An App Review: Word Vault

Disclaimer: The Word Vault app was provided to me but opinions are mine.

Have you heard of Word Vault? I hadn't until last week, but I have given it quite a workout in the one week I've had it!

Word Vault comes from Home Speech Home, which is run by Luke and Hollie, two SLPs. Word Vault provides TONS of words that are practical for therapy for articulation, apraxia, phonological processes, language, and social. Interested yet? Let's take a look.

Here is the home page. Simple. So easy to use while doing therapy. The bottom tool bar give options for Home, using multiple screens within the app, emailing, information about Word Vault, and my favorite, the question mark for telling me what all of my options are. Have I mentioned that I am very much a digital immigrant? I love this directory.

Articulation Vault/Phonology Vault:
The Articulation Vault has 87 (!) word lists, and I can look by sound, syllable, or position! Within this level are even more levels, all the way from syllable to conversation. And a really cool feature? Just use the mail button at the bottom to email the list to parents! Super easy communication!

My first favorite part of the Articulation and Phonology Vaults is how they address apraxia. Apraxic students seem to be on the increase in my district, so I am happy to have more resources. Word Vault contains tons of vowel lists, nonsense syllables, and multisyllabic word lists.

My second favorite part of the two vaults is the minimal word pairs section, particularly the w/r list. Minimal pairs were becoming popular when I started as an SLP, and I still find value in them.

My third favorite part is how the lists use IPA symbols because I'm geeky like that.

Language Vault:
The Language Vault has 22 sections. I love the categories because I've started working on vocabulary more in categories than single-word use. My favorite part of the Language Vault is Directions. I have such a hard time going beyond, "Clap your hands and touch your nose", and Directions has sections for 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-step directions, plus a set of conditional directions (If you like school, clap your hands). I see the directions being a super time-saver for me! My previous option was flipping through pages of HELP books. This is so much easier. Here's a sample of the lists:

And then, there's also a Social Vault!

I haven't used this one as much in the week I've had the app, but I see a lot of use in the future, especially with Idioms.

Summary:
After only one week, I am loving Word Vault! It is easy enough for me to look up lists while doing therapy, and there are enough lists to cover almost everything my students are working on! I don't have to refer to and go through all my HELP books and card decks to find words I need. It's super easy to use, and I am not a technology person. And yes, the price at $9.99 can cause some gulps, but it's a bargain compared to ordering everything in hard product form. Word Vault is a must-have for SLPs!