Today I am reviewing a fun new app by Speak Easy Apps: Feed Maxi. Developed by a speech language pathologist, Pamela Mandell, the app’s purpose is to introduce the child to food labeling and identification.
The goal is to feed Maxi the monkey a balanced diet of 80 food items which include: fruits, vegetables, proteins, dairy, grains and snacks. But Maxi doesn’t just request his food, he also comments, makes choices, rejects, as well as asks for more using sign language (ASL animations).
Intended Audience:
- Toddlers
- Preschoolers
- Children with Special Needs (ASD, Down Syndrome, etc)
- Young children with limited English proficiency
Targeted Skills:
- Functional communication (expressing basic wants and needs)
- Pragmatic communication via targeted use of language
- Attention (to detail) and Concentration
- Picture identification
- Following directions
- Receptive and expressive vocabulary knowledge and use
- Categorization skills
- Cause/effect skills
- Print Recognition
- Visual Scanning and Fine Motor control
App Features:
- Data collection for group therapy (up to 5 children as per federal regulations)
- E-mail option to send results to self/parents, etc.,
- On/off option for voice prompts, text, sound effects & statistics
- Option to specify food item and food category selection
- Option to specify level of play (choose between easy, moderate or difficult)
- Parental control option (to avoid accidental level changes)
App Highlights:
- Real photos of food items
- High interaction level (tapping on various pictures will produce sounds and/or animations)
- App highlights correct responses when the child picks a food item incorrectly
- Fun rewards after correct responses (e.g., balloon popping)
Feed Maxi is a fun and functional app which via a seemingly simple yet engaging set-up (monkey feeding) fosters a number of important skills in emergent communicators. You can find this app in the iTunes store for 4.99, or thanks to Pamela’s generosity you can win your own copy by entering my Rafflecopter giveaway below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I would use Feed Maxi with my special needs preschool students and those I work with who have ASD. I looks engaging. Thank you for the review and giveaway!
I would like to win this to use with my preschoolers with language delays.
I would use Feed Maxi with my special needs students, most who are non-verbal. This would be an great way to work on common nouns, wants and needs, etc. I love that it uses real pictures too! Thank you for the review and giveaway!
I love the variety of skills that you can target! I would you it for young children as well as AAC users.
This would be wonderful with my preschoolers! I have a wide range of abilities, and sounds like this could really benefit quite a few of them!
I would use Feed Maxi with my special needs preschool students, many of whom are non-verbal or use limited sign. This would be an engaging way to work on common nouns, wants and needs, etc. I love that it uses real pictures too! Thank you for the review and giveaway!
This app should be a perfect learning tool for my clients who are on a spectrum, as well as for the kids with apraxia.