Every week I receive phone calls from parents asking me to work
with their child, often stating that they can talk 'fine' it just some speech
sound errors. On first meeting the child I can see that yes the child does have
some problems with speech sounds and is talking in full sentences, but on
closer inspection realise that much of what the child is saying doesn't make a
lot of sense. Children often struggle to plan and organise their ideas in a
logical way, which results in the listener finding it difficult to follow what
they are trying to say and is often the result of a sequencing problem. The
ability to sequence doesn't just correspond to narrative skills, but
encompasses all areas of language development including; speaking,
understanding, thinking, reading and writing.
To keep up with the increasing demand from children to include
some technology based activities in therapy I have recently discovered some
fabulous iPad Apps from Colorcards, which help me to target sequencing problems
and the interactive activities are both motivating and engaging for children of
all ages.
When working with either a group or individual children I like to
use the 'Everyday Objects' app first to ensue the child is able to describe the
pictures accurately, as a foundation skill to sequencing. All three sequence
apps ie 'Basic', '4-step' and '6&8 step' are definitely worth investing in,
as it is vital to ensue the child fully understands the concepts of first, next
and last in a simple three part sequence, before you can expect them to build
up to large sequences and then eventually prediction. The added extra of an
accessible report template is quick to use and enables me to comprehensively
track progress throughout the therapy process.
Each app has the great ability to set up multiple student
accounts which can be tailored to target individual difficulties and goals.
Differentiating between three levels (easy, medium, hard) is fantastic for
building confidence with even low level abilities and being able to input your
own images supports the child to be fully engaged in their own learning. Often
some of the children I come into contact with have had limited and varying life
experiences, so the option of creating your own story sequences ensures these
apps are accessible to everyone.
Natasha Hallam
