Pragmatic Skills Series: Apps that promote social skills!

As SLPs, we are now utilizing technology in our therapy sessions.  With the use of iPads, we can encourage use of technology, promote social skills, and problem solving skills while working on a variety of speech and language goals!  Every app can promote social skills in one way or another.  I have tried to narrow it down to highlight my favorites to use in my therapy room! No need to copy and paste all the apps listed, there is an excel spreadsheet at the bottom which includes all of these apps and MANY more!!  Please email me at speechtimefun@gmail.com or comment below if I have forgotten any great ones!  Make sure you read to the bottom to catch all the categories and giveaways!!! 

I have broken down the apps by skill to help you organize and plan which ones to use for which social skills goal.

Conversational Turn-Taking:
Conversation Coach by Silver Lining Multimedia, Inc.

View my previously posted review here!

ConversationBuilder by Mobile Education Tools

Check out my app review in a previous post here!  Mobile Education Tools was extremely generous and provided codes to give away of this amazing app.  Enter this giveaway below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dealing with Social Situations:
Practicing Pragmatics Fun Deck App by Super Duper Inc.

This app is just like their fun deck and it addresses: Politeness, Solving Problems, Feelings, Giving Information, Requesting, Telephone Skills, and Staying on Topic.  For $1.99 it is great!

My DPS (Digital Problem Solver) by The Language Express, Inc

This is a tool to use to identify emotions and coping strategies.  By the developers of "The Social Express" this $0.99 app is great for problem solving in social situations.

Step By Step Playing With Friends With The Wonkidos By Brighter Futures For Beautiful Minds 

This app teaches students how to play with students using a step by step animated video.  Students will learn all skills necessary to interact with peers and play appropriately.  Skills addressed: Saying Hello, Making Eye Contact, Taking Turns Choosing Games.  Visual and video modeling is used to teach students struggling with making and maintaining friends.  After students watch the video, they can practiced learned skills by playing games in the application.  The developers were generous to provide a code for their eBook version and their Video Modeling app.  Enter to win below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Understanding Emotions:
That's How I Feel by Smarty Ears

This app uses Smarty Symbols to promote students to express their feelings. Feelings are divided into three colors – Green positive feelings, Yellow and red negative feelings.

Emotion Detective by InGenius Labs / Brooke Purslowe Psychology

This app addresses these following deficits:

• Identifying emotions in others and themselves
• Understanding non-verbal forms of communication or body language
• Initiating and maintaining conversations
• Understanding the perspectives of others
• Self awareness

This interactive app uses fun and motivating mysteries to teach basic emotions, body language, conversation and perspective taking.  They are reinforced through the app itself.   Great features include: save game so you can stop and play again later (great when cut short with session time), positive reinforcement, scenes motivating and engaging to children, and a certificate that can be printed!!  Great for sending home to demonstrate to a parent what a great job their child has done!  The developers were extremely generous and provided 3 codes to giveaway!  Enter below:

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Storytelling:
You’re the Storyteller: The Surprise (Home Edition) HD by Hamaguchi Apps for Speech, Language & Auditory Development

View my previous app review here!

Story Wheel by EverAge

This is a great free app that promotes story telling and turn taking!

Story dice by Thinkamingo

This app teaches students to use plot, character, and setting to tell stories.  This app with promote storytelling and turn taking.  Students can work together or in a competition.  No reading is necessary!  You can modify the activity to make it more challenging or easier if necessary.  Can students work together to create graphic organizers to plan their stories?  Can they act out their stories?  You can give them situations and make them tell stories with the dice rolled.

 The developers were generous to provide 2 codes on each platform: iOS, Amazon (Android), and Nook of this great app!  Make sure you enter for the version you need!  Enter below!

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveawaya Rafflecopter giveawaya Rafflecopter giveaway

Organization/Planning/Regulating:

Video Scheduler from Look2Learn:  Easy way to create video and visual schedules for students.  This application can be used for video modeling or keeping students organized/calm with sequencing schedules to promote independent learning.  There are tons of features that allow customization which is great for individualizing for the needs of your students.

The developers were generous to provide 2 codes to giveaway of this great app.  Enter below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

i Create...Social Skills Stories

• multiuser
• customizable
• importing personal photos, adding titles, text and audio to unlimited pages
• steps of a storyline for individuals that need help building their social skills

The developers were generous to provide 2 codes to give away!!!  Enter to win below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
All About Me Storybook App

• customizable
• multiuser
• personal categories
• great for teaching students personal information

The developers were generous to provide a copy of this app to giveaway!  Enter to win below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

i See-quence... My Schedules at Home Social Stories

• helps making home routines visual
• multiuser
• customizable with many images to choose from on app
• provide a sequential order of events relating to home routines such as getting ready in the morning.

The developers provided a code to giveaway!  Enter to win this great app below!  Perfect for those that do therapy in the home setting or provide parent training!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

General Conversation Apps:
My PlayHome: This app is just like a doll house but as an app version.

ClickySticky by invocore: This app is just like a sticker book!  Build imagination, storytelling, and conversational skills while playing with this animated sticker book!  Stickers can be dragged onto an imaginary scene.  Can your students take turns and talk about what they are imagining?  

The developers were generous to provide 5 codes to giveaway of this great app!  Enter below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Color Doodle: This free app is a great way to promote chit chatting while coloring!

Scene Speak by Good Karma Applications, Inc : Scene Speak is an interactive app that allows an image to be edited with “hot spots.”  These spots can be edited with sound, labels, or links to other areas.  It is a great tool to promote language skills.   You can create social stories, add custom images, can elicit storytelling or sequencing.  Students can give directions on what to do.  Great for teaching “at home” social situations.

Good Karma Applications was generous and provided 2 codes to giveaway to this great app!  Enter below!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Language Adventures by SmartyEars:  Although this app works on vocabulary/language skills, it uses a board game format that teaches students conversation and turn taking skills. 

View my previous review of this great app here!  If you have not heard, SmartyEars has made a major update to this app.  It now includes categories and inferencing skills!  You are getting so much more for your $!  SmartyEars has been extremely generous and provided 3 codes to giveaway!  Enter to win below!!
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

There are TONS more apps that promote social skills and other language skills.  I could keep going forever!  I created a spreadsheet that summarized the apps listed in this blog post and others I have found.  I hope you find this list useful.  Please feel free to comment or email me if you have other apps to add to this list!  Grab this list here! :)