Speech Blubs {app review}
Speech Blubs is an app created in conjunction with speech therapists for children ages 1 through 8 who struggle with issues related to speech and language development. The app is designed to help with a range of speech development issues including apraxia, articulation, and speech delay.
This speech therapy app works by using video modeling. Video modeling is a research-based approach that’s highly effective in helping children with autism and speech delay. To help children learn faster, Speech Blubs uses a modeling system involving children. This makes it extremely appealing for children to learn new words and model what their “peers” say.
A Speech Blubs Review Of The Assessment
When you first download the app, there is an assessment parents take to determine their child’s speech and language issues and what areas a child needs help with. As a parent to a child with non-verbal autism, I was truly impressed with the assessment alone! This is one of the reasons I’m writing a Speech Blubs review. The Speech Blubs app is completely customized to meet your child’s specific speech and language problems to help your child improve.
The assessment begins by asking your child’s birth date to determine age and where he/she is developmentally. Then it goes on to ask what conditions your child is diagnosed with. For my four-year-old with autism I checked the following diagnoses:
- Speech delay
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Developmental delay
- Sensory Integration Disorder
From there, the assessment goes on to ask questions regarding hearing, pragmatics, play, comprehension, and talking. Then a report is generated to show you how many potential issues your child has in each category of assessment. For this Speech Blubs review, I’ll tell you the report generated significant potential issues in every category for my son. While it was depressing to see and read, the assessment helped me understand what specific areas of speech and language my son needed improvement in.
A Speech Blubs Review Of The App
Within the app, there are many categories of video modeling sections to interest every child. My son’s favorite sections include “Get Into Shapes,” “Numbers And Me,” “Ride Your Wheels,” and “Toy Box.” In each section, your child learns new words associated with the section theme and watches video modeling of their “peers” (other children) saying the word slowly and accurately.
My autistic child thrives off repetition! The Speech Blubs app displays video modeling with peers that are on a loop. My child can continue to watch another child say the word as long as he wants to! This is great for learning because the more my son sees and hears the word the better he understands the word.
Another added feature to the video modeling system is using “rewards” to keep children interested in learning new words. For instance, in the section “Numbers And Me” the video shows the child saying the word “ten.” Then, a small number 10 appears in the corner of the video. Your child can click on it and see an animated video of the number 10 being drawn with a crayon. This was very rewarding for my son and kept him engaged to go back and click more numbers to learn.
Other theme sections covered on the Speech Blubs app include:
- Early Sounds
- Guess The Word
- Guess The Sound
- What A Feeling!
- Sing Along!
- Animal Kingdom
- Puzzle Power
- We Are Family
- When I Grow
- Riddle Me This
- Yummy Time
- Toy Box
- Outdoor Wonders
- Petting Zoo
- Mouth Gym
- Dino Rawrs
- Living Colors
- Getting Dressed
- School Rocks
- Star Words
- This Is My Body
- Sweet Home
Plus, new content is added regularly!
My Honest Speech Blubs Review As A Parent
I love Speech Blubs! Since my son has autism, he is a very visual learner! That includes visuals with speech and language development. I use a combination of verbal speech and sign language to help my son speak more. While I’ve noticed major improvements, I feel the Speech Blubs app with time will improve my son’s speech development further.
Video modeling allows my son to see how another child says the word slowly, which is important for him to improve the articulation of his words. This is an area of his speech I am concerned about because when he does speak his words are hard to understand at times. For instance, when he says “Milk please,” it comes out sounding like “Ilk peas.”
Along with articulation issues, his speaking is very quick and sing-songy at times. I’m hoping with the video modeling, he can begin to slow down and focus on pronouncing his words more. While I know Speech Blubs is not a replacement for in-person speech therapy with a qualified Speech-Language Pathologist, right now it is supplementing some of my son’s speech therapy lessons at the moment.
If you enjoyed this Speech Blubs Review, you can start a free trial of the Speech Blubs app!