PR Log (Press Release) – Mar 19, 2010 – A company created in August of 2009 has been the new breakthrough in the area of speech and language therapy. This company that has been releasing innovative products that combine technology and speech and language sciences, making speech therapy more affordable, fun, and greener. The company has been named “Smarty Ears” and it comes as a fresh, innovative, mesmerizing solution for a variety of issues in the profession. Smarty Ears has been creating innovative iPhone, iPod and iPad applications for speech and language therapists, as well as for individuals with a communication disorder such as stuttering and their parents.
Smarty Ears has already released 10 products on the app Store as of March, 2010 and it is expected to release at least 3 new products per month. Amongst its most popular products is “Mobile Articulation Probes” – an exciting original app that allows for practicing and probing of articulation errors, “WHQuestions” – a great app that provides over 120 Wh questions for practice, “ iPractice Verbs” – an innovative app with visual and auditory information on over 130 verbs at the word and phrase level, “Fluency Tracker” – a handy app that allows for tracking of changes in behaviors associated with stuttering. Smarty Ears will be releasing apps in the area of dysphagia and aphasia within the next month, as they are very enthusiastic to help improve every aspect of speech therapy.
In the past, parents had limited access to Speech and Language materials, which are not only expensive but also usually only advertised for Speech Pathologists. Smarty Ears gives parents the ability to provide their children additional practice in those areas affected by a speech or language disorder. Smarty Ears’ apps are both affordable and easy to use by both parents and children with a communication disorder.
Up until recently Speech Therapists have been limited to ordering paper & pencil activities or creating their own materials to be used with children with communication disorders. These materials are often expensive. Smarty Ears adds one additional possibility to the market, which is the ability to instantly download materials on the iPhone or iPod as well as the ability to order materials way below the price they would pay for flashcards or other paper and pencil materials.
Smarty Ears gives speech therapists a “green” friendly alternative to other speech products such as flash cards because by using their iPhone apps Smarty Ears improves their product whenever there is an application update that users who have already purchased the product can download for free. Printed materials and traditional publishers by contrast are neither generous enough to issue updates to customers that improve their product for free nor consciousness of the waste produced when an older product becomes obsolete. No more having to create eventual waste and fill landfills with products that eventually wear down, get damaged, or become obsolete. Smarty Ears appreciates and listens to both their customers’ needs, and recent research in the speech community to keep their products relevant in an ever changing world.
Not only is Smarty Ears a more environmentally conscious method of conducting therapy it’s also in most cases a more convenient one. Speech therapists often have to move therapy materials from one room to another and often may have wished that everything was more compact. With Smarty Ears, products are all conveniently at your fingertips on the one item that goes everywhere with a person—their iPhone—no more having to search the room or strain one’s arms to gather therapy tools or hope that there isn’t a piece broken or missing.
Children with communication disorders sometimes have reduced attention spans, which makes it difficult for improving their language or articulation skills. Smarty Ears adds the component of technology that children from this generation in particular love, increasing their attention span and making therapy, practice, and progress a much more intrinsic experience.
Smarty Ears is the result of the efforts and creativity of Barbara Fernandes, a licensed and practicing speech and language pathologist. She is a trilingual speech and language pathologist that currently works for a public school district and has worked with children from a variety of multicultural and linguistic backgrounds with a myriad of different needs. Barbara plans to create apps in a variety of languages, which makes Smarty Ears ever more important as the world becomes more and more multilingual and multicultural.
The amount of materials for Speech therapists in languages other than English is very limited. Smarty Ears will be a game changer as publication of its products become available in more and more languages. Smarty Ears already has released two apps in Spanish- “ Mobile Articulation Probes” and “ My bilingual baby”. Bilingual speech therapists are celebrating this new very welcome addition to their “library”.
Smarty Ears mascot “Clever” has added a key feature to Smarty Ears products. The response we are getting from the addition of a mascot to our company has been great! He was first utilized as part of the app iPractice Verbs. “The kids love how funny and silly he sounds!” Says Barbara Fernandes, owner and director of the company.
Smarty Ears has already sold hundreds of applications worldwide and it is now one of the finalists for receiving the IMPACT award for making a significant impact in the area of health sciences.
For more information you can visit their website at http://www.smarty-ears.com
To find all Smarty Ears apps just search on your app store for the key word “Smarty Ears”.
the average price of just one deck of cards that has only one type of question sold at popular speech therapy conventions costs about $14.99 and a deck containing all questions costs on average $64.99, “WHQuestions” offers a potential savings of $50 without the hassle of cards that can get lost and damaged over time. As you can see this product is offering a real value for its dollar.
It seems that Speech Therapists are finally joining the group of professionals that embrace that technology is just part of the reality of this new century. Are you ready for it?
