The World of Apps

So I do not have an iphone and therefore ignored the world of apps (these are applications that can be purchased-some are free- and downloaded to your phone for use).  I recently discovered that I own a ipod touch! Okay, okay... I already knew I had one but had not discovered the amazing potential it has.

So I hereby solemnly swear to use my ipod touch to be the very very best therapist I can be.  How in the world can my ipod help? Ahhh... yes... apps!

1. Percentally

I'm pretty convinced that this app can revolutionize the world of data collection for SLPs! This app allows you to take data with the touch of your finger.  For instance, I can set up a folder for each of my clients.  Within their folder there would be tallies set up for each of their goals.  These can either be dual tallies (so a spot for right and wrong answers) or single tallies (so just the number of times something is done).  Best of all it takes this data and converts it to percentages automatically! It tracks the data so I can save it from session to session and every BETTER it transfers it all to my computer so that I can submit it to medicaid or wherever else it needs to go!

2. ABA flashcards

These cards are great... they include a picture and the printed word. I can flip through hundreds of them on my ipod which saves me the pain of making them myself or buying therapy grade cards!

3.  iReward

This app is awesome.  It would be great for anyone with kids, not just therapists.  I plan on setting up different reward systems for each of my kiddos.  It basically digitally doles out colored stars or smilies up to your specified amount while displaying a picture of the anticipated reward.  So I plan on saving myself some moolah by NOT purchasing a million packs of stickers and using these nice digital ones!


I'm sure I'll be adding to this list.  What do you think? Sound cool? iPad/iPhone/iPod usage is one of the biggest growing trends in education/therapy.  There were several companies at TSHA presenting on them.  Lots of school districts are working on using these devices in the classroom.  They are really inexpensive options compared to many older technologies.  For instance, there is an Augmentative Communication Device for the iPhone/iPod that contains over four thousand symbols and buttons for use.  This is a lot.  It can easily become a person who is nonverbal's entire speaking system.  After making a sentence on the ipod by choosing from picutres, the device can speak for them.  It's awesome.

So let's do some math... an iPod starts at $199, the software I talked about above is about $129 (one of the MOST expensive ipod apps).  So for $340 a person has verbal language. NICE!
A Dynavox (which is one of the most widely used AAC devices) starts around $7,000.  What the heck! School districts struggle with paying for the for children and sometimes evaluate kids for eligibility and essentially say that they aren't worth the cost of one! Imagine the possibilities.  Even the iPad at $499 is world's cheaper (and also has a much bigger interface which is great for users with mobility issues).  Plus, kids are rough on technology.  A child I worked with this semester beat the heck out of dynavox (on accident) on a regular basis.  He had his attached to his wheelchair and would frequently run into walls and doorframes with it.  Or someone would knock it off his desk... imagine breaking a $7,000+ piece of equipment.  Not cool.  You could buy 20 of the ipod combinations for the same price!

Plus just think how good these kids will feel.  They don't have some weird device, they have an ipod or ipad. I'm all for reducing the stigma of disabilities!

Look around you? How could you use technology to help your life? I wish I was a computer programmer... I would write all kinds of apps!