iPhone helps Speech Therapists assess and track Present Levels of Performance (PLOPs)

Feb. 4, 2010 - PRLog -- iPhone applications are now being utilized in Special Education to determine Present Levels of Performance (PLOPs) for articulation skills. PLOPs are the current level of accuracy exhibited by the student at a given period of time. Some state regulations now mandate that PLOPs become part of the assessment data collected when determining the presence of a disability. Smarty Ears, a company that has been publishing mobile phone application in the area of special education and speech therapy, has released in January an app called Mobile Articulation Probes (MAP). MAP is an app that helps speech therapists determine the Present Levels of Performance during evaluation or at a later time in therapy to assess therapy success. MAP can also be utilized to as a stimulus for articulation and phonological therapy.

The number of iPhone apps in the field of special education is increasing daily; however; it was not until January that speech therapists had an app that was developed specifically for them. Smarty Ears reports that MAP is one of their most successful products with sales in several countries, such as China, U.K, Australia, Canada and the United States. Speech therapists have claimed that apps bring two advantages to the table: one is the fact that they are using technology, a very motivating tool in therapy; and the other is the affordable price. MAP is being sold on the Apple Store for $29.99. This price is significantly cheaper than any other articulation tool for therapy on the market, and contains features that are significantly more attractive.

During therapy speech therapists are required by law to report the child’s present levels of performance. In the past, speech therapists accounted for PLOPs by marking how many times the stimulus was presented in relation to how many times the response was accurate. This behavior sometimes breaks the flow of therapy and is not time-efficient to the therapist. By using MAP therapists will automatically be tracking PLOPs while presenting the stimulus. MAP has the capacity to track percentage of accuracy per session and over time.

MAP allows parents to be active participants in their children’s speech therapy progress. Parents can download MAP, practice and track their children’s progress throughout the year.

Barbara Fernandes (M.S; CCC-SLP) director of Smarty Ears and creator of MAP, released a statement this week to the press announcing that MAP will also be available in Spanish before the end of February, 2010. She reports that there is an enormous demand for materials in Spanish. Speech therapists, even the ones that do not speak any Spanish, have been providing therapy to children whose primary language is Spanish. The materials in Spanish are rare and very expensive. MAP will be the first of other products the company will design to provide therapists with innovative and user-friendly tools to work with individuals from diverse linguistic backgrounds.

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Smarty Ears is a publishing company in the area of speech and language development and the first one to develop mobile apps for SLPs. For more information visit www.mobilearticulationprobes.com