Many apps are on the market now for speech and language purposes, but some go even beyond that to cater to bilingual students. A majority of these apps are for Spanish speakers only. A complete list of apps for a variety of languages is currently being developed. The following apps meet this need and make our lives a little easier:
1. Adjetivos Remix – This app is a great tool to use for individuals who present with difficulty identifying and using adjectives! Developed by bilingual speech therapists, this app also features various opportunities for customization. For example, there is a settings tool where the app can be customized for colors, appearances or feelings. The Spanish demo could not be found but the English version is included here and has the same user interface and design.
- What I love about this app: The ideal feature that makes any speech therapist’s life easier is a progress monitoring feature. The app features an opportunity to take data and then email the data to track progress.
- Who this app is appropriate for: As stated above, the intended users are individuals who present with difficulty identifying and using adjectives. While this app would be especially great to use with children in a school setting, the fact that the app uses actual objects and not drawings makes it more age-appropriate for adolescents and adults who have language difficulties. It’s also user-friendly so parents will probably enjoy it immensely as well and use it with their children. The app is $9.99 on iTunes. This app also has an English version, which is the same price and can be found here.
- Available Languages/Dialects: English, Spanish
Get the Adjetivos Remix app here
2. Bilingual Articulation Phonology Assessment (BAPA) – Now this app is a whopping $84.99, and honestly for that reason I have not yet used it. However, with that being said, it is a standardized assessment (which are usually much more expensive) and appears to be a notably credible assessment tool at that. In fact, please watch the demo included here, as Dr. Kester mentions that it’s the first standardized speech assessment application! This app assesses the articulation and phonology of monolingual English speakers, monolingual Spanish speakers as well as bilingual speakers of Spanish and English. This evaluation is to be considered part of a full speech evaluation to include: measures of intelligibility, considerations for second language influence, and considerations for the age of acquisition of each phoneme. Additionally, the BAPA was developed by Barbara Fernandes, Ellen Kester, Mary Bauman, and Scott Prath. ALL the mentioned developers are bilingual SLPs. I am already saving up for this one! The report can be emailed post-assessment. There is no need to calculate the errors, as the app does it all for you!
- What I love about this app: While I haven’t tried this app yet, the main factor which I LOVE, would be that the app developers have a feature for identifying dialectal differences among Spanish-speakers from various regions. Additionally, after watching the demo, I noticed there is an option to record all utterances. The ability to return an attempted production of an utterance in such an organized way, is a valued tool. No more recording the entire assessment and then attempting to locate a specific production. It’s similar to when the world transitioned from VHS to DVD and we no longer had to fast forward to our favorite part of a movie, but rather, just skipped!
- Who this app is appropriate for: As mentioned, monolingual English speakers, monolingual Spanish speakers, and bilingual Spanish and English speakers. According to the iTunes description provided by the developers, individuals of all ages may be assessed with this tool. Additionally, please note that this assessment is intended to serve as PART of a complete evaluation for a client, and not to be considered the only assessment tool as our clients are so unique and thus, need a variety of assessment options.
- Available Languages/Dialects: English, Spanish (with various Spanish dialects available)
3. iName it – This app was developed for individuals who present with word-finding difficulties. The app can be catered to each client. The app focuses on vocabulary specifically in the home environment as well as in the community and takes the user to different rooms in the house. The visuals of the rooms in the house are realistic and age-appropriate for adults as well as older children. This app is available for $14.99 and has some decent reviews on iTunes. This app was also developed by Barbara Fernandes who is a bilingual SLP.
- What I love about this app: The app provides different levels of cueing depending on client need. Detailed visual cues as well as verbal semantic and phonetic cues may be provided if the user is unable to name the object. The client has 5 different cue options in order to identify the word, increasing the chances of success.
- Who this app is appropriate for: Individuals of all ages, but especially good for teenagers and adults who present with word-finding difficulties
- Available Languages/Dialects: English, Spanish, Portuguese
4. Speech with Milo (prepositions and verbs) – Speech with Milo is a common go-to for many speech therapists, as the company offers a wide variety of apps developed by speech therapists. Speech with Milo offers two Spanish apps grouped together here on our list, including Speech with Milo – Verbs and Speech with Milo – Prepositions. When using both apps, Milo the mouse is put in a variety of situations where the child is able to describe the scenario using the appropriate verb or preposition. For example, in the preposition demo Milo is beneath the water in a submarine! A wide variety of verbs and prepositions are available. The apps are user friendly and interactive, making them very appealing to young children. I mean, who doesn’t love an animated mouse going on fun adventures?! Both apps are also very cost friendly, coming in at $2.99 each. Unfortunately, I only found demos in English but the user interface and design is relatively the same.
Prepositions:
Verbs:
- What I love about this app: Cost-friendly AND kid-friendly. Kids really love the Milo apps, which makes it a fun experience.
- Who this app is appropriate for: Children. It would be great for parents to use when working with their children, with some guidance from a speech therapist to get the most out of the experience.
- Available Languages/Dialects: English, Spanish
Get Speech with Milo – Prepositions here
Get Speech with Milo – Verbs here
5. Talk Around It Home – Developed by a team including a speech language pathologist as well as the wife of a stroke survivor, this app is available in both English and Spanish with a focus on improving word-finding ability. There is an opportunity to create a personalized list of images for the client to name, so it is a great way for the SLP, client, or client’s family to personalize the images to the client’s needs. This app has a FREE lite version and a full version for $19.99.
Note: While Talk Around It Home app developers were kind enough to donate a full Spanish version, the opinions expressed during this review are my own.
- What I love about this app: It has a feature where the progress of the client is consistently monitored, as the app takes data each time the client uses it and compiles it into a beautiful graph.
- Who this app is intended for: Individuals who experience word-finding difficulties as a result of anomia, aphasia, stroke, dementia, alzheimer’s and autism may find this app helpful.
- Available Languages/Dialects: Spanish, English, American English
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