Let’s take a dive into the technology world of occupational therapy! Normally, it can be hard to keep your child’s attention throughout the day, but there is a way to help keep their attention span on track. Using fun occupational therapy apps is a great way to manage your child’s attention. Here I will list several occupational therapy apps that can be used as an activity or as a quick break between other activities. Many therapists like to use apps to take breaks or reward the child at the end of the session. These apps are wonderful tools to use at home for online learning and learning at home.
Below I listed the occupational therapy apps into the targeted skill area that will work best for your child. I will able to find apps that help with handwriting skills and letter formation, visual motor skills, visual perception, fine motor skills, and auditory skills. The apps that I listed can be download on IOS apps for iPhones and the Google Play Store on Androids.
Apps for Handwriting Skills and Letter Formation
Shelby’s Quest- $4.99 – This app was created and designed by an occupational therapist who wanted to give children a fun way to practice their fine motor skills and visual perception skills. Each activity found on the app allows your child to work on their visual motor, visual matching, fine motor, and visual-motor integration at 3 different levels.
iWrite Words – $2.99 - This app can help improve your child’s fine motor skills and handwriting skills. It is one of the best letter tracing apps around that has many activities that can help teach your child how to write. While your child is on the app, it gives back auditory and visual feedback, telling your children to stay on the lines. You can download this amazing app on the iTunes store.
iTrace - $3.99 - This handwriting app allows your child to work on their visual-motor skills and letter formation. There are many different activities that can help your child learn how to trace letters, numbers, words, and shapes.
Writing Wizard –$4.99 - This app allows your child to trace letters along with a visual guide. There are several different fonts that your child can trace. Check out this app on the Google Play Store.
Start Dot – $1.99 - This letter formation app allows your child to trace the words using visual, auditory, and movement cues. It allows your child to use accuracy and independence when tracing the letter.
Apps for Visual Perception
iDoodle Card - $0.99 – This fun app allows your child to work on their visual motor and visual perception skills using just 54 drawing activities such as mazes, coloring, drawing, and freehand. Your child can practice their skills by picking from 6 different colored markers. Users can save their masterpieces with screenshots by referring to them from outside the app.
Highlights Hidden Pictures - $2.99 – On this app, there are over 50 hidden picture activities that can help work on figure-ground skills. As your child finds the hidden figures and touches them, the figures turn from black to white into color. After they finish the puzzle, the entire picture turns from black to white into color.
Chocolate Fix – Free – This app is great to help develop your child’s problem solving, planning, visual motor, and visual perception skills. Your child can play this game at any time of the day!
Visual Attention Therapy- $9.99 - This app was designed to help your child visual scanning from left to right, making it the perfect app to practice your child’s pre-reading skill. Your child can practice their scanning activities as they play 10 different levels.
Gloop – Free – This app is a fun visual stimulation app your child can download from the iTunes store. Your child can move the “gloop” around the screen with their fingers. They can also set up it the way they want to by changing the colors, density, and even more!
Little Finder – Free – This app allows for two kids to play against each other and battle it out for some points to find hidden objects. It is the perfect way to get some playtime with your family!
My Little Suitcase – Free – This visual memory game allows for 4 players to play. The players need to find the matches for all of the items they are going to pack in their suitcase and then guess where they are going to be traveling based on what they packed!
Fluidity – Free- This cool app is like a virtual lava lamp; it can calm and soothe your child while they are using the app. You can control the flow and change the color as you please with just the tips of your hands. It is the perfect combination to practice for visual stimulation and fine motor skills. So cool!
Apps for Fine Motor Skills
Ready to Print- $9.99 – Even though this app is pricey, it is the perfect app to work on your child’s pre-writing skills. This app was created by an occupational therapist with over 25 years of experience with working children. It has 13 different activities so that your child can master their visual motor, visual perception, and fine motor skills that are necessary for correcting printing patterns.
Dexteria- $3.99 – This app allows your child to work on 3 different activities, such as finger isolation activity, an activity that encourages grasping, and a writing/tracing activity. On the app, there is an option that allows several users to store and track their progress and data.
Slide and Spin - $2.99 - This app was designed for toddlers ages 18 months and up. It works on the basics of fine motor skills: turning, sliding, spinning, and pushing a button. Check out this fun app on the iTunes store!
Dot to Dot Game – Connect the dots ABC Kids Games – Free – This app is perfect for young children who need help with working on precision, dexterity, and fine motor skills. It works primarily on letter formation.
Tiny Roads – Free- This app allows your child to connect items while working on precision and finger isolation. You can download this app on the Google Play Store.
Apps for Auditory Skills
Annoying Sounds App– Free – This auditory app can be found on both the Google Play Store and iTunes store. If your child is bothered or distracted by some sound, then this app may help your child. With this app, your child can listen to different sounds and control the volume as they please.
Songify– Free – You can download this app for free on Google Play Store. This app allows your child to turn everyday phrases and words into songs! It has the perfect tools to work on improving your child’s speech and language.
Sleep Pillow - $1.99 – This auditory app is the perfect app to use when you are trying to calm down your child. On this app, there can several different white noises and calming sound options, such as waves, thunderstorms, and a crackling fire. White noise is the best for providing a calming auditory background noise at home, in therapy, and in the classroom.
Beat Box – Free – You can download this auditory sensory app on your iPad to give your child some extra noise and sound to stay on track!
Drum Kit– Free – This fun awesome app is great for an auditory sensory break. Your child can discover what a drum kit sounds like!
I Hear Ewe– Free – This app has 3 pages of picture cards that your child can tap to hear animal and vehicle sounds. You can use this app for an auditory break between activities or use it as a sound guessing game.
What apps do you use in your therapy practice, the classroom, or at your home? Feel free to share what apps you use.
For more information, click on the following websites.
After five years in practice, I decided that I needed to upgrade the look of my office to allow for optimal patient care. Upon researching some possibilities, I came across the Fun Factory Sensory Gym. I immediately called the company to purchase my own gym unit. We scheduled an install date and in three short days, my gym and my vision were complete. My patients and their parents walk in and are amazed at the beautiful and fun set up. I truly feel that my patients are getting the most effective and efficient care because I have the best equipment to address their individual needs. With the Fun Factory Gym equipment, I am able to help these children improve by Leaps and Bounds!
Jill Kissel
Clinic Owner
The Kaufman Children’s Center
The Kaufman Children’s Center was proud to announce an exciting upgrade made here at the KCC. Over a long weekend in late January 2013, we completed a huge remodel to our sensory gym.
The Kaufman Children's Center
Our Fun Factory Sensory Gym has been life changing for our family! The entire experience of having the FFSG team in our home was so enjoyable. The crew’s heart and soul is behind the work they’re doing. From the first phone call, FFSG was committed to helping our family and our 3 small children with their various special needs. We have already experienced the calming effects of the net swing and the multiple ways the entire gym provides sensory input and regulation for our intense sensory seekers. What a great tool for our family and more than worth the investment!
