Hello Everyone! My name is Melissa (AKA Speechie Bee The SLP!) and I'm so happy to be a guest blogger this month on smartypantsstudies.com! Today, I'll be sharing some of my favourite therapy activities that can be used by SLPs, or for parents to try at home, to encourage speech and language development in children.
1. Open-ended toys
Anything like Pop the Pig or Pop Up Pirate are classic speech therapy toys. These games are open-ended and allow for lots of opportunity for a child to practise their speech sounds and then have a turn in the game, e.g., feed Pop the Pig a hamburger. Alternatively, these toys can be used for language development such as, requesting and commenting, e.g., "I see a blue and red sword" or "I want the blue sword."
2. Bingo daubers and colouring
I have noticed that many of my students just LOVE colouring. Give them a picture and between colouring, talk about what is happening in the picture, e.g., “The pig is dancing,” or “The kids are eating cake at the birthday party.” Another option is to use the colouring page as a reinforcer or motivator during speech trials.
3. Time to get up and move!
It can be so much fun acting out verbs and by doing so, the words become more meaningful to the child. For example, if a character in a story is marching or stretching, I will have the child show me a BIG stretch or have them stand up and MARCH around the room! This a small add on to a session that I use to encourage vocabulary development in my language sessions.
I hope this post gave you a few ideas on some activities for you to use with your little ones! Follow along on Instagram for new ideas and product recommendations @speechiebeetheslp!
Disclaimer: These activities are based on my personal preferences and experiences and should not be utilized as specific recommendations and/or treatment purposes. If you have any concerns about your child or student’s speech and language needs, please refer to your family physician or the child’s Speech-Language Pathologist.