Speech Therapy Selfies: Say What?

It may seem silly to think about at first, but selfies are actually helping speech therapy. Thanks to an app called Wacky Selfie Articulation, available for iOS devices, students are combing selfie fun with speech learning activities. You can download it in the App Store for $4.99. It is aimed at speech therapy students between the ages of six and eight years of age. It’s functional with iOS8 or later, and works on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.

Here’s how it works:

Choose the sound you’re working on, and its position in the app. Then line up with the camera so you fit within the lines, and tap the red button to take your selfie. Then, an object with the corresponding speech sound is placed on the child’s head in the photo, thus creating the whacky selfie.

For instance, if you’re working on the “S” sound, the child’s selfie features a bar of soap on his or her head. Then, before moving onto the next selfie and sound, the child can practice the sound by coming up with sentences to tell a story about why there’s soap sitting on top of his or her head.

But, what if soap isn’t the fun thing? If the child wants to see something else that starts with the S sound, the randomizer button will generate another selfie sticker that’s specific to the selected sound.

What Sounds Can You Work On?

There’s a collection of more than 400 sound-specific stickers for SH, CH, TH, S/R/L blends, S, Z, R, and L.

Why Does This Approach Work?

It makes practice fun for both students and speech pathologists, and deviates from the standard flash card, word repetition approach used in so many classrooms. Plus, the app is fun to use in the classroom environment, either one-on-one, in a group, in-person, or via teletherapy. And, because it’s an app based program, it’s easy for parents to use at home with their kids, too.

If selfies aren’t your thing, there’s also Dance Party Articulation for $2.99, which focuses on 500 wacky dance instructions to help SLPs work with students on the same speech sounds. Game Show Articulation, also available for $2.99, uses a game show question and answer format, for a chance to win prizes, working with more than 600 sound specific articulation words. This is a good choice for devices that don’t support iOS 8, as it works with iOS7 and higher.