
While most people attribute speech therapy to only children, it is important to know that older adults also experience communication difficulties that are often managed and treated with speech therapy.
Aside from physical or virtual consultations with the therapist, during which you engage in several speech therapy exercises, most people also experiment with using speech therapy apps.
We often downgrade adults’ technological proficiency. However, more adults are becoming tech-savvy, so the use of speech therapy apps for adults with communication difficulties is on the rise.
As a speech therapist or family member, you need to know the best speech therapy apps for adults to help your older adults navigate and use.
And even for those who aren’t as tech-savvy as they would love to be, your speech therapist will guide you through learning how to use speech therapy apps to help manage your condition.
Importance of speech therapy apps for adults
There are several benefits of speech therapy apps for adults, some of which include:
1. Accessibility
Speech therapy apps break down barriers associated with location or movement. Not everyone lives near a speech therapist or can easily travel to appointments.
With speech therapy apps, you can access therapy from anywhere with an internet connection—at home, in transit, or during a lunch break.
2. Convenience
Speech therapy apps offer incredible convenience.
You can do your speech therapy exercises at your own pace, in your own time, and in your own space—no need to worry about scheduling conflicts or rearranging your life or work for therapy appointments.
3. Increased engagement
Some speech therapy apps use gamification, interactive elements, and engaging visuals to make the exercises more fun and motivating. This can improve consistency and yield better results.
4. Progress tracking
Most speech therapy apps have built-in progress-tracking features.
These features allow you to monitor your improvement over time, which can be motivating. Your progress can encourage you to keep working hard and commit to therapy.
Tracking your progress can help you identify necessary areas of improvement.
5. Access to professionals
While apps should not and cannot replace a qualified speech-language pathologist (SLP), some are developed by or in consultation with SLPs.
Some even offer features like teletherapy, allowing you to connect with a therapist remotely. This can be a great way to supplement in-person therapy or get expert guidance.
Factors to consider when choosing a speech therapy app
Using a speech therapy app is not as simple as searching the Google Play Store or Apple Play Store for an app. It is more than getting recommendations from friends or family members.
When it comes to choosing the right speech therapy app, there are some factors to consider, including:
1. Type of speech disorder
Different apps focus on different areas, like articulation, fluency, or language. Ensure the app you choose explicitly addresses the type of speech or language challenge you face.
2. User interface
The app should be easy to use and navigate. Look for apps with clean designs and clear instructions. An app with a nice aesthetic appeal wouldn’t hurt, either.
3. Variety of exercises
A good speech therapy app will offer a range of exercises to keep things interesting and target different language difficulties and skills. Variety helps prevent boredom and keeps you engaged.
4. Professional support
Look for speech therapy apps that offer professional support, specifically apps that allow you to connect remotely with an SLP.
5. Progress tracking
Look for an app that tracks your progress and provides feedback. This helps you see how you’re improving and stay motivated.
6. Cost
Speech therapy apps range in price from free to subscription-based. Consider your budget and what features are most important to you.
Note that free apps may have limited features, while paid apps often offer more functions and features.
Best speech therapy apps for adults
Here are some of the best speech therapy apps for adults:
1. Aptus Speech Therapy
Aptus Speech Therapy apps are for adults and focus on “people with aphasia who have word-finding difficulties, people with aphasia who have difficulty understanding spoken language and reading, and people with unclear speech and a fast speaking rate due to dysarthria.”
Aptus Speech Therapy apps for adults include:
This is a speech therapy app for people with dysarthria. It allows you to read aloud texts at an adjustable rate from the library of poems, stories, tongue twisters, or your favorite pasted texts.
This modern speech pacing board has built-in visual cues and 200+ conversation starter questions. It is designed for people with severe dysarthria or slurred or unclear speech.
This is a single-word listening and reading comprehension therapy for people with aphasia. It includes three comprehension therapy activities and 2000+ picture stimuli.
This is a verb-naming and comprehension app for people with aphasia. It includes a custom verb-naming test.
This is a comprehension app suitable for children and adults. It helps users understand basic concepts (size, color) and improve their listening and reading comprehension at the sentence level.
2. ArtikPix
ArtikPix is a speech therapy app for adults developed by Expressive Solutions. It is available for both iPhone and iPad.
This app engages users with flashcards and matching activities.
Using ArtikPix, speech therapists can configure their students via a set-up assistant. This allows them to configure the student’s dashboard, including sound positions, syllable length, and grammatical and matching levels.
The app lets you score your students individually or in group sessions.
3. Tactus Therapy Apps
Tactus Therapy apps are the best-selling speech therapy apps for adults. They are available on iOS and Android devices.
You can filter app searches based on languages, disorders, or platforms on the official website.
This helps to create a tailored experience for each user.
Tactus Therapy has more than twenty-two (22) speech therapy apps. Here are some of the most used ones:
This app generates interactive word lists based on sounds for articulation and apraxia therapy.
There’s no free version for this, but you can get the paid version for $9.99.
This particular app covers four language areas. It helps to boost speaking, listening, reading, and writing for words for people with aphasia.
It has a free trial, and the paid version costs $69.99.
This app strengthens word connections with flexible exercises to improve language and reasoning skills.
It helps to improve attention and memory, reasoning, and mental organization.
You can try it for free or get the paid version for $19.99.
This app helps you engage in real-life discussions by using pictures and questions that get people talking. It also allows you to practice communication strategies.
It can help to improve language, speed, fluency, cognition, etc.
It has a free trial, and the paid version costs $24.99.
4. Speech Tutor Pro
This app is one of the best all-in-one language and speech therapy apps for adults.
The app has two articulation screeners: the ‘parent-friendly’ and the ‘SLP-friendly’ screeners, which reveal sounds that should be acquired at certain ages.
The articulation decks consist of:
- 33 phoneme decks (Levels: Word, Phrase, Sentence; Positions: Initial, Medial, Final)
- 36 minimal pair decks
- Nearly 5000 different cards
- “Kid Friendly” mode and “Clean” mode for older clients
- Detailed data tracking with line graphs, bar graphs, and word charts to send home for practice, etc.
There are about fifty articulation videos that show sound production for sounds like R (bunched), R (retroflex), L, sh, ch, j, s, z, f, v, th (voiced), th (voiceless), p, b, t, d, k, g, m, n, ing, i, æ, a, and u.
It is available on all Apple devices and costs $69.99.
5. Proloquo2Go AAC
Proloquo2Go is a simple yet powerful AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) tool. It is known as the gold standard in AAC solutions.
The app is fully customizable and can be used to build language skills. It supports both beginning and advanced communicators.
The app is used by people with autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, Angelman syndrome, and others with speech difficulties.
The app is available in English, Spanish, French, and Dutch and supports bilingual use. Its interface and access are also customizable.
Proloquo2Go is available for iPhones and iPads. It can also be used on your Apple Watch but must be paired with an iPhone.
It has a 4.8-star rating and 10.2k ratings on the Apple Store.
Price: $249.99
Conclusion
It’s exciting to see how technology is evolving to support medical needs through teletherapy, telepharmacy, telemedicine, and other forms of communication.
There are many speech therapy apps for adults; however, the best apps depend on individual needs and preferences. What works wonders for one person might not be the perfect fit for another.
That’s why it’s important to explore the different features, try out free trials or demos if available, and talk to your speech-language pathologist for personalized recommendations (I highly recommend this).
So, whether you’re recovering from an injury, managing a long-term condition, or want to improve your communication skills, these apps are worth considering.
At Serenity Pas Therapy, we can make professional recommendations for you.
READ MORE: 9 TOP BENEFITS OF SPEECH THERAPY FOR SENIORS – Serenity Pas Therapy