iOS app: Missing Link

Missing Link App

Missing Link on iTunes (free)

What it is: A puzzle where 3 words are presented with missing letters, and solving the puzzle requires filling in the blanks to find these words. The main clue you get is that in all 3 words the same string of letters is missing.

There are 3 difficulty levels: easy, medium and hard. At easy level there's usually 2 letters missing (see Screen Shot 1), 3 at medium level, and at hard level there's shorter words with 3 blanks, so a larger part of the word is obscured.

Screen Shot 1: Easy Level

The layout is clean enough, even with the ads that pop up at the top in the free version. It resembles
an old-style typewriter (with sounds to match) and is obviously directed at adult populations.

How we can use it in Tx: As far as language goals go, even at simple level this is not the easiest game because the target words aren't the most common. As such, I would use this app for the higher functioning language client, stick to the simplest level and provide a lot of cues.

As far as reasoning goals go, the directions are simple (find 2 letters that would complete all 3 words) and yet not automatically familiar (there's not a lot of games/puzzles like this) so you have a chance to work on direction-following, and on recall of directions from one puzzle to the next. In this context, you can work with mod impaired clients as long as they don't have comorbid symbolic dysfunction.

Cuing could involve recognizing letter/sound combinations in English (e.g., if you have a verb like "keel" in screen shot 1, followed by blank-blank-g, familiarity with English should make one think of the "-ing" ending); or cuing could involve clues towards guessing the words themselves (e.g., "what's another word for 'airplane'?"). You can enter letters (even wrong ones) and ask the client whether they recognize each entry as a word. Word-recognition is an important aspect of symbolic dysfunction, although normally I'd choose simpler and shorter words for such a task unless the client was pretty high functioning.

Goals we can target in Tx with this app: Language goals involving reading, word-finding, symbolic dysfunction and intelligibility (see example 3 below); memory/recall goals related to direction following and sequencing, as well as reasoning goals.

Some specific examples:

1. Higher functioning client with language goals, you can solve the puzzle providing cues as needed (start with sound/letter familiarity cues as discussed above, then add word definition hints if needed). Once solved request client form a sentence with each word, followed by one sentence using all 3 (it can be silly, as long as it's grammatically correct).

2. For client with language goal, after solving the 3 words, have them make a list of 3-5 additional words that contain the string of letters missing from the current puzzle.

3. For a client with intelligibility goals, the simple level puzzles in this app provide great practice word lists since they are mostly 2 or more syllables long. So, solve the puzzle for fun, then use the words for intelligibility strategies practice, and to make sentences (silly sentences are really great for intelligibility practice because they lack context and thus have greater dependency on each word being heard and understood).

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: Cursive Writing HD

Cursive Writing HD app

Cursive Writing HD app on iTunes ($0.99, periodically free for a limited time)

What it is: Practice cursive writing by tracing at the level of letters (capitals or lower case), words, or sentences (where you can type your own sentence and have it presented in traceable format). There's a few settings that can be adjusted like color and thickness, but in general it's a one-trick pony: have written material presented so you can practice tracing it.

How we can use it in Tx: Decide on the complexity level you need (letter, word, sentence) and have your client practice tracing, preferably using a stylus rather than their finger. There's not a ton of different uses for this, and not a ton of pts that would need it. But right now I actually do have a pt that wants to work on her handwriting because it's harder for her to write than it used to be before her stroke. She has no problems reading, and she likes to write only in cursive. She has a hard time holding a writing utensil and pressing down enough to make clear markings on a page. Using a stylus to trace the letters on an iPad circumvents the problems with strength and gravity (where she is holding her paper up and trying to write with the pen's tip pointing up). She was used her nice handwriting and really wants to have it back. She has also forgotten how to write a few of the cursive letters (particularly capitals of some cursive letters, like Q and G). This app was just made for her.

Goals we can target with this app: Like I said, one-trick pony... so mostly writing, and as far as language goes, symbolic dysfunction to a point (if it's beyond very mild dysfunction, cursive is probably not the writing you'd work on). I think tasks can be implemented for field-neglect goals and, obviously, reading.

Some specific examples:

1. Writing: Choose the level you need to work on (letters, words, sentences) and, well, do.

2. For reading goals, if they are for very mild dysfunction with high-functioning pts, you can use this app to generate cursive sentences for pts to practice reading. Anything more severe than mild should probably not be addressed in cursive form.

3. For visual field neglect goals practicing tracing letters, words or sentences (especially sentences) may help work on both strong and neglected sides; you can assess how much cuing is needed to address the weaker side.