Comparison

Fun With Directions vs Category Therapy Lite

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

Head to head
About

Fun With Directions

This app offers interactive activities to enhance listening, following directions, and auditory processing skills. It features colorful animations and sound effects, with adjustable difficulty levels for young learners. The app includes optional recording for expressive language practice.

Highlights
  • Following directions
  • Coloring activities
  • Auditory memory practice
  • Spatial concepts
  • Adjustable difficulty levels
  • Reading practice option
  • Voice recording for expressive language
Features
Read full description

Open a door and see what’s behind it. Give the boy something to eat. He’ll even say “Thanks!” Color a cat with the help of the magic crayon! Push a button and watch the elevator door open-what could be inside? **Check out a demo of this app on our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXCe1fETCnc Fun with Directions is for the iPHONE and is a ground-breaking app, designed to provide a fun and engaging way to practice listening, following directions, colors, spatial concepts, auditory memory and auditory processing. From the simplest of directions (“Touch the cat”) to the more complex (“With your orange crayon, color the large one that is a furry pet and likes to chase mice”) your child can grow and learn with this game over time. Colorful, vivid art and animations against a white background combine to create a complete game experience without visual clutter. Sound effects and surprises keep the game engaging! This app is a great choice for a toddler/preschooler, or any young child who would like to practice listening to or reading directions! Included are ten concepts: Give, touch, open, close, top, middle, bottom, push, color, erase. Features include settings for text on/off, (to practice reading vs. listening) selecting specific concepts, and the desired level of play: easy, intermediate, and advanced. An added bonus that is included in this app is the optional “Superstar Direction” which allows additional practice for remembering (“What did you have to do?”) but also expressive language. The child’s response is recorded and played back. Superstar Directions are surprise questions that pop up at random times, but can easily be turned off if desired. Hamaguchi Apps is dedicated to the mission of bringing high-quality apps to the general public and professionals for affordable prices. PRIVACY POLICY: We do NOT collect personal data from our users and have no ads. Personal data regarding user performance on the tasks on this app are self-contained and not transmitted in any way. There are no in-app purchases in this app. There is a link to our other apps in the iTunes store, which can be viewed via internet access, if desired. Developed by Patti Hamaguchi, M.A., CCC-SLP, a noted speech-language pathologist and author of Childhood Speech, Language & Listening Problems: What Every Parent Should Know, as well as books on the treatment of auditory processing disorders. To find out more about this app and our other upcoming projects, visit our website: www.hamaguchiapps.com

About

Category Therapy Lite

This app helps individuals improve their mental organization and category-based thinking skills. It offers evidence-based exercises designed by experts to aid in word-finding and sorting, beneficial for those with stroke, brain injury, or autism.

Highlights
  • Evidence-based exercises
  • Improve word-finding
  • Improve sorting skills
  • 4 engaging activities
  • Unlimited practice
  • Clear photos and simple interface
  • Customizable settings
Read full description

Improve mental organization skills. Practice categories in a versatile speech therapy app. When you struggle with categories due to stroke, brain injury, or autism, simple tasks can be impossible. But there’s a way to heal the broken networks of meaning. TRY CATEGORY THERAPY, an app designed for both speech therapists and home users to help restructure the brain and let the ideas flow. This free Lite version gives you a sample of what you’ll get in the full version. - Take control with evidence-based exercises designed by experts - Improve word-finding and sorting skills with 4 engaging activities and unlimited practice - Get an app that works in both home and clinical settings - Interact with clear photos and a simple interface that's easy for everyone to use - Adjust settings to target your goals and suit your needs - Use reports and customization to seamlessly fit the app into your therapy program When you lose the ability to group items and identify what they have in common, it gets in the way of your ability to understand, learn, and communicate. But with the right kind of practice, it’s possible to strengthen the connections between words and concepts and navigate your world more easily. “It will be a LONG time before you run out of content to use with one patient, and the app’s fantastic settings options will allow you to use it with a variety of individuals, regardless of cognitive abilities.” - Aubrey Klingensmith, MS, CCC-SLP, Speechie Apps GET THE RIGHT ACTIVITY - FOR EVERY BRAIN. No two people are the same. With 4 activities ranging from simple to complex, there's something in Category Therapy to match your needs. Work through them gradually or focus on the activity that best suits your needs. 1) FIND: Start with the basics. You'll hear and see a photo of a category (let's say "Fruit"). Tap the item that matches (for example, a banana). 2) CLASSIFY: Switch it up. Now you start with an item and choose the category that matches. This tests your ability to apply categories to what you see. 3) ADD ONE: Train yourself to recognize common features of items – to categorize them – and then choose one item that fits the category you’ve identified. 4) EXCLUDE: Challenge yourself. By choosing an item that doesn't belong, you learn how to independently identify categories. As things get harder, you can always tap Hint for some help. ALL DONE? Share your progress. The app makes it easy to quickly view, share, or e-mail detailed reports to a therapist or loved one. GET EVERY FEATURE YOU NEED IN ONE EASY APP. • 70 categories and nearly 700 words in the full version • 3 difficulty levels ranging from simple objects to more abstract concepts • Great for aphasia, brain injury, autism, and other cognitive & language impairments • Switch to Pictures Only to practice naming or Words Only to practice reading • Customize the number of trials, choices, and more – the full version gives you total control • Designed with adults in mind but easy enough for children to use • No subscriptions, no monthly bills, no Wi-Fi needed THERE’S HOPE. With Category Therapy in your corner, you can build stronger connections between words – and learn to speak and think more easily. What’s the difference between the Lite and full versions? - Full has nearly 700 words in 70 categories; Lite has 21 target words and 15 categories. - Full lets you control all the settings; Lite limits the number of choices and number of trials - Full has enough variety to practice and improve; Lite gives you a taste to know if this app is right for you – it’s not meant to be used for long as the sample exercises are easily mastered. Looking for something different in a speech therapy app? We offer a wide range to choose from. Find the right one for you at https://tactustherapy.com/find

Screenshots

Fun With Directions4 screens
Category Therapy Lite4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Category Therapy Lite at Free against Fun With Directions's $15.99. Category Therapy Lite also leads on ratings volume (311 vs 15) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.0). On rating, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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

Category Therapy Lite is free to download; Fun With Directions costs $15.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Category Therapy Lite holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Category Therapy Lite has 311 ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 87% of Fun With Directions's written reviews are positive against 90% of Category Therapy Lite's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Fun With Directions ships an update every 16 months, Category Therapy Lite every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Fun With Directions versus Category Therapy Lite: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFun With DirectionsCategory Therapy Lite
Price$15.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (15 ratings)4.8 (311 ratings) — better
Positive reviews86.7% of reviews90.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings15311 — better
Update frequencyEvery 16 monthsEvery 9 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.09.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size292 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHamaguchi Learning & Development, LLCTactus Therapy Solutions Ltd.

Customer experience

Fun With Directions

All ratings16 ratings
Positive93.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative6.3%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive86.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative13.3%

Category Therapy Lite

All ratings306 ratings
Positive95.1%
Neutral2.3%
Negative2.6%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive90.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative5.0%

Bugs and requests

Fun With Directions

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Category Therapy Lite

Requested features

3 requests
  • Ability to select the number of questions
  • Boxes around objects in 'classify' mode
  • Cueing aspect found in other apps

In-app purchases

None

Fun With Directions

No in-app purchases

None

Category Therapy Lite

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Fun With Directions free?
Fun With Directions costs $15.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Category Therapy Lite free?
Category Therapy Lite is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Fun With Directions or Category Therapy Lite?
Category Therapy Lite is rated higher. Fun With Directions averages 4.6 out of 5 from 15 ratings, while Category Therapy Lite averages 4.8 from 311 ratings.
Do Fun With Directions or Category Therapy Lite have ads?
Neither Fun With Directions nor Category Therapy Lite shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Fun With Directions or Category Therapy Lite?
Fun With Directions ships an update every 16 months, and Category Therapy Lite every 9 months. Most recently, Fun With Directions was updated on October 23, 2026 and Category Therapy Lite on October 28, 2026.

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