**UPDATED** Andy Helps You Read is not a "fly-by-night" learning tool.
Bottom Line:
This app can be a handy addition to any special needs classroom at home or in a traditional setting as long as there is adequate guidance and support given to the student. The app isn't flashy, but the creators have a combined 45 years worth of special needs education experience, which can come in handy if this is an area where your student needs help.
If you would like to download Andy Helps You Read, please use this handy link I made for you:
This app has parent-protected in-app purchases for additional lessons, no ads and strict parent-protected section to approve the completion award and email that award or send to printer.
Andy Helps You Read features an airplane character named, get ready for it, Andy. Although Andy doesn't do anything much visually via animation, Andy is the narrator that gives directions and praise throughout the app. I'll touch on narration a bit later, but for now, let's get started with how the app looks and operates. The home screen opens to several choices- two prominently placed videos and smaller photo buttons. The videos introduce the creators of the app, Walt Waid and Jordan Price, who have a combined 45 years worth of special needs education experience between the two of them. The other video features three students who show users how each section of the app works. The other buttons on the home screen direct users to the 20 learning chapters and the achievement certificate. In future versions, it would be nice to see the main play button featured more prominently for special needs students accessing the app on their own time, but that's just the special needs mama in me poking out from behind my grand reviewer facade.
The app has been updated! The nitty-gritty of the app consists of a whopping 20 levels or chapters of play. The first five lessons are included in the original purchase price of $3.99 and then each group of five lessons that follow are available for $3.99 or lessons six through twenty can be purchased for a discount of $8.99. This new pricing structure will be a welcome addition to families on a budget. As long as the lessons have been purchased, they can be accessed at any time without completing previous areas, which may be frustrating for some folks, but a lifesaver for others since kids all learn at differing paces, especially when you throw special learning into the mix. Each section has three areas: Word Practice, Flashing Practice and Reading Practice. Word Practice gives users a list of common words and Andy prompts folks to say the word, tap the word and listen to the word. When tapped, a word is spoken. In these narrations, Andy gives directions and praise, but the word narration is done by an electronic female voice commonly heard in AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) programs used by folks who are nonverbal. This might seem odd to many who expect professional narration that might sound fresh out of a movie production, but personally, I think it's an excellent choice since my son with Autism has always gravitated to the steady cadence of electronic voice simulation because of its predictability. The next section of Flashing Practice is like a game and great work for memory and motor skills. Users can set the speed from slow, medium or fast for the flash of organized lines that appear one at a time and then disappear leaving the chalkboard blank for students to mimic the lines. After several repetitions, users can view their attempts next to the models and then go again if they want. The final section, Reading Practice is thoughtfully laid out. Depending on the level, a paragraph or several appears and users can tap to listen to the electronic narration, which highlights each word as spoken, or read to self. At the end of the section several sentences are missing key words, such as "Mother said, The drum is too big for_____, Tommy." The child is presented a list of words to choose from to correct the sentence. Andy's voice is on the scene to praise or encourage kids to try again if they chose wrong.
With all that this has to offer, it is lacking in just a few areas that can be cleaned up hopefully in future updates. The first is that there is no "home" button to make accessing the home screen simple. *UPDATE*, another change the developer has made is the addition of easy access to other areas of the app no matter where learning is taking place. In the Flashing Practice section, it was next to impossible to dot an "i" without making a circle or scribbling. It's a little thing, but frustrations can run high for special needs kiddos who are working hard to complete a task correctly and not seeing the fruits of their labors. One other error was a simple repetition of a paragraph in section 19, Reading Practice. Otherwise, the app runs smoothly with no other design bugs. There is one thing that I have to address if I'm worth my salt as a reviewer and that is the hefty price tag of $29.99(***see edit at the end of this paragraph) for this app. Production costs weren't used for actors or animation or 3 dimensional rendering, so I can only assume that the cost is either from the use of electronic voice simulation or the price of hours spent creating this app by well-educated and seasoned veterans. Since I'm not new to the app world, my money is on the simulated voice and the developer may want to take a good look at whether that was the best choice. If so, then offering a scaled-down, free, trial version is highly recommended to get the attention of cash-strapped schools and special needs parents. ***EDIT- I am happy to report that Mr. Waid and Mr. Price are my favorite kind of developers -they listen. With this in mind, they have permanently reduced this app to $19.99. ***EDITED AGAIN!*** As mentioned previously, the app has an all-new pricing structure. Not only did they reduce the overall price of of the app, but also in how the app can be purchased. Four groups of five lessons for $3.99 each or $3.99 for the first five lessons and a bulk purchase of lessons six through twenty for an additional $8.99.
Overall, I found myself wishing this app had been around in the early days of teaching my little guy how to hold a pencil and reproduce lines that testers love so much. Maybe, it would have saved my walls from so many years of crayon writing. Oh, who am I kidding? Nothing could have saved me from that. The app was pretty good before, but even better now with the changes implemented which is why I have increased the star rating to 4.5.
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Cynthia is the mother of three kiddos who has been reviewing apps forever and ever and ever and wants developers to know that they should never make another wood puzzle app. Please. *Smart Apps for Kids was paid a priority review fee for this app.
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