By Brittany Sheldon, MS., CCC-SLP

There is just no escaping the progression of technology. From computers to smartphones, it is our future, but more importantly, it is our students’ future. We all know how excited our students are to work on the computer in the classroom and the therapy room. The iPad is an even better tool to engage and motivate our students. It is more interactive, and it allows for better positioning and personal connection which is vital to articulation therapy and rapport building. 

Here are a few apps that have worked their way into my daily speech therapy:

Read Me Stories:   This is a free app of short stories. The kids love the voices, sound effects, and turning the pages. I use the stories for recall, sequencing, comprehension questions, and description goals.Pocket SLP:  This app is a collection of pictures of the most common articulation sounds in all word positions. It even takes data that you can email to yourself or to a parent after each session. 

Verbs with Milo:  This is a great app for kids with autism. Milo is a mouse who demonstrates a variety of verbs in a variety of settings. The kids find Milo and his “tricks” engaging and entertaining. Therapists can work on verb tense and even “wh” questions.

A sound recorder:  I was heading to the store for a new recorder when I decided to check the iPad. I ended up finding one for $0.99! There is a variety of options depending on your needs, but the quality of the recording is fantastic.

Proloque2go:  I have heard good things about this app. It is a dynamic display communication device right on the iPod or iPad. It is slightly more economical as compared to other dynamic display AAC devices and would be a good tool to trial with our non-verbal kids during preparation for an AAC evaluation.

For Occupational Therapists, we found the following apps:

iwritewords: This is a simple app is both visually fun and promotes the learning of tracing letters, numbers, and 3-5 letter words.   

The little book of feelings: This action-book combines child oriented stories with entertainment features to create an innovative app that gives hints on how to talk about emotions.

iCommunicate for iPad: For autistic children or children with visual challenges, this app allows you to create pictures, flashcards, storyboards, routines, and record custom audio. You can use the images it comes with or add pictures you’ve taken yourself. 

Are there any therapy websites or apps that you find helpful and engaging? Please share! We’d love to hear from you! MyTherapyCompany is compiling resources for our therapists. We’ll have them up on our website soon! Please email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .