App Name/Publisher: Speech with Milo: Verbs/Doonan Speech Therapy

Description: This is a great program for working on verbs usage. It is designed for children to play independently, but by turning off the sound, it quickly becomes a great tool for clinicians. When a child is playing alone, he simply touches Milo’s belly to get him moving, and the action he is doing is stated (“write”) and then when the “Phrase” button is touched a voice clearly describes the action that Milo is doing (e.g., “Milo is writing a story”). The spoken phrase is always in the present tense, but by turning off the sound, the clinician can use the actions to work on a variety of goals…

Therapy Use: The app comes pre-programmed with a vast number of verbs, which can be chosen by the clinician to address specific goals. Once verbs are chosen from the master list, Milo acts out each verb for a few seconds. The screen does not move onto the next verb until the “next” button is pressed. This feature is particularly helpful for a clinician as it provides time for the child to describe the action and for the clinician to give feedback before moving on to the next action. The action can also be re-played by simply touch Milo’s belly, giving more time for learning.


Another great feature is that Milo “takes a break” after ten actions have been presented. At this point, the child needs to feed Milo some cheese before moving on to another set. This keeps kids motivated to keep going, or provides a clear stopping point, whichever works best.

App Benefits/Likes: The best part of this app is the extensive verb list and the fact that you can choose specific verbs each time you play. I like it for working on past tense, because you can program a list containing either regular or irregular past tense forms. Another benefit is the very engaging animation. Kids love it!

Cautions: Once kids figure out that they can activate Milo and the “next” button, keeping them focused upon the objective at hand can be tricky. This does make it a great vehicle to work on impulse control though…

App Summary

Skill(s) Targeted
Articulation & Phonology
Fluency
Expressive & Receptive Language

Age/Grade Levels Targeted
Toddler
Preschool
Kindergarten
Early Elementary (Grades 1 – 3)

How to Activate
Isolated finger point
Touch and release

Type of Device
iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad

Cost
$2.99

Would you recommend this app?
Yes

Hyperlink
itunes.apple.com/us/app/speech-with-milo-verbs/id405441288?mt=8

Reviewed by
Karen S Head, MS, CCC-SLP
Children’s Therapy Associates
all4mychild.com (coming June 2011)

Review Date
June 1, 2011