By Rebecca West, MM, MT-BC
With over 900,000 Apple apps, 1 million Android apps, and over 50,000 Window apps, responses like “there’s an app for that” can seem a little overwhelming. As a music therapist, I admit I had my doubts when apps began to rise in popularity and volume, wondering what place they would have in my therapeutic work with clients and the benefits my clients would experience when using the apps at home.
This article will provide some helpful tips for our clients and families when selecting apps, and understanding how to maximize their use them at home. I hope this will make selecting apps less overwhelming, more exciting, and helpful in understanding how they can support the work being done in various types of therapies. This newsletter will target apps available on the Apple platform.
Please note that these apps are not a substitute for therapy. While they can be used as a way to help generalize skills being targeted in therapy, I would highly encourage consultation and collaboration with Creative Arts Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, or Speech Language Pathologists in order to make the most of these apps based on you or your loved one’s individual needs.
Here are some initial questions to ask yourself when selecting which app might be best for you:
Why am I looking for an app?
- Do I want it to make a job or task easier, more efficient, or more fun?
- Do I want it to help me learn something new or to maintain a skill?
Is this an app more than one person can use at a time? - Will whoever uses it need assistance to navigate it?
- Do I want this to be an app that can be used independently or requires interaction or help from another person(s)?
- Depending on how often I use it and for what purpose I want this app, am I willing to spend money to have it? How much?
- If I am willing to buy an app, can I find someone else who has used this app and get their reviews or read other reviews online before buying it? Most apps have reviews from other users, but it is nice to hear specifically from people with similar situations and their perspectives.
List of Suggested Apps to Address Therapy Goals
Art Studio
Cognitive, Motor Skills, Life Skills
Sketching, editing, and painting tool
Basic pack $4.99, additional add-on’s $.99
This app allows for multiple options and choices of brushes, layer options, and blending choices.
Cartoon Trace
Educational, Motor Skills
Trace various animals
Lite version is free
Follow step by step tracing to draw three animals: bunny, butterfly, ladybug.
Decibel 10th
Communication, Speech and Language
Decibel (dB) measuring tool
Free
Measures how loud someone is speaking through live feedback using a graph as well as a meter with descriptions (e.g., normal conversation).
Disney Creativity Studios
Educational, Cognitive, Motor Skills
Allows you to trace Disney characters
Free
Only allows you to trace Disney characters.
Free candle
Speech and Language
Blow into the microphone to blow out the candle
Free
Great for targeting breath support, as you can move farther from the microphone, requiring greater effort to extinguish the candle.
Garageband
Cognition, Social Skills, Music
This app allows you to create songs using various instruments
$5
Encourages decision making and creativity
Grimace
Communication, Social Skills, Life Skills
App designed for identifying various emotions and levels
$.99
Pick from six emotions: joy, surprise, fear, sadness, disgust, and anger and adjust levels of emotions to see facial expression change.
Little Writer
Educational, Motor Skills
Trace letters, numbers, words, and shapes
Free
Trace academic concepts with visual aids to help you trace using the sequence and order taught in schools (e.g., uppercase C is traced from top to bottom).
MoMa Art Lab
Educational, Cognitive, Motor Skills
Create pictures through pre-set shapes
Free
Select pre-set shapes and move around screen to create drawings, pictures. Change colors of shapes for more options.
Nature Sound
Life Skills
Select from various nature sounds and white noise options for relaxation
Free
Select from pre-set sounds (e.g., rainforest, beach) or manually select sounds and adjust individual volume levels.
Paper by 53
Cognitive, Motor Skills, Life Skills
App designed for sketching ideas, notes, diagrams, illustrations, or drawings
Free
Use various brushes and colors that allows for shading and blending.
Pro Metronome
Motor skills, speech and language
This app allows you to set a specific beat and adjust the time signature and speed
Free with option to pay for advanced options
Can be used in conjuncture with repetitive movements, and also with speech fluency or word emphasis. Consult with music therapist, OT, PT, or SLP before using at home to identify the speed to use to address goal areas at home.
Sand Timer
Behavior
This app allows you to set a visual timer countdown
Free
Can help with transitions, anticipating end times, and increasing attention span.
Singfit
Speech and Language
This app is designed to encourage spontaneous singing
Free
Has adjustable levels to fade out the guide singer, backing music, and lyric coach, as well as a variety of free downloadable songs with additional songs available for purchase.
Singing Fingers
Fine motor skills, Speech and Language
This tool allows you to record short messages by drawing and speaking at the same time
Free
Encourages fine motor skills and accuracy, as the recording only plays back when you re-trace the exact same pattern or movement.
SoundingBrd
Communication, Social Skills
This app functions as an alternative communication tool
Free
Allows you to communicate through pre-set or self-created communication buttons. Use existing pictures or upload pictures and record voice.
Super Duper Story Maker
Cognitive, Communication, Life Skills, Social Skills
App designed for creating stories
Free
Allows you to add text, upload photos through the webcam or select from pre-set options.
Speech and Language
This app addresses apraxia and motor speech programming disorders
$4.99
Has video modeling, written words and mirror feature for instant visual feedback.
VAST Pre-Speech Oral Motor
Speech and Language
Designed for individuals with limited expressive language
$12.99
Has 4 categories designed to help improve speech clarity, coordination of oral structures and has video modeling and a mirror feature.
VAST Songs 1
Speech and Language
This is designed for individuals with expressive language disorders
$14.99
Has the ability to fade out the various levels of assistance, including lyric coach, external rhythm, and oral visual cue of singer’s lips.
Writing a Narrative
Cognitive, Communication, Life Skills, Social Skills
App designed for creating stories
$.99
Describes the concepts of a story across several sections (e.g., characters, topic, what happens).
Here are links for sites where you can find more apps:
12 Computer Programs, Websites And Apps For Making Social Stories
http://www.friendshipcircle.org/apps/
Rebecca West is the School Programs Manager at ITA as well as a music therapist.