Fluently

I found Fluently, which is a great app for easy onsets, when it was a free app featured on Smart Apps for Kids.  It is an app that is designed to monitor easy onsets in students speech.  It's regularly a $10 app so I feel very fortunate to have downloaded it in time.

I've been using it in therapy with 4 students who stutter for the past few weeks.   I also have been sick and have had a very hoarse voice, so my kids have been amused to see the app "alert" almost every time I open my mouth.

The app is designed to monitor easy onsets. When you are using smooth speech the button is blue and pluses slightly as you speak.  You can adjust the sensitivity with the slider bar at the bottom.

If you speak to harshly (ie ME!) or use a hard onset the button will turn read and you will have to tap the button to reset it.

I've had varying success with my students using this app.  I have a student who is about ready to move on from easy onsets and try other things, and while he was interested in the app, he didn't use it to monitor his speech.  Another one of my students who is just starting easy onsets was VERY interested in the app, and would practice and practice until he was able to keep the button blue through single words.  It should be noted that I also see him for articulation, and he doesn't do much to monitor his speech.  Both of my girls have been doing easy onsets for a few sessions, but struggle to self-monitor.  They used the app to monitor, but not as closely as my other student.

In my opinion, Fluently is a very simple app that I'm happy to add to my fluency toolbox.  My students who have less experience self monitoring their speech while producing easy onsets found the app more useful, but my student who has had to self monitor didn't use it.  I like it better for my students who aren't as far along in therapy and struggle to self monitor.  If I had bought it I would consider it well worth the price for the one student's self monitoring skills alone.