Comparison

See and Learn Vocabulary 1 vs Shape Coding

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

See and Learn Vocabulary 1

This app offers structured activities and visual aids to help parents and educators teach young children, particularly those with Down syndrome, to understand and say 60 common first words. It features personalized pictures and a comprehensive guide for step-by-step learning.

Highlights
  • Structured teaching program
  • Visual support for spoken language
  • Personalizable pictures
  • Four learning activities (looking, matching, selecting, naming)
  • Simple, uncluttered screens
  • Progress tracking record forms
  • Comprehensive step-by-step guide
Read full description

See and Learn Vocabulary 1 provides activities and step-by-step guidance to help parents and educators teach young children to understand and say 60 common first words. It is the first step in See and Learn Language and Reading – a structured teaching program designed to teach children with Down syndrome to talk and to read. See and Learn Vocabulary 1 includes 48 pictures, together with a detailed guide and record sheets. The pictures provide visual support for teaching spoken language. New words are introduced steadily and taught through a sequence of 4 simple looking, matching, selecting and naming activities. The vocabulary taught in See and Learn Vocabulary is selected from the words most commonly learned first by most children. Pictures in the app can be personalized to be more meaningful for individual children (for example, personal pictures of mommy and daddy). The activities are intended to supplement natural, everyday opportunities to learn language with the additional support most children with Down syndrome need to learn to communicate. See and Learn Vocabulary 1 is designed and supported by internationally recognized experts to meet the specific learning needs of children with Down syndrome and is consistent with current scientific understanding of the children's needs and effective interventions. When to start See and Learn Vocabulary 1 is designed for children who are ready to learn their first words. They should be showing an understanding of objects and what they do, and may be attempting to communicate by babbling or using simple gestures. Many children with Down syndrome will be ready to start these activities from about 18 months of age. See and Learn Vocabulary 1 can also be used with older children who are not yet saying all of these words - even if they understand some of them. Activities • Looking at Pictures - begins to teach the meaning of new words and to pay attention and engage in a learning activity for short periods of time • Matching Pictures - encourages your child to look more closely at pictures introduced in the first activity, and to learn to distinguish between them • Selecting Pictures - learning to understand the spoken words by linking them with the correct pictures • Naming Pictures - encourages your child to practice saying the correct words for pictures Features • Simple and uncluttered screens avoid distractions and help children focus on the information presented and learning goals • Clear pictures provide visual representation of words • Pictures can be personalized to be specific to the child (for example, mommy, daddy, dog, cat) • Activities designed to reduce language and working memory demands • Optional voice prompts • Comprehensive guide providing step-by-step guidance and instructions • Record forms included for printing and tracking your child's progress • Ideal for use at home and in the classroom See and Learn Language and Reading See and Learn Vocabulary 1 is the first step in the See and Learn Language and Reading teaching program. See and Learn Vocabulary 1 teaches the vocabulary needed to start to learn to read, understand and say the two key word phrases taught in See and Learn Phrases 1. Children who have completed See and Learn Vocabulary 1 are also ready to move on to learn a further 60 early in words See and Learn Vocabulary 2.

About

Shape Coding

This app uses a visual coding system to help children and young people improve their understanding and production of English sentence structure and grammar. It's designed for educators and therapists to personalize learning for individual students.

Highlights
  • Visual coding system for grammar
  • Color-coded word classes
  • Arrow indicators for tense
  • Shape indicators for syntax
  • Personalized student profiles
  • Customizable word lists
  • Text-to-speech functionality
Features
Read full description

Please try the free Lite version before purchase to ensure all functionality will work on your device. SHAPE CODING® by Susan Ebbels is a flexible app designed for teachers and speech and language therapists / pathologists to use with children and young people who are having difficulties producing and understanding English sentence structure and grammar. It uses the SHAPE CODING® system which has been shown in several research projects to help children and young people with language disorders increase the length and complexity of sentences they can understand and use and to improve the accuracy of their sentence production. The SHAPE CODING® system uses a visual coding system to show the rules for how words are put together in sentences, to develop the child’s understanding of spoken and written grammar and to develop their ability to use grammar successfully to express themselves. The system includes use of colours (word classes), arrows (tense and aspect), lines (singular and plural) and shapes (syntactic structure). These are all included in the app, but the professional controlling the app can choose which features display for individual students. Multiple “teachers” can use the app and each “teacher” can have multiple students. The app is personalised for each student. The app is designed to be flexible so that professionals can adapt the levels and information displayed to suit the current levels and targets of individual students. The default first setting for each new student includes only basic sentence structures. Further complexity can be turned on (and off) by the “teacher” and individual settings are preserved for each student between uses. The app is equipped with a basic set of words which can be inserted into the shapes to make sentences. However, additional words can be added for individual students, or indeed for all students working with a particular “teacher” (this can be useful for names and topics which are common across a class of students for example). These can either be added before a session with a student, or during a session and can be saved for future use if desired. The app uses text-to-speech, so that students who struggle to read can also use the app. This app assumes a certain degree of familiarity with the SHAPE CODING® system. For more information see www.shapecoding.com. Training on how to use the SHAPE CODING® system is available from https://training.moorhouseinstitute.co.uk/. For a demonstration of some of the features of the app see https://shapecoding.com/demo-videos/, and for Frequently Asked Questions see: https://shapecoding.com/app-info/faqs/. Follow us on Twitter @ShapeCoding, Facebook @ShapeCoding and Instagram @shape_coding or if you have any problems or feedback, please contact us at training@moorhouseschool.co.uk Please review our privacy policy https://shapecoding.com/privacy-policy-apple/

Screenshots

Shape Coding4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Shape Coding at $19.99 against See and Learn Vocabulary 1's $29.99. Shape Coding also leads on review sentiment (44% vs 0%) and device support (3 vs 1). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

See and Learn Vocabulary 1 costs $29.99 and Shape Coding $19.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

See and Learn Vocabulary 1 ships an update monthly, Shape Coding every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
See and Learn Vocabulary 1 versus Shape Coding: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSee and Learn Vocabulary 1Shape Coding
Price$29.99$19.99 — better
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews44.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size64 MB357 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDown Syndrome Education Enterprises C.I.C.Moor House School & College

Customer experience

See and Learn Vocabulary 1

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Shape Coding

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive44.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative55.6%

In-app purchases

None

See and Learn Vocabulary 1

No in-app purchases

None

Shape Coding

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is See and Learn Vocabulary 1 free?
See and Learn Vocabulary 1 costs $29.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Shape Coding free?
Shape Coding costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do See and Learn Vocabulary 1 or Shape Coding have ads?
Neither See and Learn Vocabulary 1 nor Shape Coding shows ads.
Which is updated more often, See and Learn Vocabulary 1 or Shape Coding?
See and Learn Vocabulary 1 ships an update monthly, and Shape Coding every 2 months. Most recently, See and Learn Vocabulary 1 was updated on October 14, 2026 and Shape Coding on October 8, 2026.

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