iPad app: Move & Match

Move & Match App

Move & Match app on iTunes (US $1.99)

What it is: Listed in the "Education" category, this app lets you create elements on a background and move them around freely. Elements can only be rectangular, but they can hold photos/pictures or words, they can be custom sized (as can the text within), they have a variety of background colors, and they can be cloned. If this description doesn't do much for your imagination, look at the screen images of examples I threw together really quickly (or look at the developers' examples of uses in iTunes via the link above).

Within the app you make a project file for each exercise that you create, and hence can build yourself a nice database of go-to tasks for a variety of goals. The developers also have a selection of pre-created projects that you can download off Dropbox directly into the app and use (this is accessible via the "i" information screen within the app).

Screen Image 1: Closed paragraph

How we can use it in Tx: This app allows easy creation of a host of closed-exercises that require either filling in the blank from provided choices (like in Screen Image 1), multiple choice answers, any kind of matching, or word/sentence building. For cogn goals you can create sequencing and sorting tasks. If you take the time you can build some useful visuospatial/executive function tasks such as completing a pattern or an analogy (you'd need to create some images externally--via an image editor and then get the pictures on your iPad first). I discuss some of these suggestions in the "specific examples" section below. But really, the possibilities are endless... just about anything you do with worksheets that involves multiple choice can be replicated and expanded on using this app!

Goals we can target in Tx with this app: Language and word finding goals through a variety of fill-in-blank, closed paragraph, matching, word/sentence building or multiple choice tasks. Higher level cogn goals like planning, sequencing and reasoning. Sequencing and sorting either words, numbers or images (e.g., photographs of various stages of some activity, just like photo sorting cards but all in one screen). You can make simple math problems with multiple choice answers (there's actually a few of these ready-made and freely available from the developers already). You can create a background monthly calendar with fill-in elements to work on orientation and recall.

Screen Image 2: Sequencing photos and/or text

Some specific examples:

1. Sequencing/sorting: As I mention above, you can take photos of various stages of an activity (e.g., doing laundry, heating up a pizza, making ice cubes, etc.). You can import pictures from your album which means you can use your camera or do image searches online, save them to album, and use them from album. Once you have enough steps to sequence you just let the client move them around into the correct order. You can also make text elements to sort or sequence (e.g., months, numbers, days of the week, or steps of an activity listed in text instead of as photos). See Screen Image 2 of a quick and dirty example where I use photos I took for another app I reviewed recently, but also added text that can be moved and reordered.

2. For language goals you can create just about any matching exercise you can come up with. Antonyms, synonyms, definitions, pictures of items and their names... etc.

Screen Image 3: Categorizing text and/or images

3. Categorizing task: create a few headings (e.g., furniture, food, countries, etc.) and a bunch of words or images that fit in each of these and have your client drag the words around to place them under the appropriate category name. See Screen Image 3 for a quick and dirty example I made for this task. The images I just downloaded after a very quick google search, and, you can see at the bottom of the screen the elements waiting to be sorted.

4. Scanning activity: create a whole bunch of elements (icons or words or letters or numbers or even just squares with colors) and direct your client to find (and, for example, move to a specific side of the screen) all the elements that fit some set of criteria (e.g., all the blue squares, or all the blue squares with "r").

Screen Image 4: Calendar

5. Orientation/recall: use an image of a calendar (in my example in Screen Image 4 I used a weekly view of the iPad Calendar that was blank) and add some elements that can be moved around (visitors, routines like therapy and meals, etc.). Work on today, or recall yesterday. I like the weekly view for this because it has all this room to hold the collection of elements while the client decides if to use them and where to put them in the daily list.

There's just too many things you can do with this app to list them all... Since these projects can be saved and shared, maybe if there's enough SLPs using this app we can have our own section on the developer's Dropbox down the road... or find some other way to share amongst ourselves. I know I plan to create a whole load of projects in this app, and although some may take great time and effort, I know I'll use them a lot.

iPad app: ScrapPad - Scrapbook for iPad (for sequencing)

ScrapPad App

ScrapPad - Scrapbook for iPad on iTunes (free!)

What it is: A sophisticated easy to use, and fun, scrapbooking application. It provides a variety of backgrounds, borders, embellishments and stickers (organized by themes like holidays, seasons, etc.). You can import images from your album (or take new ones from within the app with your camera), resize, move and rotate them however you want (except cropping--I didn't see that capability in the app; but there's native cropping in iOS already).

The app responds very smoothly to repositioning, rotating and resizing elements. You can work on the canvass with the tools at your ready or in full screen mode taking advantage of more space.

When you've made your creation you can email it, save (I'm assuming each page separately) to your album, share on FB, or send it to the app publishers to print (for a fee of course). They do not include the option to save your creation as PDF or some other format that can be read in iBooks, which is too bad for the scrapbooker, but not a big deal for our uses.

Screen Image 1

How we can use it in Tx: One obvious use for this app is to create family albums, logs, memory books and the like (much like what I wrote about in my review of My Story from 3/3/2012). I won't elaborate on that idea as it's fairly intuitive. My more interesting idea for this app though, is to use it for sequencing.

There's a few apps out there that are dedicated to sequencing tasks, where a user is presented with 3-6 step common tasks, with an image for each step, and asked to put the steps in sequence. I haven't seen any free apps for this, but here's a review from "Speaking of Apps" of a $4.99 app dedicated to sequencing called Making Sequences. It sounds great and the price tag is not too bad for a Tx-dedicated app. But it only comes with 15 sequences.

So here's what I did. I created my own sequence photos. For this review I very quickly made 2 sets of 3-step tasks (one making the bed, another folding laundry). I could have just as easily downloaded clipart. I put both of my tasks together to simulate what the screen would look like with a 6-step task (but if I was using each of these I'd have only the 3 steps of each task on the screen at a time).

I added all 6 photos to my scrapPad canvass, resized them for best fit and rotated them for proper aspect. I switched to full screen mode and basically created a space where the photos can smoothly be moved around as needed (see Screen Image 1). And there you have it: a sequence task. The reason it works so well is that (1) you can use the full screen so there's no dedicated sequencing app out there that can beat the real estate available for the task; and (2) the dragging/placing of the elements (the single photos) is so very smooth. They don't "snap to", but neither do photo cards you would use for this task if you didn't have an electronic version. There's also no music, no grading, no animation. It's just an improvement on the low-tech version in the sense that it's a lot easier to quickly make new sequences, and if you want, you can make them with images from the client's immediate environment.

Screen Image 2

One can make a page for each task, and create a "scrapbook" with as many sequencing tasks as they bother making with no limits. You can size the images to your liking (I wanted to make them as large as possible while still having enough room to move them around). You can also add titles to each page (if you want to add context; I like to ask my pts what the task is before they start sequencing, but some need the context to perform the task).

Just to show the full potential of this app (so well beyond what I'd use it for) here's a scrapbooked (albeit hideously... I'm not much for scrapbooking) version of my 6 pictures on the canvass with the tools open, and the "export" window open so you can see the options it comes with (Screen Image 2).

Goals we can target in Tx with this app: Memory/STM and orientation goals (which I didn't discuss much but they are fairly obvious), focus and direction following, spatial reasoning if you want to do some actual scrap-booking tasks, and the one I suggest it for: sequencing and sorting.

Some specific examples:

1) For sequencing--the main use of this app I recommend--snap some photos of common daily activities, even specific activities of your client if you feel it's appropriate, import them into the app and size them so all steps of the sequenced task can fit, then move to full screen and let the client order the steps. Just as I describe above. There's really no end to the possibilities.

2) For sorting, download or snap photos of elements you can sort (items or animals that vary in size or number, people that vary in age, foods that vary in size or calories, whatever you can think of... just keep it clear) and create a task just like the sequencing one. Save these and over time you'll have a ton of fun sequencing and sorting activities in one place.

3) A fun STM task that allows for use of memory strategies is to create a page for a specific event or season (e.g., for Easter or a birthday). Create it with the pt, discussing the various elements you're putting in there and color decisions, etc.; make all decisions explicit and together. Then find some filler task you can do for 5-10min (whatever you think is appropriate) and return to this task: ask for recall of the creation you made together, and carefully use cues as needed to get as much recall as possible (cues can range from visual to discussing some of the decisions you made together, etc.).

iPad/iPhone App: Christmas Delights

Christmas Delights App

Christmas Delights app on iTunes ($0.99, sometimes free)

What it is: An app that lets you decorate a tree, with a few choices of trees and backgrounds (additional options as part of in-app purchases, but not really necessary for our needs). The ornaments that come with this app are sufficient in variety of colors and types. The lights have a dynamic display (they light up and dim) so the effect is rewarding. The resulting decorated tree can be saved and printed or emailed (or shared on social media, as with everything else in this world these days). Here is the emailed card of the tree I decorated with the app:

How we can use it in Tx: I would turn off the sound (there's a variety of holiday themed music as background; unless you want to provide competing stimuli to work on focus, I'd keep it quiet). Then you can either let the client free-form decorate a tree and put presents under it, or you can request the client follow a particular color scheme or other directions.

Goals we can target with this app: I think this would be a great task for visual field neglect needs, especially motivating at this time of year although I imagine this would still be fun any time. You can work on direction-following (written or oral) and memory if you give one or two step directions verbally. Attention and focus, with competing stimuli if you want to keep the music on. Sequencing and sorting can be implemented (see examples below). Temporal orientation if you talk about the holidays in general.

Some specific examples:

1. For visual field neglect goals simply let the pt decorate the tree and cue as needed to avoid neglecting the weaker side.

2. For direction-following goals provide written directions at the complexity level your goal targets, and assess ability to follow them. For example, specify what type and/or color of decorations should go at the top of the tree, what in the middle, what at the bottom. Maybe specify how many rows and how many decorations per row at various heights of the tree. How many gifts and what color wrapping... etc.

3. For memory goals give directions in 1 or 2 steps at a time verbally; have the pt repeat the directions (e.g., "put a yellow ball on the tree, then a red one" or "put 2 blue bows at the top of the tree") then follow them from memory. You can control the difficulty level of the task by how many details are included in the directions.

4. For sequencing goals you can give directions that involve sequencing, for example asking a pt to put one ornament at the top, then 2, then 3 with each row towards the bottom having one more decoration than the previous row.

5. For sorting you can include requests that involve sorting ornaments by color or shape or type.

Just have fun with it. Anything is better than crossing out specific letters or numbers on a page... right?

iPad/iPhone app: Writers App

Writers App

"Writers App" app in iTunes (usually $0.99, sometimes free)

What it is: An application to help authors plan a story/novel. A place to enter notes about characters, places, the plot, individual chapters, etc., and to keep it in an organized database. It is very intuitive to use, and does not require each field to have content.

You start out by adding a story (you can work on several at once, each with its own entry). For each story you then add relevant details: a title, information about the story (synopsis, premise, plot), chapters, characters, places, and there's room for further notes. You can add as many characters (or chapters, or places) as you want. For each character there are fields for name, general info (role, occupation), attributes such as strengths and weaknesses, habits, biography, hobbies, personality, and physical characteristics (hair, age, eyes, etc.), and of course further notes. Each entry for "Places" also expands to the name of place, about it, environment, description, characteristics and further notes.

So as you can see, it's structured but has a lot of fields and room for freestyle notes. There's no customization for the fields (I'm sure future updates will include this; it is always something users request once they start using an app like this). There's also no way to include pictures, and I'm not sure there ever will be, but if needed that can be added via export: Currently there's only one way to export, which is to email yourself the list: whatever level you export from, will include the info on that level and below it. So if you export from one character's view, you will only get the info for that character; if you export from the main story level, you will get everything you have entered for the entire story (all the characters, places, etc.). The emailed text can be copied and pasted into a simple document, and if needed pictures can be added. Format nicely and print.

How we can use it in Tx: This is a great tool to keep track of characters and plot twists for an author in the planning stages of their great novel... And for us, it's a great tool to help pts slowly put together their own life story. While there are a few fields in this application that won't play a role (and may confuse a pt if they are doing this independently) I think this is a great tool to use *with* the SLP to work on reminiscing, map out one's family members, one's life story, and even better--all of these. Since the information is so well fragmented into characters, places, story... we can concentrate on one section at a time (for several sessions, as needed). And the best part is that the resulting information from these sessions can be printed for the patient to keep.

This may not be the perfect app for doing this, but it's a nice start. And it lets you keep a list of what the pt has already contributed, go over it in future sessions, and proceed from there. And of course this can also be achieved with just a pad and paper, or any number of note-taking apps (some that also allow pictures and sound attachments). But I like the organization of this one that makes this open-ended task into a structured exercise, easier to follow through with and to pick up where you left off in future sessions.

Goals we can target with this app: Memory goals mostly, and since it uses a pt's personal information about their life and family, one hopes there's increased motivation to participate in the task. Sequencing and categorization, attention and question/answer goals are addressed almost inherently as part of the task, and there could be added focus on these goals as needed. For example, a pt could be asked to recall something from grade school, something from high school, something from college (if they attended) or military service (or whatever else they did after HS) and work on sequencing these stories into chapters (which came first in life, which later). Orientation is also addressed as part of discussing previous events, younger age, different locations (that was then, this is now).

Some specific examples:

1. Reminiscing: for a pt that isn't able to remember a lot about their own life, you can create a chapter for certain decades (20's, 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's...) and think of famous characters from each era (Marilyn Monroe, Shirley Temple, Churchill, Charlie Chaplin, etc.). and famous events... If you don't remember much from your grade school history classes you can do some minimal research online and find enough famous events and people for each decade within minutes, surely. Or you can do the research together with your pt, and let them participate and recall some of these milestones. I had a pt who had a really hard time remembering anything about his own life, with LTM and STM goals. I brought in a reminiscing task with pictures of famous events or people from various decades, and we went through them. My pt said he won't remember any of it when we started, but as we went through my list he did in fact recall quite a few of the events and people, and had a few bits of information to contribute about them, some even from personal experiences. It was a very successful session that left both of us smiling.

2. External memory cues: work on a pt's family tree using this app by adding each family member as their own character. Go over each character on multiple occasions trying to get pt to recall additional attributes; maybe add descriptions based on photos in the pt's room... You can get additional info from visiting family members if possible. Just have fun with it. And this is certainly something you will want to export, format, and print for the pt when you are done.

3. Write a pt's life story, especially if it's a pt who has lived in several places. Write a chapter for each time in their life (as I mention above, one for grade school, one for high school, etc.) and again, let them fill in bits and pieces over several sessions (give the specifics recalled previously and ask for more detailed info, e.g. "so last time we talked about your time in the army and you mentioned you were stationed in Italy. How long were you there?").

iPad app: My Story (free for a limited time)

My Story iPad app

My Story - Book Maker for Kids for iPad on the iTunes App Store

What it is: My Story is marketed for kids to make their own story books using photos, drawings, coloring, text, even recorded voice, and these story books can be saved and exported to iBooks, and then viewed/read like any digital book on your device.

How we can use it in Tx: The most obvious use is to create family albums and daily logs with pts that need external memory devices. While on the device it is not a resource that can be left with the pt to use on their own, it can be a productive memory aide used with the ST during sessions. Screenshots of the log can also be printed (take a screenshot by clicking the home and power buttons at the same time, and it'll save as a PNG file in your albums; then you can email it to yourself and print it on any printer) and those can be made into materials that ARE left with the pt to use independently.

Goals we can target in Tx with this app: Memory and orientation goals are the most obvious. Stories can also be created to target language, word-finding, problem solving and sequencing.

Some specific examples (not an exhaustive list):

1) Create a family album using photos of the pt's family if available (take picture of photos in pt's room, or draw stick figures for family members not yet available in photos) and name them all, listing relationship; have pt add a voice note to each member saying something unique about them (besides their name and relationship). Write a goal for pt to remember every family member's name, relationship, and some % of what s/he said about them in the voice note.

2) Create a book of a new exercise or routine learned in OT or PT sessions, with a page for each step. Move the pages around randomly and write a goal for the pt to sequence the steps correctly.

3) Create a continuous story and add a page each session; write a goal for the pt to recall 1-3 events from the current (or previous) day to add to the page.

What could you do with this app?