Auditory Workout is a way to get pumped up about improving auditory attention and memory. Developed by a speech and language pathologist, Auditory Workout is a great app for children ages 4 to 10 with auditory processing disorders, receptive language disorder, or autism.
Through the learning games in Auditory Workout, children earn a basketball for each correct answer. When they earn enough basketballs, they are rewarded with a game of catch (for younger children) or basketball (for older kids).
Within the settings, you can select if you want Correct/Incorrect Sounds on or off, if you want to show the correct answer, and how loud you want the background noise. The background noise is classroom noise, which helps challenge the user to pay attention and discern the directions from the noise.
Choose from different directions, such as Basic, Quantitative and Spatial, Temporal, and Conditional Directions. Within each type, choose a level of difficulty; each direction type has its own set of levels.
Auditory Workout is an ideal tool for SLPs, and it is a motivating way to practice auditory processing skills. Additionally, parents and caregivers can use this app to enhance what their children do in speech therapy sessions.
Auditory Processing Disorder is exhibited by the inability or difficulty to interpret words, sounds, and sentences. While people with this disorder can hear sounds, their auditory nervous system does not process them. Some characteristics of auditory processing disorder include difficulty remembering what was said, trouble following directions, difficulty listening in noisy environments, problems with increasing vocabulary or learning new information, and delayed responses to questions.
Auditory Workout improves all of these symptoms; research suggests that frequent and repetitive training, such as what is provided with this app, can improve auditory processing. The app has many levels, and children will build upon what they learn. The games are challenging, and the reward gives children great motivation.
Auditory Workout is an iPad app released by Virtual Speech Center, Inc. and costs $14.99.
