This month we are highlighting some of the apps that we find ourselves frequently using in sessions, recommending to clients, and sharing around the office. While technology can be a polarizing subject on many fronts, we feel that when used with a specific purpose in mind (such as skill building), it can be a very helpful tool.

Our Recommended Apps: 0-5 years

Sound Touch Lite: While I don’t use the iPad a lot in my sessions, this is the one app I use over and over and over again! In this app, you are shown a page with twelve images. When you select one of the images, the app changes to a full screen, picture of the selected image, and it plays a sound clip. A couple features that make this app my favorite are: 1) While the home page with 12 icons has cartoon-style images, once you make your selection, you are provided real life pictures & sounds. 2) There are several pictures and sound clips for each image, so you see different pictures of dogs, birds, etc. I most frequently use this app while singing Old McDonald Had a Farm. This app is available for download from iTunes or Google. Currently, the Lite version is free, and the full version is $4.99.

Singing Fingers: This is a great app for many reasons, but using it to encourage vocalizations is the biggest reason we love it! Any vocal sound will work; just draw with your finger while talking, singing, or babbling. When you finish drawing, re-trace it with your finger to hear what your drawing sounds like. This app not only encourages vocalizations, it will also help teach the concept of volume. The line will be thicker for louder sounds and thinner for quieter sounds. It is tons of fun once you get started! This app is available for download from iTunes for $0.99. Although this exact app is not available on Android, there is one called Finger Paint with Sounds that shares similar concepts.

Sounding Board: This is a great tool for children who are beginning to communicate and need extra supports as well as people who may not communicate verbally. Sounding Board is a communication aid which comes pre-loaded with boards and has the ability to create boards using images from the app’s Symbols Library, from your Photo Library, or images that you take on the spot. Some of the pre-loaded board include: a simple two button board for Yes/No, a board with various ways to ask for help, and an expressions board. Currently, this app is available for download from iTunes for free. We aren’t aware of a comparable app from Google. Do know of any?