iOS App: Winky Think Logic Puzzles

Winky Think Logic App

Winky Think Logic Puzzles App on iTunes ($2.99, sometimes free)

What it is: A collection of 180 logic puzzles that involve very simple to mod difficulty levels. The puzzles all consist of variously shaped and colored tiles that need to be positioned in specific spots. Sometimes it's as simple as moving a tile to its designated spot, sometimes several tiles to several spots, and sometimes there's obstacles to overcome and sequencing to determine. Solutions require single - to - multi steps to reach, with skills that tap into shape and color recognition, path determination, figuring out the outcome of various objects in the puzzles, etc.

Screen Shot 1 shows a simple level where you have to choose the correct shape to move to the center. Screen Shot 2 shows a simple level where there's some restriction on movement, and more than one target shape - so one has to move the tiles in sequence to place them. Subsequent levels include some additional problem solving. It never gets too difficult and it's pretty fun. If you get stuck, you can restart a level at any point - there's no timer and no points to lose; you just keep solving until it's solved.

Screen Shot 1

How we can use it in Tx: There's no settings to consider except whether or not you want music. If you are working on focus and need some distracting stim, you can keep the music on.

The levels are made more complex by the addition of obstacles, and multi-step solutions to the puzzle. A few levels require the use of more than one finger--I'd skip those levels in therapy unless you have a very highly functioning and dexterous individual. There's also a few levels at the end of the game where very precise movement is required (the obstacles cannot be "touched" by the tiles); I'd skip those as well as they may just frustrate more than help. But overall, levels are realistically solvable, especially with some cuing.

Screen Shot 2

You get to move up levels as you solve them (solve one, get to move on to subsequent levels) but once solved, you can reuse the levels. So, I would recommend solving ahead (as far as you plan to use with any client; or all 180 puzzles - it's fun). That way you can skip over levels that aren't appropriate for a particular client, and not worry about any subsequent levels being locked. Otherwise, just choose levels and play.

One issue that may arise is that solving some of the levels may require dexterity beyond the ability of your client. In such cases you can either skip that level, or split the task into parts that would still provide experience with the problem solving and the planning: the client may solve the puzzle by making a plan (e.g., for screen shot 2, figure out the sequence in which tiles need to be dragged into the track), and then verbalizing directions for someone else (likely the clinician) to carry out the plan. Then the dexterity of maneuvering the tiles would be left to the participant without deficits in this area.

Goals we can target in Tx with this app: Direction following, problem solving, reasoning, symbolic dysfunction, visual field neglect or other visual-field dysfunctions (like hemianopsia--to get used to scanning back and forth to compensate), sequencing, sorting, focus/attention, categorizing, planning, and of course spatial reasoning. And of course, as per my usual logic, memory.

Some specific examples:

1. As noted above, if you have a client who lacks the dexterity to maneuver the tiles in any or all levels, you can separate the task into manageable bits and remove the part that requires skill beyond your client's reach: the client can make a plan to solve the puzzle, verbalize it (or discuss it), then provide directions for another person to carry it out. The clinician, or another client if you're working in a group, can maneuver the tiles.

2. You can use this as a break between other tasks, or as its own task for a certain part of your session. To document skill and progress I would keep track of the cuing required and the number of steps that were needed to solve each puzzle to determine the difficulty of the task at each level. You might also note if the multi steps were homogenous: That is, were they the same step each time, as in sequencing the order like the puzzle in screen shot 2, or heterogeneous steps, as when one tile needs to be put on a spot that opens an obstacle or has to be maneuvered to a spot that allows it to change colors. I would consider heterogeneous steps more complex. For someone with symbolic dysfunction, you 'd want to also keep track of how many colors and/or shape choices were provided and how much cuing they needed to pick the correct shape/color (e.g., in the puzzle shown in screen shot 1).

3. Memory: you can show the solution to a min/mod difficult puzzle, and then ask your client to re-solve the puzzle using their reasoning and their memory of your solution. See, I can ALWAYS involve memory goals.

All in all, I think you can have a lot of fun with this puzzle both for direct Tx and for a motivating and useful break between other tasks you have planned.

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: 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.

iPad/iPhone App: NumberOne Brain

NumberOne Brain app

NumberOne Brain app on iTunes (free)

What it is: A matching game where you are asked to locate a target number on a board tiled with several numbers (5-10 of them, see screen image #1). Very simple, but it gets more and more complex as you play: you have to learn to ignore competing stim to find the number you need.

Screen Image #1

As you can see from the screen image at a maximally simple point in the game (the start), the tiles are spaced so there's only one per column. Visual complexity is increased by adding more tiles to choose from, and/or lining them up to have more than one per column. Also, proximity of visually similar number tiles (to the target number) can add complexity, as can the extent of similarity between the tiles (so instead of maximally different from the target number as in the screen image, you may get 101, 110, 1, 211 and 11). The colors of the tiles may also work to draw your attention away from the correct answer, and at a more difficult level an incorrect tile may compete for your attention by shaking a bit. Possibly there's something in the sound as well, but I never play games like this with sound on. Either way, this is a great way to exercise your focus and quite fun as well.

Screen Image #2

How we can use it in Tx: There are several difficulty options available for this game, and as usual I recommend the simplest: "easy". All game play gets more complicated the better you do during the round though. Also, as usual I recommend playing this without the sound unless you have a pt with very high fxn that could use the extra competing stim.

One thing to keep in mind about this game is that, although a fairly simple concept and pretty fun to play, it is timed and graded, although as of March 2013 the grading can be turned off per new update. A round lasts a certain length, and you lose seconds when making mistakes, and I think gain some if have a good run. Here's an example of the summary that shows up at the end of a round if grading is not turned off (screen image #2). Some of the data is worth having, and may even be useful to us for keeping track of progress. However, the school-like grading of "brain level" is not for use in therapy (the original version of this app I reviewed did not allow grading to be switched off, and that's where the screen image is from). The new version does allow you to avoid this grading, which is a huge bonus for our uses! A great thank you to the developers for this, and their update re the matter on this post!

Goals we can target with this app: Attention, focus, following directions, scanning and visual field neglect goals, and of course memory goals (I suggest a way to focus on memory below). A pt with severe symbolic dysfunction may benefit from number matching as well, but they may need too much time for each match to get any real use out of this game. Worth a try.

Some specific examples: There's not really a lot of things you can vary in playing this game. You can vary the level of cues provided to help pt find matching tiles, and you can focus on specific results and/or progress. So for example:

1. If you're working on scanning and field neglect then accuracy becomes an important goal, and you should consider the number of mistakes per round. However, you should also pay attention to how many of those mistakes were due to competing stim from the dominant side.

2. If you're working on focus/attention, pay closer attention to what kind of competing stim interfered most (was it color, was it motion, was it placement, etc.).

3. Here's an idea for how to work on memory goals: Every time a new target number appears, after the pt has looked at it, pause the game (the screen will turn black, covering up the playing board). Check for immediate recall of the target number. If appropriate, distract the pt with something and then check for delayed recall. Then go back to the board, let the pt find the match, and do the same for the next target number (or skip one or two numbers, then pause for the following one to check recall). If you want to up the difficulty, upon pause ask to recall the current target number and the previous one.

4. Brain-training: for the regular (not rehab-patient) population, this game can provide great training for attention and focus, reflexes, scanning, and to some extent memory. For this population the graded summary may be a great motivator to do better each time you play.

iPad/iPhone app: Word Cracker (free for a while)

Word Cracker app

iPhone/iPad app: Word Cracker in iTunes (free for a while)

What it is: A word game where you are presented with (mostly) common words with missing vowels, which you have to fill in. In terms of game options, there are 3 settings that affect difficulty level: First, there's a choice of how much information is missing from the target words: you can have the words presented without spaces (e.g., "VWLS" for VOWELS), and you have to figure out which vowels to put and where, or you can go a level easier by having the word presented with blanks where the vowels go (e.g., "V_W_LS" for VOWELS), and all you have to do is figure out which vowels to insert. Second, and a nice benefit for Tx purposes, you can control how much time is given for each round: in minutes the choices are 1, 3, 5 or infinite, which is equivalent to untimed. Third, there are 3 levels of word difficulty: easy, hard or random. There's also a multi-player option, but that's less interesting for us

To play the game, you are presented with the vowel-less word, and the vowels (a, e, i, o, u) below it, and you drag the vowels into the appropriate spaces in the word. As far as I can tell, when there's more than one vowel option to form a word, the game will accept any of possible vowels. You can also "pass" turns if a word is too difficult, which is nice. And if you submit an incorrectly spelled word, you lose some points but you can continue the game nevertheless. Easy levels, ability to pass, un-timed option and "redos" are what make this word game especially useful for Tx purposes.

Screenshot of game

How we can use it in Tx: Simple answer to this: play the game with your patient. Decide how much cuing to provide (e.g., word definition or example of use), and which words to pass if they are too difficult. But be aware that the easy level of this game is still not that easy (it certainly doesn't qualify as an easy level language task). You can reduce difficulty by inserting all vowels but one in each word, and letting your pt figure out the last vowel only (and pass difficult words).

Goals we can target in Tx with this app: Apraxia, and other language goals. Some reasoning and sequencing is involved in playing this game, but mostly it's about accessing language information and recognizing the words. Surprisingly, I cannot think of a useful way to address memory goals with this app (if you look at my previous posts, you'll see that I can almost always think of memory-related applications to any task) but give me time...

Some specific examples:

1. The most obvious use for language goals is to play the game, at whatever difficulty level is most beneficial to pt, and choosing the amount of cuing to provide. If you need to make the game easier than the easy level with vowel locations marked by blanks, you can add all the vowels but one (in most cases the words have at least 2 missing vowels). You can further reduce the difficulty by narrowing the choice down to just two vowels (e.g., for the word in the screenshot above "str_ng_" add the final "e", and then ask the pt if it's missing an "a" or an "o"; and if needed you can use the two choices and ask "is 'strange' a word or is 'stronge" a word?"). Additional cues can be added with descriptions or definitions. If you want to up the difficulty a little (not so much as to move the word difficulty to "hard" or "random") you can let the pt fill in the vowels and then ask them to provide a definition and/or have them use the word in a sentence. Basically start with what the game provides, and add cues or additional tasks as needed for each pt's goals.

2. For lowest-level language goals, a good task is to work on text/word recognition. Set the game to easy level with no time limit and showing blanks, and pass any words that seem too difficult (here's an easy way to determine: if you couldn't tell what the word is at first glance, it may be too hard for a low-level lang goal pt). Add all but one vowel, and then that last one--fill in with the correct or the wrong vowel and ask the pt if it's a word or not. Determine accuracy based on how many correct words are recognized as such, and how many incorrect words are recognized as non-words.

3. Apraxia goals (this is what I've used it for, with very good results): just play the game at whatever level is appropriate for your patient. Play it together, so if the pt can't figure out the more complex words, help (I cue with either a definition or description at first, but then I'll say the actual word if my pt needs it--this particular pt still needs to see the word written and also benefits from hearing it spoken to attempt to produce it). I have the pt figure out the vowels by saying the word (giving the answer to the puzzle verbally) and then I move the vowels into position (my pt does not have use of his dominant hand or the dexterity in his other hand to grab the vowels on the screen). Once the vowels are in place I have the pt repeat the word again. So we use this game to access higher level language as well as for spoken language practice. I find that my pt is able to produce words with complex consonant clusters that are normally much more difficult for him because attention is on solving the puzzle instead of on how hard it is to produce the sounds. This has been a great find for treatment with the apraxia pt!

iPad/iPhone apps: ABA Flash Cards (free)

ABA Animals Flash Cards

ABA Food Flash Cards

ABA Alphabet Flash Cards

ABA Flash Cards Food free app from iTunes
ABA Flash Cards Animals free app from iTunes
ABA Flash Cards Alphabet free app from iTunes
[It's possible that these apps are only free in April 2012]

What it is: These are three flashcard collections, each one is a separate app, from kindergarten.com. Obviously these apps are intended for young 'uns, but settings can be customized to use with adult populations. Each app has a nice collection of mostly common words (animals, foods, and a word that starts with each letter of the alphabet). The animals and foods apps contain over 100 words, and the alphabet app has, obviously, 26 words.

Screen Image 1

As you can see in screen image 1, each word is presented as a picture and text (text labels can be turned off). There is an audio for each word, which also can be turned off (I prefer to read the words if needed instead of using the included audio because the audio just sounds like it's talking to kids, which of course it is). Other customization settings allow you to choose alphabetic or random order, and you can select which of the 100+ words to show, hiding the ones you know you won't use. Or you can just skip them as you go (that's what I do). As you flip through the flash cards, you can mark cards with the green checkmark or the red cross, or you can just flip through them without marking. The "i" at the top left of each card takes you to settings, and the graph icon on the right of the "i" takes you to the Data page.

Screen Image 2

The built in statistics make this app extremely useful for Tx (see screen image 2). It shows you how many cards have been shown (flipped through), how many were marked with checks (=correct) and how many were marked with cross (=incorrect), as well as how many remained unanswered (if I didn't bother removing some cards from the deck, I just bypass them and leave unanswered). So you can easily get accuracy measure (in this example, I don't count the ones I passed over, so there were 6 total cards attempted, of which 4 were correct). Below these stats you also get an overview of which cards were correct or not ("N" in the list = incorrect, "Y"=correct, and a blank would be unanswered). And as long as you haven't closed the app, you can go over the entire deck again and re-try the incorrect cards (or just read them from the list in stats) if it suits your needs. As you can see, there's also an "email" button if you want to email yourself the stats. I haven't tried that yet, but I'm sure it's straightforward.

How we can use it in Tx: Basically these apps are collections of vocabulary words with pictures, text, audio, descriptions, and some built in customization and stats. As an aside, there's a few other options that would only come in handy if working with kiddos (like reinforcement and chimes), so if you're interested in using the apps for the intended population be aware there's still more to love. As far as my intended population, adults, go, there's a few ways I can imagine using these apps for word-finding goals: I'd remove the text label and let pts name the words from pictures, or from the descriptions (the "description" button at the bottom of each card includes text and audio), or from both. I can use almost any app for memory work: choose a few words and ask the pt to remember them whether in sequence or not. But what I've used these cards the most for is my apraxia pt who is only just starting to be able to repeat words. This pt benefits from seeing the word he is trying to say in print (he does not need the picture, but it doesn't hurt, and down the road I'll want him to generate the words without modeling or seeing the text). This pt benefits especially from practicing the same list over and over, and from being able to go back and re-try the words he couldn't produce at first attempt. So basically, I use these apps for easy access to word lists with built-in text labels and built-in stats. He is starting to be able to say the words without having them modeled, although he periodically asks me to say it first. We have started short phrases, and I generate those using these flashcards (e.g., if he can say "cupcake" I ask him to also say "sweet cupcake", and on good days I add a carrier sentence like "I like cupcakes" and "I want bacon").

Goals we can target with these apps: The main goal I've used these apps for has been apraxia-related, but I think these could obviously be used for word-finding goals, descriptions, categorization, and other language-related tasks including some reasoning (name the word from its description). And as always memory: auditory or visual presentation of a group of related words followed by recall.

Some specific examples:

1.  For memory goals, as I mention above, present a pt with 3, 4, 5, or 6 words at a time either in pictures, in both pictures and text, or by speaking them and assess % recalled. For an easier level task you can use the food or animal apps so the word lists are of related items, and for a slightly more difficult level use the alphabet app because those words aren't related in meaning.

2. For language goals you can use the alphabet flash cards where there's a word for each letter of the alphabet, you can ask the pt to come up with 1-3 additional words for each letter.

3. For word-finding goals simply show the picture (without text label) of each card and let the pt name it. If they are having trouble, read the description to them and see if that helps find the word. It's a great strategy to teach pts with word-finding issues.

4. For my own apraxia pt I use the app to repeat common words, generate common words, repeat short phrases, and repeat/generate short sentences. I love having such easy access to the stats: when we go through the word list we can stop at any point, whether it's after 10, 40 or all 108 words, and I note the % words repeated after the first pass, then we do a second pass of the words he couldn't say at first. Currently he is normally able to repeat about 60-75% of the words at first pass, and then tries again the ones he couldn't do, ending with 90% repeated. Phoneme accuracy is a different story, and that I have to assess subjectively.

Android app: JABtalk (AAC, free)

JABtalk for Android devices

This program is currently free from JABstone, and is available from Android Market, Amazon App Store, & the Nook Store

What it is:  Originally developed as an AAC device for kids. It is fully customizable, and you can create categories and words with images and sounds for each. If your device supports a microphone you can record the words and categories right on it (Amazon's Kindle doesn't, but BN's nook tablet does and the more expensive Android tablets do as well). If you're using a device without microphone you can import sound files into your library and use them within this program (it'll take longer to prep a communication board that way, but it's doable). When it comes to images, you can take a photo if your device has a camera (Kindle and Nook do not), you can import images on any of the devices, and you can do an image internet search directly from within this program on any of the devices. There's talk of adding sentence building to following releases too.

How we can use it in Tx: I had fun building a default communication board with basic needs for my target population (call button, wheelchair, glasses, dentures, pain scale, yes/no, etc.). I carry this in my Nook as part of my default materials to always have with me. You can also make a language/word-building/problem solving task out of creating a new board with a patient that does not need an AAC device, but can use the practice thinking of common and safety-related objects.

Goals we can target in Tx with this app: Word finding, problem solving, AAC

Some specific examples:

1. Put together a menu for the three daily meals and write a goal for pt to use the device to order their meals (an AAC goal)

2. Have pt locate words within nested categories (e.g., apple would be inside foods & drinks/snacks/fruit) with certain % accuracy (a problem-solving goal)

3. Have a pt (who may not need AAC device) come up with as many suggestions for what to put in a given category (e.g., clothes or snacks) as they can (a word-naming goal)