# Keyword Understanding — Follow Concepts & Directions

> App to improve understanding of spoken and written directions and concepts. (iPhone/iPad app by Aptus Speech and Language Therapy Limited.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/keyword-understanding/id816979055 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Aptus Speech and Language Therapy Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/1482673468)
- Category: Education, Medical
- Price: $17.99
- Rating: 5.00/5 from 3 App Store ratings · 4 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.0 · 64 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2014-02-14
- Data updated: 2026-08-12
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/keyword-understanding/id816979055/reviews.md

## What is Keyword Understanding?

“This app is great for children with processing difficulties which need to improve their ability to follow directions with a variety of embedded concepts.” ~ Smart Speech Therapy blog

“Every child I have used it with has been very engaged by the lovely, brightly-colored pictures, and has quite happily kept on listening and following the instructions.” ~ Speech Blog UK

“It can be used for informal assessments, language therapy and home practice. It can also be used to target auditory attention and working memory for cognitive-communication goals.” ~ Speaking of Apps blog

Keyword Understanding is a professional speech and language therapy app that targets the ability to understand sentences and follow spoken and written directions of increasing difficulty.

Children and adults are asked to follow directions in their everyday lives. In order to follow directions, the child or adult requires a strong knowledge of vocabulary, basic concepts and the ability to process and retain the information they have listened to or read.


WHO IS KEYWORD UNDERSTANDING FOR?

- Parents
- Teachers
- Speech language pathologists / Speech and language therapists
- Children with reduced attention and listening comprehension or auditory processing difficulties 
- Children with receptive language delay, developmental language delay or autism 
- Adults with mild to moderate aphasia due to stroke or traumatic brain injury 
- Adults with cognitive-communication difficulties due to stroke or traumatic brain injury 


WHAT COMPREHENSION ACTIVITIES ARE INCLUDED IN KEYWORD UNDERSTANDING?

Comprehension Check: This activity helps you identify where comprehension breaks down. It checks the understanding of individual vocabulary items, and the basic concepts of size and color.  

Object, Size & Color: This activity works on the understanding of the basic concepts of size and color as well as the ability to follow one and two-step directions of increasing difficulty. 

2 keyword level: Touch the green car
3 keyword level: Touch the big red mug 
4 keyword level: Touch the green vase and the yellow cushion 
6 keyword level: Touch the small pink gloves and the big blue comb

Before & After: This activity works on the ability to understand and follow temporal directions (directions which include the concepts before/after in a variety of positions in the sentence). 

“Before you touch the t-shirt, touch the phone”
“After you touch the lamp, touch the vase”,
“Touch the flower before you touch the box”, 
“Touch the sock after you touch the bucket”.

First & Then: This activity works on the ability to understand and follow sequential directions (directions which include the concepts first/then in the sentence). 

“First touch the ladder, then touch the bike”. 


WHAT LANGUAGE & COGNITIVE SKILLS DOES KEYWORD UNDERSTANDING TARGET?

- Vocabulary 
- Listening / Auditory Comprehension
- Reading Comprehension 
- Working Memory 
- Attention to Detail 
- Language Processing 
- Basic Concepts / Adjectives (size, color) 
- Temporal Directions (Before/After)
- Sequential Directions (First… Then) 


FEATURES

3 modes:

- Listening/ Auditory Only: Match the spoken direction to the picture(s)

- Reading Only: Match the written direction to the picture(s)

- Listening and Reading: Match the spoken and written directions to the picture(s)


Keyword Understanding lets you:

- Choose from a variety of vocabulary items in different sizes and five different colors allowing for thousands of following directions tasks 
- Follow directions of increasing difficulty and length
- Add individual user profiles 
- Automatically track correct and incorrect responses of each user 
- Email a detailed result summary after a session or at a later date 
- Receive audio feedback for correct answers only, incorrect answers only or both

All Aptus Speech Therapy apps participate in the 50% off Volume Purchase Program. 

Visit our website for more details about our other speech and language therapy apps.

## Key features

- Follow spoken and written directions
- Improve vocabulary and basic concepts
- Target auditory attention and working memory
- Activities for one and two-step directions
- Temporal and sequential direction practice
- Comprehension check for vocabulary and concepts

## Recent user reviews (4 of 4)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/keyword-understanding/id816979055/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Excellent!

*2026-08-10*

I have used the earlier version of this app for almost 10 years in clinical and educational settings.  It is an excellent tool in teaching how to be a critical listener and follow directions. It has been successfully used with all age levels. They love to challenge themselves to beat their previous score. I appreciate that it is a safe app, does not require any personal info, and I can adjust levels and other factors to meet individual needs.

### 1/5 — Volume never works

*2021-07-09*

No volume. Poor app paid £15 but no one to chat no customer service. Poorly developed app. What a shame. Full of scams in the market.

### 1/5 — Not what I was looking for

*2018-11-23*

I bought this for my grandmother who had a stroke and suffers from aphasia.  The photos are terrible and not easily recognizable, and what’s even worse is that the voice that talks sounds like Stephen Hawking on Speed talking through a pillow.  My grandmother has no idea what this is supposed to do...I can’t even understand it. I paid $50 for the whole suite and feel totally gypped.  Hoping for a refund, as this could have been better spent on something effective for her recovery.

**Developer response:** Dear Mateo, We just noted your review and we are very sorry that you have had problems with Keyword Understanding. The app uses the voice downloaded on your iPad so if you download an enhanced US voice it will use that voice which is of very good quality.  The speed of the voice can be adjusted in-app. The app has spoken and written directions. The photos are all of real objects and they are of different colours. The info screen provides more information about each activity. I am not sure what aspect you did not understand but would be happy to answer any questions you might have about the activities and their purpose. Please email me anytime lorraine@aptus-slt.com

### 1/5 — Disappointed

*2016-11-29*

App won't load. Just wasted $9.99. Should test product better before charging or better offer "free" or "lite" version to begin. Have had good luck w/ Aptus apps in the past, so I went for it even though it wasn't reviewed. Very disappointed. Expected better.

**Developer response:** Hello, very sorry to hear you had trouble with the app. Apple now allow developers to reply to AppStore comments hence the reply albeit a late one. Not sure what the issue was at the time. However Keyword Understanding should download without any problems for you now. Please let us know if you still have trouble. lorraine@aptus-slt.com

## Frequently asked questions about Keyword Understanding

### What is Keyword Understanding used for?

Keyword Understanding is a professional speech and language therapy app designed to enhance the ability to understand sentences and follow spoken and written directions of increasing difficulty. It targets vocabulary, basic concepts, auditory attention, and working memory.

### Who can benefit from using Keyword Understanding?

Parents, teachers, speech-language pathologists, and individuals with reduced attention, listening comprehension, auditory processing difficulties, receptive language delay, developmental language delay, autism, or mild to moderate aphasia and cognitive-communication difficulties due to stroke or brain injury can benefit.

### What types of comprehension activities are included in Keyword Understanding?

The app includes a Comprehension Check to identify breakdowns in understanding vocabulary and basic concepts of size and color. It also features activities for Object, Size & Color, Before & After temporal directions, and First & Then sequential directions.

### How does Keyword Understanding help with following directions?

It provides structured activities that progressively increase the complexity of directions, from one and two-step instructions involving objects, size, and color, to temporal and sequential directions using concepts like 'before/after' and 'first/then'.

### What language and cognitive skills does Keyword Understanding target?

Keyword Understanding targets essential skills such as vocabulary, listening comprehension, reading comprehension, working memory, attention to detail, language processing, and understanding of basic concepts.

### What is the price of Keyword Understanding?

Keyword Understanding is a paid app, priced at $17.99. This is a one-time purchase for access to all its features.

### On which devices can Keyword Understanding be used?

Keyword Understanding is available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod. It is designed for Apple mobile devices.

### Does Keyword Understanding have ads?

No, Keyword Understanding does not contain advertisements. It is an ad-free application.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 3.0 — 2026-06-21

Updated the app to use improved iOS system voices for a better listening experience.

### 2.0 — 2020-09-16

- A brand new look and user interface 
- Addition of user profiles and result history 
- UK, Irish and Australian voices in addition to US (automatically selected based on Region settings on your device)

### 1.5 — 2017-11-05

Updated for iOS11
Brand new icon

### 1.4 — 2017-05-08

- Now available on iPhone 
- Even more high-quality pictures
- More levels (iPad version)
- Following Directions tasks that include the concepts First/Then (iPad version)

### 1.3.1 — 2016-03-22

Fixed issue with running on older versions of iOS

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## More apps by Aptus Speech and Language Therapy Limited

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- [Inference Pics](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/inference-pics/id1270407967)

All apps by Aptus Speech and Language Therapy Limited: https://appshunter.io/developer/1482673468

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-12.*