Universally compatible with
all Apple devices
VAST Autism 1 - Core
As I began the review process it didn't take long before I realized how inadequate I am for reviewing VAST Autism 1. This is for professionals, not parents. The built-in Quick Use Guide was my friend. And as that guide tells you right off the bat, this is based on two highly effective modes of learning - video modeling and visual language.
On the opening screen you're faced with four choices; Full-Length Videos, Separated Playlists, Mirror, and More Tools.
Using the front facing camera on your iPad 2 the Mirror feature simply turns your iPad into a... well, a mirror. Let's not understate it's importance in the process of modeling speech.
In case you're wondering, the difference between Full-Length Videos and Separated Playlists is that the former plays the videos in succession one after another, one category at a time. You choose the category. The latter stops after each one, waiting for your input, and even allows you to skip some of them. If you wanted, you could get to a particular video that concentrates on the sound/word/sentence you want to focus upon. You can also have the videos play at random and even make your own playlists.
Each video shows the same mouth speaking different things, which depends on the selections you make. Within each little video segment the syllable or word or sentence you've chosen is spoken twice. The first time it's spoken the sounds are produced slowly and clearly with the position of the lips and tongue emphasized. The second time, it's spoken slightly slower than regular speech and the position of the lips and tongue are emphasized much less.
VAST Autism gives you SLP's five categories to choose from; Syllables, Words, Multi-Syllabic Words, Phrases, and Sentences. From the categories screen, touching the italic "i", which has become the universal symbol for "information", takes you to more information about that particular category. You get the description, transcript, duration, etc.
VAST Autism is very easy to navigate. And I was unable to crash it, which means it's stable. That's very important.
The mirror is available from almost every screen in VAST Autism. You can stop at any time to use it. When you're using the mirror, a quick touch on the screen reveals the 'done' button in the upper left corner. Many apps will keep a button on the screen all the time, when it's not needed. Lois Jean Brady, a speech language pathologist and the developer of VAST Autism, wisely took advantage of the iPad's multi-touch interface. First generation iPads don't have a camera so you can't use the mirror on iPad 1.
VAST Autism 1 - Core is a solid app and a nice selection for any SLP's seeking a good video modeling app for speech articulation. You can contact the developer from within the app and, for a small price, have custom word lists professionally recorded. But you can't use them within the app. Not yet anyhow. VAST Autism 1 - Core is top notch.
