Here Are 9 Best Speech Therapy Apps of 2020

Millions of people worldwide suffer from a wide range of communication disorders. Until the advent of the desktop and mobile applications, the only way people could access speech therapy was by visiting Speech and Language Pathologists (SLPs) in-person.

Traditional speech therapy is neither affordable nor accessible to millions of people. Participating in speech therapy sessions on a regular basis is also challenging. Modern-day speech therapy apps help bridge these gaps quite well.

Ongoing technological advancements, such as the development of augmented tongue ultrasound for speech therapy, also make one hopeful that hardware and software applications in the near future will make better treatments more accessible and affordable for people struggling with various speech disorders.

Here in this post, we will discuss the nine best speech therapy apps of 2020. Read on.

1. Stamurai – A Speech Therapy App for People Who Stutter

A stuttering treatment app, Stamurai helps users learn and practice a multitude of speech exercises. This speech therapy app includes various stuttering therapy tutorials and guided training plan.

Users also receive assessment reports that help them track their progress. Using Stamurai is like having your own personal therapist helping you overcome your stutters. The app is available for both Android and iOS devices.

Stamurai users can also participate in group video sessions moderated by experienced speech and language pathologists (SLPs). Users can talk and practice speech exercises in these sessions.

2. Articulation Station – Helps Kids Learn & Pronounce Different Sounds

A comprehensive speech therapy app, Articulation Station has been designed specifically for children.

Available on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, Articulation Station lets children practice 22 sounds at three levels including the word, sentence, and story.

Practicing these sounds through engaging flashcards, matching games, rotating sentences, and stories essentially help a kid learn how to pronounce the initial, medial, and last positions of different words.

You can use either a free or a paid version of this speech therapy app.

3. Splingo – Helps Toddlers Develop Listening & Language Skills

The Splingo app has been designed with a focus on helping kids learn nouns, verbs, adjectives, and prepositions.

The app encourages kids to learn various aspects of language through engaging animations and games involving spaceships and aliens.

Developed by speech and language therapists, the Splingo App is suitable for early-age language development in toddlers aged 18+ months as well as kids aged 4+ years who are learning to integrate multiple aspects of language.  

This app is available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.

4. Speech Tutor – Helps Elementary School Kids Learn How to Produce A Specific Sound

An SLP and parent-friendly speech therapy app, Speech Tutor has been designed for elementary school kids. The app includes two articulation screeners and multiple articulation decks.

With 2-D movies, this speech toolbox lets users see a front and a side view inside the head (articulator-movement). Kids can pick a sound; watch an animation to learn how it is made, and then practice creating the sound.

With Speech Tutor, users can easily identify sounds they need to work on.

5. Naming Therapy – A Speech Therapy App for Stroke Patients

Designed for stroke victims, this app helps users overcome anomia – a condition exhibited by a deficit of expressive language.

Stroke patients who struggle to find the right words or recall names to express themselves can use Naming Therapy or its sequel – Advanced Naming Therapy to rewire their brains through speech therapy exercises.

6. LAMP Words for Life – A Speech Therapy App for Children with Autism  

Designed to meet the varied communication needs of children with autism, this speech therapy app is used with LAMP (Language Acquisition through Motor Planning) – a therapeutic approach that utilizes motor plans for vocabulary access.

Available for iPad, the app offers three vocabulary skill levels. Kids who have just begun communicating will benefit from its symbol-based approach. Older children with advanced language skills can also benefit from the app.   

7. Apraxia Therapy – Helps People with Apraxia Speak Again

A video-assisted speech therapy app for people with Apraxia – a speech disorder – Apraxia Therapy helps users speak correctly and consistently. With this app, users can repeat what they hear and see.

Videos demonstrate the mouth movements and it is possible to work at three different speed levels.

8. Keyword Understanding – A Receptive Language App for Children  

An auditory processing and receptive language app designed for children experiencing receptive language disorder, auditory processing difficulties, reduced attention, and autism spectrum disorders, Keyword Understanding comes with multiple levels.

Speech therapists often use this app to work with young students with autism and language delay problems.

9. Talking Larry the Bird – App for Speech and Language Development in Kids  

A fun app, it features a word named Larry. The bird repeats back everything in a funny voice. The app encourages children to work on their speech and language skills in an amusing way.

Speech therapists and parents can use this simple yet effective speech therapy app with children who are very hesitant to talk or make noises. 

Author Bio: 

Meet Singhal is a Person who Stutters and the founder of Stamurai – a speech therapy app containing stuttering modification and fluency shaping strategies, tools like DAF, meditations, scientific assessments, and community support to help people who stutter (PWS) overcome stuttering. An engineer by training, he has been practicing self-therapy for the past 7 years and is passionate about helping PWS lead normal lives. He can be found on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.