The resources I recommend are age-appropriate apps for
smartphones or tablets. I have had a lot
of experience trying to engage with school-aged boys who are often withdrawn
and guarded. I often used my smartphone
and general age-appropriate game apps to initiate conversation with me. Apps that the child is already familiar with
is a good way to build rapport. Children
delight in teaching others how to play the games and try to impress others with
their skills. Also, using a smartphone
or tablet requires close proximity, which usually enables eye contact and more
conversation. Furthermore, showing a
child that you are interested and engaged in their interests and that therapy
can be a fun thing to do will build a positive foundation. Luckily, in order to keep a child from
accessing inappropriate apps or the internet, you can preplan and upload only
apps that are useful and block other applications on the device. For games I predominately used it only as a
rapport builder or as a reward system. I
find that this is most useful during one-on-one interaction with school-aged
boys. Some appropriate game apps
depending on age are:
Toca Boca: play
studio that encourages creativity
Cut The Rope: fun
puzzle game based on physics but appropriate even for very young kids
Breathe, Think, Do
with Sesame Gallery: solve problems while learning coping skills
Tetris Blitz: the
classic Tetris game with a twist
LEGO Batman: DC Super
Heroes: some violence but very cartoonish, puzzles
There are now apps specifically designed for clinical
intervention. If a child has access to a phone or tablet at home there are a
series of useful apps for different therapies.
Most of these apps work through building skills and techniques that the
child is learning in therapy. Some also
provide ways to monitor their emotions and behaviors. Not only does this help
the child understand the illness better and practice skills between therapy
sessions, the child can bring the app to the therapist to review the data.
Bellybio: teaches
and monitors deep breathing to reduce stress and anxiety
eCBT: assess
stress, teaches relaxation techniques, provides information on CBT
DBT Diary and Skills
Coach: diary card, teaches DBT skills and mindfulness, DBT coaching
Optimism: track
mood, learn triggers, recognize the beginning of mood decline
kid CBT*ABC way: identify
negative thoughts, challenge them with new, reasonable thoughts
IPACS: Interactive
Picture Assisted Communication System or a Text to Speech app that uses pictures to assist Autistic or other speech
impaired children communicate
Iprompt: picture
schedule for Autism Spectrum Disorders
SmartCAT: skills
coaching, skills practice, reminders to practice skills, track progress
*Therapy applications should only aid and assist in therapy
with a professional and should never replace the advice of a clinician
This list is only a fraction of what is available. Common Sense Media has is a very good website
to review apps, find educational and special education apps, search apps by
age, etc. In addition they review
movies, games, TV, books, websites, and music.
They advocate for the improvement of the media landscape for kids and
families. However, they do not endorse
censorship, but informed decision making and media responsibility.
Thanks for all of these apps! My agency is in the process of acquiring ipads for use in the clinical setting and I look forward bringing this information to my agency!
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great tool for engaging children and youth. Incorporating technology can definitely make therapy feel more fun. It can help children to be more motivated to apply skills between sessions and can provide helpful information to the therapist (with apps such as mood trackers). It's a good reminder that, as clinicians, we need to not only keep up with developments in treatments and research, but also technology and ways to make treatment feel relevant to youth.
ReplyDeleteSome other good therapy-related apps that have been recommended by people in the field are: Breath2relax and T2 Mood Tracker. Both are free to download.