According to Samantha Weatherford, you know you’re a speech-language pathologist when you speak entirely in abbreviations, are often caught spending endless amounts of money in the dollar store and yelling “WHAT?! It’s for my JOB, ok?!?!” and have been known to talk to yourself in your room in funny voices for hours on end.
That last one applies to content writers as well, apparently.
Another way to know you’re a speech-language pathologist (or parent) is when you search for free speech therapy apps.
This article looks at five free speech therapy software options. See the full list of free speech therapy software solutions here.
Check out these five free speech therapy apps to help take your lessons to the next level.
1. Articulation Station
4.5 stars, 116 ratings
Articulation Station gamifies learning pronunciation to reinforce speech therapy at home. Aimed at kids, but useful to adults as well, six games aim to make practicing how to say words more fun. Created by a certified speech-language pathologist, the app keeps track of scores for multiple students and stores comprehensive progress data, including their names, ages, and notes on their progress. You can even record your students’ voices over time to hear their progress unfold. SLPs also have access to quick tips for teaching each sound, as well as more comprehensive teaching tutorials
The big catch is that Articulation Station isn’t really free. You can learn the P sound for free, but, after that, you have to buy the other sound programs individually. Most cost $3.99, though some are as expensive as $7.99. Or there’s an 18% discount if you buy all the sounds at once for $60. If you do buy all the sounds, you also unlock the ability to upload custom images.
Based on the reviews, I’d say this is a good buy. One wrote, “If your kids’ speech therapist isn’t using this app(or the full-paid version) how are they communicating progress/challenges to you? Insist your school get this, then you download the free one and buy the packages you need.”
Common Sense Media gave it five out of five stars for “ease of play.”
2. ArtikPix
3.5 stars, 7 ratings
ArtikPix uses flashcards and matching games to help kids practice saying words and phrases. For parents and SLPs, the app can record video of kids articulating, and it saves exportable, time-stamped performance data for individual sessions or groups of up to four kids. You get “th,” “w,” “y,” and “h” sounds for free. Buy the rest individually or everything all at once for $29.99.
Reviewers found it easy to use, but keep in mind that it hasn’t been updated since 2013.
3. CineVox
No reviews yet
CineVox is a fairly new app that responds to sounds with fun graphics, encouraging kids to practice their articulation. And, unlike other apps, it’s actually free. Sounds like hisses and shhhs produce additional graphical effects, such as a snowstorm, switching to black-and-white, and a hall-of-mirrors look. The best part, besides the free, is that if you connect your iPad or iPhone to AppleTV, the graphics play on the big screen.
4. I Love Mom Picture Book
3.5 stars, 94 ratings
If you’re a SLP and you’re looking for an app to recommend to parents, I Love Mom Picture Book might be a good choice. Parents can record themselves reading the book, and the app highlights the words as they’re read. Kids learn to pronounce by touching the words they want to hear again.
Reviewers like that they can customize the voice recordings and the story.
5. 10to8
Capterra users gave it 4.5 / 5 stars out of 158 reviews.
10to8 is free, cloud-based practice management software speech therapy practices can use to reduce appointment no-shows. Send automated customizable appointment reminders via text or email.
Patients can schedule, reschedule, and ask questions about their appointments online, and the 10to8 online calendar syncs both ways with Google Calendar, Outlook calendar, and iCal. You can also see patient history, client notes, and attendance history from the calendar, and book individual professionals and choose your room within the booking system.
You can set prices for services within the app and take payments from your clients at the time they book your services. All data is encrypted.
Chat with your clients from within the app, even on mobile or tablets with native Android and iOS apps. The free version gets you 100 appointments per month, two staff logins, and community and online support. One thing really I like about 10to8 is that all features (except for branding and phone support) are available at the free level.
For more appointments, admins, and phone support, upgrade to Grow ($25/mo), Bigger Business ($50/mo), or Enterprise ($150/mo) levels.
10to8 does not offer billing, invoicing, insurance management, or SOAP notes at the free or paid level. People love the responsive customer service, easy setup, and customizability of the software.
To conclude
There are other great speech therapy apps in this list from Therapy Source. And for Speech Therapy Software, check out our directory, where you can narrow your options by installed or web-based and a host of other features.