21st Century Learner Conference
EXPLORING IPAD APPS FOR SPEECH AND
LANGUAGE
GREEN HILLS AREA EDUCATION PRESENTERS

Carol Cherne , SLP

Dakila Marcelino, SLP Intern

Patricia Schliesman, CCC/SLP
FOCUS OF THIS PRESENTATION

Apps meet ASHA’s expectations as approved evidence based
practice criteria



How apps are beneficial for improving communication skills
Learn about new apps
Peer sharing favorite apps
HOW DO I JUSTIFY THE USE OF THE APP?
Justification: IDEA
IDEA 2004 Special Education and Related
Services
Peer-reviewed research: “extent practicable”
Use effective methods supported by research
WHAT IS EBP
Current Best
Evidence
Clinical
Expertise
Patient
Values
JUSTIFICATION/SELECTION OF EBP APPS
IF you can explain where you are coming from
i.e., perspective/theory/beliefs, THEN it assists
you with justification and selection
TEACHING 21ST CENTURY SKILLS
Critical Thinking
 Oral and Written communication
 Problem solving
 Collaboration
 Accessing information
 Information and media literacy skills
•

THEORETICALLY WHY IT MAKES SENSE:
VYGOTSKY (1896 –1934)

Learning & development are a social and collaborative activity

Learning should take place in meaningful cultural contexts

Student (child) must construct her own understanding in her
own mind while teacher acts as a facilitator

Good apps are challenging but not overwhelming & allow the
child to succeed while learning something new; hence operate
in the zone of proximal development
THEORETICALLY Why Using Interactive iPads apps Makes Sense: Piaget
(1896 –1980
 Jean Piaget Swiss psychologist and researcher wrote
about Stage Theory & Cognitive Processes
 Stage Theory: description of a set of discreet stages
through which children progress over time
 Cognitive Processes: Piaget’s explanation of a set of
processes that help child move from one stage to the
next
ASHA 2011 L. Luna DeCurtis & Dawn Ferrer,
Morning2Moon
PIAGET’S DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES
Stage
Age
Description
iPad/app skills
Sensorimotor
Birth –2.5
Learning takes
place through the
direct manipulation
of objects using all
senses
Cause & effect;
repetition &
imitation;
multisensory
Preoperational
2.5 -7
Period of
representational &
prelogical thought
Language
acquisition; object
permanence;
representational
play emerges
PIAGET’S DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES(CONTINUED)
Stage
Age
Description
iPad
ConcreteOperational
7-12
Period of focused
logical thought,
more mature
understanding of
the world &objects
in the environment;
learns things can &
do change
Understanding time,
space, & number;
scientific exploration
emerges;
perspective taking
Formal-Operational
12-17
Unlimited logical
thought; abstract
logical emerges
Understanding
complex concepts;
can use abstract
symbols to learn
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: 6 LEVELS WITHIN THE
COGNITIVE DOMAIN
Evaluation
Synthesis
Analysis
Application
Understanding
Knowledge (facts)
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY: APP TASKS WITHIN 6
LEVELS WITHIN THE COGNITIVE DOMAIN
Knowledge
Comprehens Application
tasks (lowest ion tasks
Tasks
level)
Analysis
Tasks
Synthesis
Tasks
Evaluation
Tasks
(highest)
Task:
Name
List
Match
Order
Define
Repeat
Review
Memorize
recall
Task:
Categorize
Appraise
Calculate
Compare
Contrast
Distinguish
Examine
Question
Test
Task:
Compare
Formulate
Manage
Organize
Plan
Prepare
Propose
Set up
Task:
Assess
Defend
Estimate
Judge
Predict
Support
Value
Test
Task:
Describe
Sort
Classify
Report
Identify
Review
Translate
Task:
Demonstrate
Illustrate
Solve
Employ
Use
BENEFITS OF USING IPADS WITH STUDENTS




Why it makes sense
Reinforcement: the use of apps allows you immediate
access to materials to expand and reinforce what the
child is learning and is interested in at the time
Novelty: same concept can be presented in different
ways to hold the child’s interest while reinforcing
concepts
Imitation: Children see their parents/caregivers using
phones, computers, & tablets and naturally want to
imitate these actions
Multi-sensory: combines visual, tactile and auditory
stimuli
CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING PERSPECTIVES
Co-Viewing ?
Joint APP Engagement (JAE) ?
1. Is there a common focal point?
2. Does the app have the potential for the
participant(s) to engage in shared attention
between the medium and other participants?
3. Can the content delivery system engage
interaction among participants?
4. Is it a single user APP or can at least 2
people participate?
5. Students are active learners
GUIDING POINTS FOR CHOOSING APPS
Addresses goals
 Appropriate amount of stimulation
 Allows for interaction
 Ease of use
 Simple to understand (for the therapist and child)
 Stimulates additional learning
 Teaches relevant concepts
 Fun and entertaining

ADVANTAGES OF USING APPS
Therapy and Intervention Materials
 Social and Professional Communication
 Productivity
 Motivation
 IEPs
 Data Collection
 Voice Recordings

RATING YOUR APPS
Category
Description
Price
• Educational
• Motivational
• Productivity
• Either your own, or from iTunes
• Price for the full version. Is there a lite (free) version
available?
MORE TO CONSIDER
Customization
Target
Population
Disorders
Treated?
• In what ways, if any, are you able to
customize the app?
• All Ages
• Specific age range
• Specific disabilities
• Articulation, Fluency, Receptive/Expressive
Language, Pragmatics, AAC, Voice,
JUSTIFY-EBP, CONNECTED TO THE CORE
CURRICULUM, SUPPORT GENERALIZATION OF A
SKILL
Can specific IEP Goals addressed
 Can you tie it to the curriculum?
 Is there a pragmatic component to address
(i.e., turn taking, initiation, providing feedback
to other students)?
 Can the activity be extended to classroom or
home?

TABLET TECHNOLOGY SUCCESSES
2 case studies with the ASD population
SPEECH GENERATING APPS
Help with requests
 Can develop into multi-step sequences

WADDINGTON (2014) STUDY
3 boys with ASD
 Proloquo2Go used to make general, then
specific requests, and a “thank you”

STUDY CONT.
Over 42 sessions, all 3 made significant gains
 Maintenance and generalization

MURDOCK (2013) STUDY
4 preschoolers with ASD
 Ipad used to demonstrate a play script

STUDY CONT.
3 of the 4 boys made significant gains in
occurrences of play dialogue
 Generalization and maintenance

SUCCESSFUL INTERVENTIONS- AN SLP’S
OBSERVATION
REFERENCES
Decurtis, L., Ferrer, D., Embracing ipad technology with toddlers using traditional therapy techniques.
AHSA 2011.
Epps,K. Wingard, T., Ekedal, M., Blosser,J., The ipand:revolutionizing speech-language therapy.
Murdock, L. C., Ganz, J., & Crittendon, J. (2013). Use of an iPad play story to increase play dialogue of
preschoolers with autism spectrum disorders. Journal Of Autism And Developmental
Disorders, 43(9), 2174-2189. doi:10.1007/s10803-013-1770-6
Munoz, M., Hoffman, L., Brino, D. Be smarter than you phone: a framework for using apps in clinical
practice. Contemporary Issues in Communication Science and Disorders • Volume 40 • 138–
150 • Fall 2013
Sauermilch,W., Designing 21st century therapy programs that integrate evidence based practices,
apps,and multimedia sources., ASHA 2013.
Schaber,T., Wakefield, L. App camp:ebp strategies for selecting and justifying therapy apps., ASHA
Convention,2012.
Waddington, H., Sigafoos, J., Lancioni, G. E., O’Reilly, M. F., van der Meer, L., Carnett, A., & ...
Marschik, P. B. (2014). Three children with autism spectrum disorder learn to perform a threestep communication sequence using an iPad-based speech-generating device. International
Journal Of Developmental Neuroscience, 3959-67. doi:10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2014.05.001