Peekaboo Barn

App options allow users to play in regular or a continuous loop mode. Users can also select to keep the voice feature on or off as well as choose to record their own voice. Twelve different languages are available (US English (adult & child), UK English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Swedish, Cantonese, Mandarin and German) which is especially helpful for providing vocabulary in a child’s native language.

This app has been trialed with toddlers with language and developmental delays. The children quickly picked up how to use the app by touching the barn door to open the door and the animal to close the door. Parents and the speech language pathologist (SLP) initially held the IPAD to help pace the child’s play so they would attend to the animal name after opening the door before closing it. After the initial loop, toddlers were then able to play the app on their own. The only noted drawback of the app is the lack of a home button on the barn page. Once the app has begun, the user cannot get back to the home page until all of the animals have been named.

Once toddlers are able to identify the animals, parents and SLPs can then ask toddlers wh- questions such as “who is behind the door?” or “what animal makes that sound?”. They can also apply what their toddler had learned from the app to other contexts such as toy animals, visiting the zoo or an animal book. This app is highly recommended for parents with children of disabilities to help them acquire the name of animals in a fun and interactive manner.