A.L.L. Series I and Series II App Review
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App Overview
Autism Language Learning (A.L.L.) is a series of speech therapy apps that use video clips to teach language concepts. The difference between a video clip and a still image is that these kids can actually see the entire action or object that is needing to be labeled rather than guessing from a still picture. How many times have you, the adult, chosen to watch a YouTube tutorial to build or cook something rather than simply trying to figure it out from a still image. You can understand why these videos can be such a great learning tool. In this review, I will covering both the A.L.L. Series I and the A.L.L. Series II apps. This will give you a good idea of what to expect in each app and who they are best suited for. You are able to create multiple profiles with this app and collect data so this can be very beneficial to teachers and educators.
App Features
A.L.L. Series I
Series I is designed to teach verbs, pronouns, simple wh questions, and past tense verbs. It starts with verbs and gets more complex as you go through each section. Each section of the app has video clips that demonstrate the action you are wanting the child to identify. The app does include both visual and auditory helps. You can also choose to produce the sentences and mute the audio or exclude the audio and sentences all together. This gives you a lot of options to customize it for the child. To begin, you will see the list of sections on the left side of the main menu. You will click on “Data Tracking” first so that you can create a profile for each child that you will be using this app with. Creating a profile allows you track data and view reports.
After you have created the profiles you want, it will be time to start with Verbs. Click on “Verb+ing” on the top left. Before you start viewing the videos, you will see some choices at the bottom of the screen. You will see the option to select the child you will be working with, choose whether to show the sentences or words, and have the option to record or mute any spoken words. Recording can help with data but may not be necessary at first depending on your goals with the child. You are able to stop and start the recording at any point during the videos.
Once you are good to go, you will click on “Next” to begin and the videos will start. They are very short clips labeling different actions like “running”, “kicking”, and “sitting”. Having used a lot of illustrations and stick figure flash cards, I love the videos because it is so much easier for the child to understand what they are being asked. From this point, it is pretty to easy to navigate through the app. You will finish with verbs, and move onto Singular Pronouns (he + is + ing) , Singular Pronouns (she + is + ing), Plural Pronouns (are + ing), and Mixed Pronouns (+ is/are + ing). To view the data you have collected, you can go back to Data Tracking and click on the childs’ name where you will see the option to view reports.
A.L.L. Series II
The Series II app uses 43 short video clips to help children answer yes/no questions. It also has a collection of 13 still pictures to assist in this goal. This is a great continuation from Series I and has the same great video clips which are clear and to the point. When you get started, you will need to create a profile again just like you did in Section I for each child. You will do this by clicking “Data Tracking”. Most of the app set up is the same. There are three sections which include objects, actions, and facts. One difference in the Section II app is that there is a visual yes/no prompt at the bottom of each clip or picture to encourage them to answer the question with a “yes” or “no”. The child will be asked to discern and answer questions about different objects. For example, a little red wagon picture might be shown and they will be asked, “Is it a computer?”. The child will be prompted to answer “yes” or “no” by clicking on the “yes/no” visuals or by using their words to answer the question. If the child clicks on “yes” when they answer is “No”, the visuals will not go away until they click on the correct answer.
What’s Great About This App
These apps are great for any student with a receptive or expressive language delay. Many children with ALS will benefit and respond better to the visual video clips rather than a cartoon image or still picture. A.L.L. I targets 60 actions and includes 91 video clips while the A.L.L. II includes 13 pictures and 43 video clips. I love how the sections have been set up and set up the child for success and to move at their own pace. I also love the yes/no visual prompts in the A.L.L. II. One of the most beneficial parts of this app is being able to take data and track the progress of the child or student. The data reports are easy to view and understand. Overall I think this is a fantastic app for speech therapy and teaching language concepts.
The Autism Language Learning website can tell you more about their series of speech therapy apps that can benefit children with receptive and expressive language impairments. A.L.L is running a sale right now through the 29th of November to coincide with this review. All apps are half price! (Lowest price ever!) Series I in English and Spanish will be 13.99 and Series II yes/no questions will be 8.99.
Buy A.L.L. in the App Store
a series of speech therapy apps that use video clips to teach language concepts.
