Angela Moorad, MS, CCC-SLP. 30 years experience in AAC. OMazing Kids AAC and app consulting. Creator of the AAC Feature Matching Chart for the Top 10 iOS Symbol-Based AAC Apps
Check out this awesome new addition to the OMazing Kids collection of fabulous kids picture books: Little Bitty Friends by Elizabeth McPike (due to be released 2/2/16; hardcover, 32 pages, $16.99; the book description indicates that the book is for ages birth to 3 but I can definitely see myself using this book into early elementary ages).
I love the adorable illustrations and the rolling-off-your-tongue fun to read rhyming text.
The book has lots of great opportunities for language with unique verbs (march, tickle, reach, fly, peek, nibble, sway, sneeze, chatter, play, nuzzle, nap, rest & hug) and nouns (boy, girl, knee, nose, lap, caterpillar, flower, sky, bird, tent, snail, mouse, strawberry, tree, swing, cat, wagon, chipmunk, ladybug, grass, rock, turtle, rabbit, basket, blanket, puppy).
As an added bonus there are lots of opportunities for kids yoga activities based on the illustrations and text (cross crawl hike, ant (warrior 1), caterpillar (group happy baby), flower, stretch to sky, bird, tree, snail, tent (triangle or rooftop partners), mouse, weeping willow (crescent moon), swing (standing forward fold with arms on top of each other like swing seat), cat, chipmunk (toe-ga with brown pom poms), ladybug, turtle, bunny breaths, resting puppy savasana & big self-hug).
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Here is a free printable that I made to use with this book. I have several kids that I see for speech-language therapy who respond well to getting to color or splat a small ball of playdoh on a small picture after saying a certain number of articulation target words or naming pics (Tip: When using playdoh splat mats it helps to already have small balls of playdoh pre-rolled). In my kids yoga classes, I use coloring sheets both as a visual support for kids to pick a pose to do again and as a coloring sheet to do during relaxation at the end or to take home.
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Angela Moorad is the founder of OMazing Kids, LLC and is an ASHA certified & licensed pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist and Kids Yoga Teacher with over 25 years experience working in a variety of settings (early intervention, schools, teletherapy & a nonprofit pediatric rehab hospital for children with developmental disabilities). She is an app beta tester for educational & therapeutic app developers and loves sharing info about great apps, products, books & toys to use with kids of all abilities.
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{Please ignore any ads that may appear below. This is a free blog. I have no control over ads nor do I profit from them}
I was thrilled to have the opportunity to try out and review Listening Power Grades K-3 HD! It’s the newest app from Hamaguchi Apps for Speech, Language & Auditory Development. I’m a huge fan of all of their apps. They are one of the few SLP app developers to offer “lite” versions of apps that actually have enough content to be helpful in therapy sessions and to let the user know whether or not that app is a good fit for their needs before purchasing the full version.
This app is excellent and I highly recommended taking a look at it for kids who need to work on listening & auditory processing skills. Here is what you get in the full version of this app. I’m including screenshots that I took while using the app so you can see more than what’s already visible in the iTunes App Store.
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I love apps that include instructions within the app itself! I always suggest that the therapist or parent read all of this info, watch the video overview & play through any app themselves before using it with the kids. That way you will know what to expect and will be able to customize the app to that particular child’s needs and goals. If you have used other Hamaguchi apps the settings area will look familiar but each app has some settings unique to that app so it’s worth the time to take a look.
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Listening for Descriptions: Listen to the description and find the picture that shows it. There are 50 questions in each level; 150 description questions total.
A sample of this activity at the “easy” level + field of 2 choices. I toggled on on showing the text for the purpose of illustrating the content but you would typically have that toggled off when working on true listening skills.
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Intermediate level:
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Advanced level:
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Listening for Grammar: Listen to the sentences and find the one that “doesn’t sound right.” When selected, hear how it SHOULD sound. There are 50 questions in each level; 150 grammar questions total.
Easy level:
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Listening for Meaning: Listen to a sentence that includes a key word. Answer a question about it to help associate the word and its meaning. There are 50 vocabulary words for each level; 150 vocabulary words total.
Intermediate level:
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Listen for Word Memory: Listen to a series of words. Touch them in the correct order. There are hundreds of tasks on this activity due to the many possible combinations. There are always 9 pictures to choose from. There are 51 pictures that are in the activity.
The Easy level has a 2-3 word series, the Intermediate level has a 4-5 word series & the Advanced level has a 6 word series. One of the few suggestions / wishes that I have for a future app update would be to allow the adult to chose the number of pics shown in the field of choices here like they are all the other activities in the settings area. A field of 9 pictures was a bit much for my patients who are just beginning to work on this skill. It would be nice to have options for fields of 3, 6 or 9.
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Listening for Stories:Â There are 25 stories for each level. The Easy level is spoken slowly and includes pictures–similar to their preschool story app format. The Intermediate level includes a picture at the beginning and at the end of the story. The narrator speaks closer to a normal rate. The advanced level features non-fiction and science-fiction stories and the narrator speaks at a normal speaking rate. There are some photos to accompany biographies or other non-fiction content. There is a background noise button option to help practice “tuning out” distractions.
Easy level:
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Things that I love throughout the app:
high quality voiceovers
high quality graphics
well designed content & lots of it (you definitely get your money’s worth)
varied positive feedback and no aversive / negative feedback for incorrect answers. The child has a the opportunity to try again until they select the correct answer. The only exception to this is the Listening for Word Memory activity. If the child selects an incorrect item, the narrator says “Good try. Let me show you the words I said”.
lots of settings to be able to pick which activities you want to use and then to customize that activity to the child’s needs
data collection within the app & the options to view previous data, print or e-mail the results or to “play missed items”
option to toggle off the data collection scores showing on the screen (helpful when working with kids with anxiety over not being at 100%)
option to have the app automatically adjust the difficulty level contingent on the child’s performance
option to have to manually show the choice options. This provides the opportunity for the child to work on expressive language before selecting from the field of choices
The app has two reinforcer games that you can choose settings for the selected game to appear after 1, 3, 5, 10 or 15 completed activities or toggle the feature off.
Hidden door game
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Basketball game – one of the few other wishes I have for a future app update would be to add an option in the settings for how easy or hard this game will be. I have several patients who are easily frustrated so I’d like to increase the odds that they will make most of the baskets.
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Watch this YouTube video for a good overview of the features of this app:
They also offer a “lite” version of the app for $.99… it’s a great way to try before you buy:
Listening Power Grades K-3 Lite HD by Hamaguchi Apps for Speech, Language & Auditory Development https://appsto.re/us/YE3U_.i (iPad only)
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Looking for this type of app for younger kids or for older kids who are working on skills at an easier level? Be sure to also check out this one. I won a copy of the full version in a giveaway on another SLP blog and it’s fabulous as well:
Listening Power Preschool HD by Hamaguchi Apps for Speech, Language & Auditory Development https://appsto.re/us/w-A76.i
I’m including the video overview here so folks can compare it to the K-3 version to decide which app may be the best fit for their needs:
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They also have a version of this app for older kids…. but I don’t have the full version of that app yet so I’m not able to comment on it’s content.
Disclaimer: I received a free promo code for the full version of this app but did not receive any compensation for posting a review. Opinions expressed are my own.
My favorite therapy activity today was using the Tiggly Safari app with the shape styluses on my iPad to create lots of opportunities for language, listening, matching, sustained attention, joint attention and tons of fun! This particular patient is a preschooler with Autism and newly emerging verbal skills. I use symbols with him in a combo of PECS communication, as a visual support for choices and as aided language input. His smiles & giggles were the highlight of my day. 🙂
Check out this awesome deal! PlayKites Designs is having a 90% off sale on their Animal Kingdom Coloring Book. Use the discount code in their blog post to get a printable PDF of 26 zentangle-style animal coloring pages for only $.40 (usually $3.99)! Be sure to check the discount in your Etsy cart before paying since the discount code is time-limited. Prices are in US dollars and will vary in other countries. I used them in a therapy group yesterday and the kids and adults all enjoyed them. I love zentangle-style coloring pages and these are a nice level of detail that are simple enough for kids yet still enjoyable for adults 🙂 https://playkitesblog.wordpress.com/2016/01/20/animal-kingdom-90-off-printable-coloring-book-for-adults/
Angela Moorad is the founder of OMazing Kids, LLC and is an ASHA certified & licensed pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist and Kids Yoga Teacher with over 25 years experience working in a variety of settings (early intervention, schools, teletherapy & a nonprofit pediatric rehab hospital for children with developmental disabilities). She is a kids book reviewer with a focus on great picture books, a kids toy / product reviewer with a focus on those that are helpful for kids with special needs & an app beta tester for educational and therapeutic app developers. She loves sharing info about great things to use with kids of all abilities.
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 {please ignore any ads that may appear below. This is a free blog. I have no control over the ads nor do I make any profit from them}
Check out this awesome new addition to the OMazing Kids collection of fabulous kids picture books: “The Hueys in What’s the Opposite?” by Oliver Jeffers! I’m always looking for fun ways to work on opposites with kids in my speech language therapy sessions. I love the quirky illustrations and humor in this author’s books…. too hilarious. This book has 13 opposite word pairs each presented on a 2-page spread with large easy to read font.
Fabulous FREE printables over on the Art of Social Work blog! Refreshing to find a kindred spirit dedicated to sharing free printables to help kids. I just subscribed to get her blog posts via e-mail 🙂
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Angela Moorad is the founder of OMazing Kids, LLC and is an ASHA certified & licensed pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist and Kids Yoga Teacher with over 25 years experience working in a variety of settings (early intervention, schools, teletherapy & a nonprofit pediatric rehab hospital for children with developmental disabilities). She is an app beta tester for educational & therapeutic app developers and loves sharing info about great apps, products, books & toys to use with kids of all abilities.
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{please ignore any ads that may appear below. this is a free blog and I have no control over ads nor do I profit from them}
Angela Moorad is the founder of OMazing Kids, LLC and is an ASHA certified & licensed pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist and Kids Yoga Teacher with over 25 years experience working in a variety of settings (early intervention, schools, teletherapy & a nonprofit pediatric rehab hospital for children with developmental disabilities). She is a kids book reviewer with a focus on great picture books, a kids toy / product reviewer with a focus on those that are helpful for kids with special needs & an app beta tester for educational and therapeutic app developers. She loves sharing info about great things to use with kids of all abilities.
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{Note: please ignore any ads that may appear below. This is a free blog so I have no control over ads nor do I make any profit from them}
 This glitter bottle calming app is currently FREE. I used it in a session this week along with guided relaxation to quickly help a patient calm. The child had a panic/anxiety attack in the middle of a session over the fear that they would fail state testing -> flunk -> be held back a grade…. bless their hearts…. kids experience way too much stress in schools these days.
Angela Moorad is the founder of OMazing Kids, LLC and is an ASHA certified & licensed pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist and Kids Yoga Teacher with over 25 years experience working in a variety of settings (early intervention, schools, teletherapy & a nonprofit pediatric rehab hospital for children with developmental disabilities). She is a kids book reviewer with a focus on great picture books, a kids toy / product reviewer with a focus on those that are helpful for kids with special needs & an app beta tester for educational and therapeutic app developers. She loves sharing info about great things to use with kids of all abilities.
