6 Best Speech Therapy Apps for Kids

Approximately 7.7% of all children (ages 3-17) in the United States has had a history of a communication disorder related to speech, language, voice, or swallowing. Nearly 5% of all children between the ages of two and five years develop a stutter during their childhood.

Many such communication disorders are treated through speech therapy. For instance, children born with autism may require speech therapy to communicate well. Children who receive early intervention are more likely to overcome communication disorders.  

While working with kids, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and speech therapists often face one problem – keeping the children engaged and interested in doing their speech exercises regularly. 

Now, let’s be honest here. Speech exercises, even those for kids, aren’t as interesting as playing Animal Crossing! It’s a well-known fact that children learn through playing. 

The good news is that there are quite a few speech therapy apps designed for children that aim to take boredom out of daily practice. 

In case speech therapy isn’t readily available, parents can also help their children through such apps. Compared to traditional speech therapy, modern-day apps are more affordable and easily accessible to children all over the world. 

Here in this post, we will shed light on some of the best speech therapy apps for kids that can prove to be a blessing for the parents and the SLP, who want their little clients to ace at therapy. Read on. 

1. Articulation Station Pro

The Articulation Station Pro is a specialized app for kids who exhibit speech sound delays. It is an interactive and colorful app that helps children practice their exercises through a game-like interface.

Currently, it has exercises for 22 sounds at word and sentence levels. Children can also practice sounds at story level. Here are the six activities your children can enjoy while using the Articulation Station Pro –

1.  Flashcards
2.  Matching
3. Unique sentences
4. Rotating sentences
5. Level 1 stories
6. Level 2 stories

Articulation Station Pro has a powerful suite of practice tools. It makes scoring, data tracking, auditory feedback, and tracking progress extremely easy for parents and SLPs alike.

The app is available for both the iPhone and iPad. 

2. Fluency SIS

Fluency SIS is ideal for school-aged children. It uses a fluency combined approach to modify one’s stuttering.

The ultimate goal of Fluency SIS is to increase a child’s communication skills by desensitizing them to fear and negative reactions of the listeners. It reduces anxiety and anticipation.

The Fluency SIS is an award-winning application that utilizes humor and creativity to teach the child to maintain a positive outlook towards communication and stuttering.

You can download Fluency SIS for your iPad.

3. Stamurai

Stamurai is an award-winning app that helps users learn and practice speech therapy exercises.

It uses stuttering modification and fluency shaping strategies. 

The user can customize the app to suit their needs. It uses AI to adapt to the user’s needs as they progress.

Here’s what it has in store for you/your child –

1. Instructional videos for stuttering exercises
2. Tool suite for practice exercises
3. Breathing exercises
4. Delayed auditory feedback (DAF) for fluency
5. Meditation to help users relax.
6. Moderated video group calls for real-life practice
7. Stamurai makes tracking progress easy with visual tools.

Currently, the most comprehensive app for the treatment of stuttering, Stamurai is available for Android and iOS devices. Not just children who can follow instruction, adults can also use the app to learn how to overcome or reduce their stutters. 

4. Fluency Tracker

The Fluency Tracker is the ideal app for children who stutter as well as their parents. It is a unique app that aims to improve children’s positive attitudes and feelings about stuttering.

Fluency tracker also reduces avoidance behavior upon long-term use.

Parents or even the child can include data on how often stuttering occurs throughout the day. particular incidents or people who increase their disfluency. Parents or children can keep records of when they avoided speaking and why.

The Fluency Tracker app can process the entirety of the data and give a comprehensive overview of a child’s attitudes towards speaking and anxiety. The reports can aid the speech therapist or SLP to customize their therapy.

This speech therapy app is available only for iPhone users.

5. TallyTots

TallyTots is a unique speech therapy app that even toddlers can use. It is especially useful for children who struggle with articulation.

It can help by giving children two-word combinations, counting, and concepts. It is an interactive and engaging app. TallyTots contains over 20 mini-games that keep toddlers and preschoolers engaged for hours.

Here’s what the TallyTots repertoire has for you –

1. 20 puzzles and games that help kids learn counting, sorting, order, and quantity.
2. Sing-along counting song
3. Assisted counting guide (counts till 100)

The TallyTots app is available for all Android and iOS users..

6. Splingo’s Language Universe

Splingo’s Language Universe is an interactive game cum therapy app that has been designed by therapists for children.

It is an exceptional app that allows children to practice their language and listening skills. It allows the users to interact with animations and images. All they have to do is follow the instructions of Splingo the alien.

It has four different levels.

1. Level 1 – it is ideal for children of ages 18 months and above
2. Level 2 – perfect for children between the ages of two and three years
3. Level 3 – suited for children three to four years old
4. Level 4 – helpful for children of ages four years and older

Splingo’s Language Universe is a customizable game that allows a combination of levels depending upon the child’s developmental stages.

The app is available for iPad, iPod, and iPhones.

Final Words

If your child is having difficulty with speech, be sure to consult an SLP as soon as possible. This should undoubtedly be your first option. 

But, it isn’t always possible for parents to visit SLPs. 

On top of that, speech therapy isn’t exactly cheap. In the United States, for instance, one session with an experienced SLP can cost around $100. 

So, it makes sense to consider using speech therapy apps if traditional speech therapy isn’t an option. 

Keep in mind that all speech therapy apps discussed above are not a substitute for professional intervention. 

Many of these speech therapy apps are recommended by speech therapists. Using at least one of them consistently can help the therapist or SLP customize their treatment based on the child’s improvements and response to speech modification techniques on the apps.