First Post

"You should put all of this stuff on facebook."

Innocent words, but I think they may have created a monster. This is what one of my favorite parents at the clinic told me after one of our sessions last week, while I was rattling off a list of iPad apps she should check out for her son. It hit me then: I really do have so much information that I am eager to share, but can never possibly tell every single one of my patients. I went home and created a new facebook page (Louise Chamberlin SLP - look me up!) and attempted to sort out how to possibly include all of those apps I was talking about with her into a facebook "note", before quickly realizing it would become a giant jumble of lost information. And then, my blog was born.

I already am thinking of things that I would like to post on here constantly - I have a pile of sticky notes from the last week with notes scribbled on them like "red flags!" and "social stories"... so where to begin? In the spirit of that "special mom" (you know who you are!), I'm going to start with the apps I was excited to tell her about. The rest will come in due time.

These apps are aimed at the preschool-to-young-elementary set, but are so captivating that I even spent a bit longer than I probably should have playing with them by myself!

1) My PlayHome - Full $3.99, Lite FREE
This app is like a virtual dollhouse, with multiple rooms and characters to play with (the Lite version comes with 2 rooms, the kitchen and living room). You can move the family members around the room and use different objects in the room to interact with them - for instance, hold a cupcake to the boy's mouth and a bite will be missing; or put the dad on the couch and watch him bounce! I love the detailed animations and functions of items in the room, which makes this app great for receptive/expressive language skills. Some ideas:
Open the oven. Touch the popscicle. (Following directions)
Put the baby in front of the table. Put Mom beside the TV. (Spatial concepts)
Put all of the fruit on the table. Show me all of the furniture. (Categories)
Make the room dark. Close both of the curtains. (Linguistic concepts)
Does the vase go in the fish tank? Is the TV on? (Y/N questions)
Where is the girl? What do you do with that washing machine? (WH questions)
What is Dad doing? He is drinking the soda. (Syntax)


2) Toddler's Seek and Find HD - FREE
Here is an interesting factoid: originally I downloaded Seek and Find (non-HD) which included the morning scene for free but required an in-app purchase for the afternoon and evening scenes. Then I tried the HD to see if there is a difference (there isn't from what I can tell, on my iPad 2) and found that all of the scenes are free in this version! So be sure to get the HD to maximize the fun :)

For the app itself: It is another fun language app that includes lots of interactive items and characters. When you touch the pictures they react, sometimes in funny and unpredictable ways which is such a delight!
When did the exercising man go to the park? In the afternoon. When do you go to sleep? Is it daytime? (Time concepts)
Why is the lady mad? Because the bird pooped on her head. Why is the man mad? Because the people upstairs are too loud. (Reasoning and cause-effect)
Who is skateboarding? Where is the alligator? What is the man holding? (WH questions)
Show me all of the people playing sports. Let's find all of the animals. (Categories)
Make the helicopter fly faster. Which is going fastest, the helicopter or the airplane? (Comparatives)
They are riding the bus. The bear is playing the trumpet. He is walking across the street. (Syntax)


I could do this all day... oh wait, I do. But I love this stuff, and I LOVE the amazing apps you can get for free.

Thanks for stopping by. Please leave any comments and requests for future posts below - see you again soon!