hi my name is Lynn Carahaly and I'm a pediatric speech language pathologist
and i'm going to be discussing some best practices when using your iPad
Having an iPad to do therapy for SLPs and parents
is very very exciting. It's a very motivating tool
There's a whole world of apps on the market that are
uh... fun
and motivating and educational
and uh... it's just become a wonderful tool for both slps and parents.
that being said there are some points i would like to make
First, apps
are not replacement for speech therapy
or
the sl p
so that's very very important point to make because
when we have this world of apps- all these tools and resources at our
fingertips
it becomes very easy to
rationalize how much we can now do therapy at home.
for whatever reasons that maybe he whether it be financial reasons; not
having to go to therapy has as much uh... or the convenience of its some
some families
are driving a half-an-hour to even an hour to even get to therapy
uh... or just the frequency of it. Going to therapy three to four times
a week
can be inconvenience to the idea of having these apps and devices
for home use is very alluring.
and
considering cutting out the sl p or reducing the
therapy sessions with an slp but I really urge you that that is is not
uh... what we'd want as as SLPs and as a developer my self, it's not the
intent.
um... these tools are are just tools
and are not meant to replace the SLP
or even cut back on on therapy and really has to supplement whatever you're
currently doing & to provide you with some resources
to work with your child at home
but by no means are they designed to
uh... reduce therapy or or replace the sl p
so the next point that i would like to make - kind of along that line
is the idea that these apps and devices
uh...
really cautioning you that that they are not to become the instructor
so
very very important point is that
these are wonderful tools and they're very very educational and motivating
but don't rely on that app or the device to instruct your child
and at making an and hoping that they're going to make substantial progress
without that sl p
and then the last point that i would like to make
is that um... but very important is is because of these apps and the devices
are so fun and motivating
kids do want to get their hands on them
so it's very very tempting and for us to think, oh Wow, they love the iPad
they're requesting it
What you don't want to do is just hand the iPad over to the child
and have them go to their speech work or have them play uh... indeed
that's a really important point to make because the two in a child's mind
it does seem like a game it does seem like they are playing
but keep in mind that these apps that are developed as speech therapy tools
are not to be self directed by the child.
you really need to be sitting down with your child, working with your child and
giving them feedback and support and not expecting them to just sit on the couch while
you're making dinner or washing the dishes, to do their speech homework
Kind of along that line to is we
are very
encouraged by the device when we see that the child is having fun.
uh... another point that i'd like to make is that these apps are not
necessarily meant to entertain your child
uh... it's again not a game or toy but a tool
so we do want to get
the most out of our our apps, specifically the ones that are designed
to help in speech therapy
but again it is very tempting to want to download
uh... apps are are just
fun an entertaining to the child
so with speech therapy that's not always the case so really to make sure that
that parent is sitting there with them. perhaps using some other apps that are
fun and rewarding
uh... in between as a little reward or a little break is a great idea but
uh... just really kinda searching for apps that are just
fun and ... game like
that uh... that is of word of caution too. So those are some best practices that I
encourage you to implement
when you're working with your child
and uh... and having
this whole world of apps at your fingertips
and to be able to really make some sound choices
Thank you very much and I wish you all the best.