iPad App Review: Peek-A-Boo Fridge

Peek-A-Boo Fridge, created by Night and Day Studios for Android and Mac systems, was developed for children ages 0-5.  The app is similar in appearance to Peek-A-Boo Barn in that the fridge is placed in the center of the screen and follows the same story line sequence (i.e. there is a beginning and end to the app). The placement of the fridge in this visual position, encourages the child to reach with his hands at mid-line to continually open the fridge and view a wide variety of foods while also keeping the child engaged in an activity that has a beginning and an end. For many young iPad users and speech language pathologists, the child's voice output option continues to be a favorite feature of many Night and Day Studio apps.

         If the iPad is a motivator for a toddler with feeding issues, this app could be a tool to expose them to a wide variety of different foods.  The therapist or parent working with the child could easily pick a few foods featured in the app that needs to be embedded into his or her feeding routine and pair them with the real food, which would increase their understanding of picture object relationships.  Overall, this app is best used when it is paired with the real life experiences of the food in the app.  Like many apps, the quality of the education lies in how the caregiver presents the information and technology together.  If the specialist or family member presents this app in a way that is within context to the lesson or family routine paired with real life objects, the child with special needs would be learning so much more about his or her learning environment using the iPad as the pathway to this skill development.