Speech therapy has been shown to improve communication skills, social interactions, and overall quality of life for people with autism. While some speech therapists may use a variety of apps in their work, others may not be as familiar with them.
Autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, is a developmental disorder that affects communication and behavior. While there is no cure for ASD, there are treatments and support systems that can help mitigate some of the challenges associated with it, such as speech therapy.
Speech therapy typically involves working one-on-one with a therapist to help with issues such as pronunciation, articulation of sounds, and language use. But your child doesn’t need to work with a speech therapist in person to benefit from the techniques used in a traditional speech therapy session.
There are several apps available for iOS and Android devices that can help your child improve his or her language skills from the comfort of home—and many are free!
Here are some of the best speech therapy apps for kids on the autism spectrum:
- Proloquo2Go
This app allows users to build up their vocabulary and sentences using pictures or text.
- Language Rx
This app is designed to help people with autism learn language skills by providing them with an interactive environment where they can practice using different words and phrases.
- LAMP Words for Life
this app teaches users how to read using a combination of letters, sounds, and images to spell out words that they want or need in everyday situations (e.g., “I want water”) without having any verbal input from an adult helper or caregiver.
- TalkRocket Go
This app helps children build their vocabulary by speaking into a microphone and then listening back as if they were talking directly into someone’s ear; it also lets users record conversations so that they can revisit important moments later.
Autism is a developmental disorder that affects how an individual communicates, socializes and learns. For an autistic child, it can be difficult to understand the world around them and communicate what they are feeling. Speech therapy apps for autism can help children with autism learn to communicate better.
Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) may work with individuals on the autism spectrum to help improve their speech and language skills—for example, using apps to help improve their social communication skills or fluency.
There are countless apps for the iPad and iPhone that are intended to help children with autism learn to speak. These apps can be helpful tools for parents, teachers, and therapists working with children on the autism spectrum who need assistance with verbal communication. Autism apps can help improve speech sounds, vocabulary, verbal expression, word-finding, and more.