes eye contact)

- Mommy which color do you

want?

REPURPOSING SPEECH
THERAPY APPS
 ARTICULATION SCENES
IT COULD BE USED TO:
➤ The app includes four activities. Each has a
potential for a different target.
➤ Gather language Sample: The creative and some
times funny scenes can be used as a tool for
language samples
➤ Vocabulary: The app includes a systematic
presentation of vocabulary in a fun and
contextualized method.
➤ Reading comprehension: The production room
includes text only stories.
➤ Story re-telling: The app includes 72 stories

DESIGNED FOR: which the student can re-tell and record on the
movie theater

ARTICULATION ➤ Reading: You are able to easily assess reading

comprehension at the word level on the find the
hidden picture
➤ Inferencing: Give children clue of what they to
find on a scene.

ARTICULATE IT
IT COULD BE USED TO:
➤ The app includes four activities with each having a
potential for different targets:
➤ Tracking can be changed to match your target
objective.
➤ Phonological Awareness: Select words by syllable
numbers and ask students to determine the number of
syllables on the word lists.
➤ Apraxia of Speech: Given the fact that the app allows
users to isolate words by syllable complexity or
manner of articulation it makes it easy to provide
targets and make appropriate incremental adjustments
➤ Fluency: Fluency can be practiced at all levels from
word all the way to stories
DESIGNED FOR: ➤ Reading Comprehension: Each story includes
comprehension questions
ARTICULATION ➤ Auditory Processing and discrimination: Use the
matching game and cover the image presented
➤ Cycles Approach: Auditory bombardment at the
matching game

CUSTOM BOARDS
IT COULD BE USED TO:
➤ Create homework from a separate
app
➤ Use directly as an on-screen
activity
➤ Allow students to create their
own homework activity
➤ Create articulation activities using
the phoneme based search feature
DESIGNED FOR: ➤ Create your own custom
CREATING VISUAL SUPPORT “Articulation Scenes” and the
MATERIALS/ AAC target nearly everything we
already discussed
 LANGUAGE ADVENTURES
DESIGNED FOR:
LANGUAGE SKILLS:
WH QUESTIONS, ANTONYMS,
CATEGORIES, INFERENCES,
MULTIPLE MEANINGS,
READING COMPREHENSION CAMP
DESIGNED FOR:
READING COMPREHENSION
HOUSE OF LEARNING
DESIGNED FOR:
PLAY HOUSE
IT COULD BE USED TO:
➤ Use the databased to modify/
remove existing questions and
create your own custom questions
for any other language area
➤ Reading comprehension: Turn off
the audio component and let
students always answer questions
based on written information
➤ Fluency: Turn off the audio and
allow the child to read the questions
out loud. If you have a mixed group,
the student can be the one asking
the questions to the students with
language goals
IT COULD BE USED TO:
➤ Use the custom stories to work
on other target areas by
creating stories for that target
(Articulation, language, social
skills, etc)
➤ Listening Comprehension:
Allow the stories to play out
loud without letting the
students read the text
➤ Story re-retelling: Allow
students to re-tell you the
stories they just head
IT COULD BE USED TO:
➤ This is a great dynamic app that gives you
freedom to target lots of goals
➤ Vocabulary: The app offer functional
household vocabulary that can be targeted
strategically throughout a variety of sessions
➤ Following directions: Tell students what to do
with each scene in a variety of
➤ Expressive language: In a group activity have
each student guide the other on what to do
with each of the objects.
Prepositions: Ask students to place items in
➤
the house in places using preposition.
Expand narration skills: Create a story line
➤
using the screenshot of the app, take
photographs and then use those image to
build stories around the scene created.
 GO SEQUENCING
IT COULD BE USED TO:
➤ Daily routine activities practice: Create
custom daily routines for the child. You can
ask parents to take photos to be added to
the app for home activities or go around the
class to take school based activities.
➤ Predicting: Enable “play sequence” before
task and pause the images and ask students
to predict what will happen next.
➤ Grammatical markers use: Focus on a few
grammatical markers at a time and guide use
as the child describes and re-retell stories.
DESIGNED FOR: ➤ Story Retelling/Listening Skills: Ask child to
SEQUENCING SKILLS re-tell the stories.
➤ Auditory Memory/Comprehension story:
Answers simple questions about the various
stories on the app

LANGUAGE TRAINER
IT COULD BE USED TO:
➤ Which students would benefit more from
clutter free apps?
➤ Vocabulary building
➤ Screening: Check for basic skills of vocabulary
➤ Identify items by functions and descriptors
➤ Auditory memory: Add an external timer and
cover the written word/phrase and allow
them to identify the word after a certain time
➤ Fluency: The voice recording capability can be
used to listen back to product ( auditory
DESIGNED FOR: feedback)

ADULT LANGUAGE REHABILITATION ➤ Phonemic Awareness: Ask student to find

words based on phonemic qualities -
Example: Find the image of what rhymes
with….

SYLLABLE SPLASH
IT COULD BE USED TO:
➤ Extend the exploration of
each word from syllable
number to a variety of
other phonemic awareness
skills: Rhyming,
Segmenting, etc…

DESIGNED FOR: ➤ Articulation: Allows you

access to a variety of words
PHONEMIC AWARENESS isolated by syllables
(Practicing all one syllable
words).
 LET’S PRACTICE
MEET OUR CASE STUDY

➤ Can you think how you would take the following goals using
one of the apps previously discussed?
Victor is a 4 year old child with autism. Like
most four year olds he loves all forms of
technology. One special thing about him is that
he loves numbers.
Victor has been evaluated and is currently
working on the following goals:
- Appropriately respond to questions asked by
non-familiar adults and children
- Answer why and how questions
- Appropriately asks questions to non-familiar
adults
- Appropriately uses gender identifying
pronouns
- Make appropriate verbal request from adults
and children

APP OPTIONS:
 - GOAL: Appropriately respond to questions asked by non-familiar
adults and children

- House of Learning: Have peers or other adults in the building ask

questions about a scene created by Victor
- Reading Comprehension Camp: After reading a story. Go around the
building and get other adults/children to ask the questions about the
story.

- GOAL: Appropriately asks questions to non-familiar adults

Articulate it: Have Victor use the “ Guess what” activity and ask adults and children
to answer the questions provided by the app. He can them tap to see the answer
and tell the person if they were answering correctly.

“ It is never about the tools, but how

we chose to use them.

Barbara Fernandes