Best apps for speech therapists

For many, speech therapy helps improve their language recognition skills as well as their social and cognitive communication. But speech-language pathologists (SLP) or speech therapists can assist with various communication issues, from aphasia and stuttering to dyslexia and more severe conditions like dysphagia.

Each condition requires specific speech therapy techniques and tools, but what tools do speech therapists use?

Modern SLPs have turned to specialized mobile apps to enhance therapy sessions and improve peoples’ language skills like decoding and recognition.

The top five speech therapy apps

Whether you or your child have trouble reading, writing, sounding out words, memorizing characters, and everything in between, the following five apps are among the most commonly used by speech therapists.

Articulation Station

Little Bee Speech created Articulation Station as a children-specific speech app. It contains numerous activities designed around practicing words, sentences, and stories to boost speech skills.

It comes with six types of activities:

• Flashcards with over 1,200 pictures

• Level 1 stories with picture prompts, simple questions, and silly rhymes

• Level 2 stories with more advanced comprehension questions based on creative stories

• Matching activities to help practice sounds with the help of specific items

• Rotating sentences focused on target sounds

• Unique sentences designed to practice target words and sounds in new contexts

The Articulation app offers a highly personalized experience for every user. Hence it’s best suited for one-on-one speech therapy sessions. The app is an exclusive iOS software and free to use, but Articulation Station Pro comes with extra features.

Little Stories Pro

Little Stories Pro is the premium version of the Little Stories Lite app for Apple devices. Also designed by Little Bee Speech, this app features programs targeted at children with poor language skills, reading difficulties, etc.

It focuses on improving four processes:

• Reading

• Literacy

• Receptive language skills

• Expressive language skills

Although speech therapists use it mostly with kids, the programs can help guide advanced therapy sessions from phonemic awareness to vocabulary acquisition to story sequencing and retelling.

The short stories of roughly 100 words and cartoon graphics make them appealing to kids and grab their attention quickly.

Splingo

The Splingo app offers a toddler-friendly program split into four levels. While it lacks the customization potential of similar language therapy apps, Splingo is highly interactive and the levels progress naturally with a child’s age. The programs include:

• Level 1 programs focus on a single word per session

• Level 2 programs go up to two main words and are suitable for toddlers of at least two years old

• Level 3 programs use three primary words and benefit kids up to the age of four

• Level 4 programs are for kids over age four and can help practice up to four main words

Designed by language therapists, Splingo emphasizes the recognition and comprehension of verbs, nouns, prepositions, and adjectives. The app’s interactive nature with multiple story levels can enhance your children’s listening, language, and social skills.

Speech Tutor

The Speech Tutor app developed by Synapse Apps is a favorite for speech therapists and kids. It uses 2D animated movies to explain how the human body produces sounds inside the mouth.

It’s an efficient technique to help kids learn proper tongue placement and throat movement regarding specific sounds. The app allows playback at three different speeds and has a cool recording feature for comparison purposes.

However, the app is only available on iOS 12.0 and above. Additionally, the premium version is relatively expensive at $59.99. Another downside is the app’s complexity. Even adult users may struggle to interact with it appropriately and improve their language skills without guidance from a trained speech pathologist.

Therefore, the app doesn’t see much use outside SLP-run speech therapy sessions on an iPhone or iPad.

Speechify

Speechify uses text to speech technology to make reading easier. You can turn off your screen and have the app read aloud everything from news articles to PDFs to social media posts and emails, but it can do more than boost productivity.

Designed by a person with dyslexia, Speechify aims to help others with reading difficulties and comes with a text highlighting feature that helps users follow along with the narration. It also lets users configure the speech sound speed.

The software does an excellent job of reading digital text aloud in multiple languages with natural-sounding voices. And unlike other apps that speech therapists can implement in their sessions, Speechify is available on all iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows systems. You can download it from Google Play, the App Store, or the official website.

Try Speechify for free

Many apps for speech therapists come with one significant drawback. They’re interactive but require guidance from a therapist. Even kid-friendly apps are difficult to use to their maximum potential outside a conversation therapy session.

But that’s where Speechify differs from the rest. It can improve a child’s speech and language development without direct input from language therapists. So it’s a great app when you can’t afford a speech tutor but still need to improve your receptive language skills.

Many online articles focus on augmentative and alternative communication. High-quality real-time narrations at desired playback speeds can help users with the following issues:

• Differentiate letters and sounds

• Learn correct pronunciation

• Learn new words

• Improve concentration

• Recognize writing errors

• Improve the language decoding process

In addition, using Speechify can be motivating and make it easier to focus on overcoming various speech disorders. Likewise, parents and kids can interact more closely while improving communication skills.

The app comes with a free and premium plan that unlocks extra features and more voices that make it even more helpful without input from a clinician.

If you want to make rapid improvements while managing dyslexia, autism, apraxia of speech, speech delays, and other similar disorders, try Speechify today.

FAQ

Is there an app to help people with aphasia?

Speechify can make reading and word recognition easier with text to speech technology and AI-generated audio narrations.