{Review} Tiga Talk Apps

If you are looking for a few apps to target articulation skills and/or apraxia, look no further than Tiga Talk apps!  Tiga Talk apps are designed to "help children who are in the beginning stages of speaking learn how to make 23 core phonetic sounds through playful voice-controlled games that can improve speech clarity and articulation".

"Tiga Talk Speech Therapy Games" provides students with lessons and games that promote correct speech sound production.

To begin, watch the tutorial about the app.  This will make using the app much easier.

The lessons are divided into easy sounds, that include /d/, /b/, /m/, /t/, /n/, /p/, "y", /w/, and /h/.

Medium lessons include /g/, /f/, /s/, /k/, and "sh" sounds.

Hard lessons include "j", /l/, "ch", /v/, /r/, /z/, /pl/, /sp/, and /gr/.

Simply pick the sound lesson that you'd like. The app presents each lesson with the help of an animal.  The animal explains the sound and compares it to the sound of an object, so that the child has a point of reference. Then, the child repeats the sound. When a child repeats the sound, the bottom bar moves from red to yellow to green, depending on the child's volume.  

Below, the /b/ lesson has been selected.  The sound is connected to the sound that a bouncing ball makes on the ground.

By selecting the mouth icon, students can see a visual demonstration of how the sound is made.  I like this feature because it really allows the student to zone in on the articulators.

In addition to the lessons, students can also play a game that goes along with each sound.  The child must state the selected sound in order to create a reaction, (e.g. move tires, move a boat, etc).  Here, the balloons must be popped in order to reveal an object.

Balloons are removed with every few repetitions until the object is revealed.

Other games include dam busting, boat crossing, tipping tires, car racing, propeller pop, yay for hay, whirling helicopter, hot air balloon pop, glacier breaking, flying hot air balloon, sub secret, crate crashing, sub swim, jumping the tracks, log lugging, train challenge, vanishing kids, rocket ship to the rescue, zoom to the moon, pop and play, space rock block, and green ground bound!

What I love about this app:

- the visual cues that students can watch that really draw their attention to the articulators.

- the variety of sounds included, from easy to hard.

- the way that it links each speech sound to a sound in the environment.

What I would like to see in an update:

- I wish that there was a way to use each game with any sound instead of each game being tied with a specific sound, since more variety would hold a student's attention longer and throughout multiple sessions.

You can find this great app for $4.99 at iTunes!

"Tiga Talk Campfire Adventure" is an interactive storybook that promotes correct speech sound production.

As with any app, always watch the tutorial.

The premise of the app is that the whiskey jack took Ribbit and then stole the voices of all of the other animals' voices.  Students must help give the animals their voices back, in order to give clues of Ribbit's whereabouts, by saying their sounds.  To start the story, touch "play" on the main screen.  A short story explains the situation. Then, students must complete a task to hear a special sound being played, which the student can repeat.

Next, the student can decide between two animals, who they should visit.  The story continues in this fashion.

Students can also play games with individual sounds to give the animals their voices back.  To access a specific speech sound, go to the "scene selection" and tap on the appropriate sound.

Here, the snake has lost his face.  He can only get it back if a student finds his snake friends.

Once all of the snakes are found, the snake gives a clue about the whiskey jack by saying the /s/ sound, which provides a nice model for students.

What I love about this app:

- it is a fun and interactive way to teach students about specific speech sounds.

- the graphics are bright and vibrant.

- students have to do certain tasks to visit more animals, which keeps them engaged in the activity.

What I would like to see in an update:

- I would love for there to be a way to get more practice/repetitions with each sound.

You can find this cool app for $4.99 at iTunes!

What sound do you think you would use most when working with these Tiga Talk apps?

Disclaimer: These apps were given to me for review.  No other compensation was provided.