Visual perceptual skills are another area OT’s provide intervention. As a OT I had my favorite parquetry or tanagram activities that ranged from simple to more complex as the student or client required. It was always interested to watch the visual perceptual processing of individuals who were challenged in spatial relationships and then scaffold the task using verbal problem solving or simplifying the presentation visually.

So what tanagram or parquetry apps are available on the iPad or iPhone/iPod Touch for your OT iTool kit ? Here are a few suggestions:

My First Tanagram is made by Alexandre Minard who has developed a who series of puzzle apps for young children. Presented cleanly and easily, the pieces are presented in the right orientation, color coded and basic so that the user only needs to match the shape and slide the piece to the appropriate area. Although this app has relatively basic designs I would want even easier designs for some of the students I have worked with. This can be done however by inserting some of the pieces into the design for them to finish the remaining to grade the activity.  I used the lite version which did not provide any options for exploration of how this could be customized if needed.

 Available for the iPad for 1.99, it is also available in a lite version for trial and for Android. Review on YouTube is available here.

For older students PopAppFactory has a beautiful but what appears to be more complex Tanagram Puzzle app. Available for iPad (.99) this app provides templates to recreate designs and a make your own gallery. Integration with an online gallery from others provides more tanagram creations.

Without having trialed this app, it appears as though you can create and save tanagrams customized to students level in the app.

Tangram! app is another app providing the same activities however are not for the significantly perceptually challenged. Available for iPad, iPhone/iPod Touch (Lite and .99 to purchase), Tanagrams! provides a pieces requiring orientation to insert into the tanagram puzzle. Instructions for how to manipulate the pieces are provided but it was pretty intuitive to me.

There are more tanagram apps however find them too complex for most of the clients or students I have worked with. The Tanagram Puzzle appears promising as long as designs can be created at different levels for emergent learners to use.

Have a good tanagram app you use? Please share your experience and your favorite tanagram app!

More tools for your OT iTool Kit!

Carol