“App” was the buzz word this year at ASHA, with every talk resuling in crowds overflowing from their rooms. I don’t think I was in a single talk about apps where people weren’t sitting on the floor or where overflow rooms being opened. I believe the interest is two-fold – SLPs wanting to know how to use this new tool in therapy, and SLPs worrying about how this new tool is being used in our field. Before you jump to conclusions, it isn’t just the “old school” SLPs who are doing the worrying. It’s also the tech savvy who have been keeping a close eye on these developments. Everything is good – in moderation. But too often people are quick to jump onto the latest fad, forgetting their “smarts”. One of my favorite quotes from ASHA was heard by one of my fellow SLPs @apujo5 – “Apps do not make a therapist better, a good therapist can creatively intrigue and engage clients technologically using apps.” Are we using apps to run our therapy, or running the therapy ourselves and using apps to support our work?
I went to a pretty uneventful talk on apps at one point during the convention, but tucked somewhere in the middle of the talk was a nougat that grabbed my attention. They were talking about the need for standardized reviews to be completed by therapists in the field. The iTunes ratings are informative, but they are filled out by parents more than those of us in the speech and language/special needs fields. So although they can give us an “idea” ofhow we could use them, we aren’t getting the big picture. Where else could we get the “gestalt” than from those in the trenches just like us? They suggested an outline of information that was pertinent to us in the field, yet quick to reference – just like the iTunes store. I created the form below and would love to hear:
- Your feedback – what else should be on this form? What is not as important to you?
- About the apps you love! Any information submitted may be posted on this blog in the future unless you note you would not like it included in the box at the bottom. It can be annonymous as well.
The form can also be found here.
- Tara, SpeechyKeenSLP
Very well said! I read an article in the not so distant past (which I need to find and post to my site) that said something to the effect that apps are replacing us. I hardly feel that’s the case, since it’s the user, not the app, that really has to make sense of things. But that said, I really like the idea of this rating form.
Perhaps one extra piece of information that would be useful would be: can this app be useful for speech homework? In grad school, I quickly learned that compliance with speech homework was a significant issue, and now we have parents and kids who actively WANT to get engaged. We should capitalize on this and direct our energies in that direction, I think. There’s a vast amount of potential if we do so, both for us as therapists as well as for our clients.
Phil – thank you for taking time to read my post! I agree that is an important part of an app! I think I was trying to cover that with a mix between “sync” and “ease of use”. But perhaps my brain didn’t translate to others’ brains in the form! I’ll add it to the list of possible updates
Did you give it a try? Please do and let me know if its quick “enough” for one to fill out! Lord knows us SLPs don’t have loads of “free time” on our hands!