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Allison Fors, Inc.

Speech Therapy Tools for SLPs and Educators

6 Ways to Use Ball Poppers in Speech Therapy

Ball poppers are a versatile toy and fun way to elicit language in speech therapy! You can use them to target many language goals, they are highly motivating and engaging, low cost, and can be used with a wide age range.

Poppers are a simple toy that when squeezed, a foam ball shoots out of its mouth. It comes in many fun designs and mini versions! You can find them on Amazon and in toy stores. I have discovered the Hog Wild brand to be much more reliable when it comes to the balls popping compared to cheaper brands.

TIP: The more firm you place the ball in the mouth of the popper, the harder it will be to squeeze and the farther it will go. This makes it easily adaptable for different ages.

TIP: The mini versions come on a keychain and the ball is attached to the popper with a string. I prefer the larger versions but I enjoy having both to work on basic concepts, such as big versus little.


       

WAYS TO USE BALL POPPERS IN LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

REINFORCER

Ball poppers make excellent reinforcers. They are motivating and a quick reward so you can easily get back to working on those articulation sounds! I’ve also used it as a reinforcer by taping drill cards to the wall and having the child use the popper it hit a card to practice.

PREPOSITIONS

Target “where” concepts (e.g. on, in, under, behind, next to, etc). Do this by either placing the ball popper somewhere and asking “where is the penguin?” or squeeze the popper and discuss where the ball went (e.g. the ball is under the chair.)

VERBS

Use the ball popper to demonstrate and teach different types of verbs. For example, walk the penguin across the table and model the action word “walk” or ask “what is the penguin doing?” or “what did the penguin do?”.

CAUSE AND EFFECT

This is a simple cause/effect toy that is always a hit. Read more about cause/effect and why it’s a critical aspect of language development.

JOINT ATTENTION

Since this toy is engaging, it works perfectly for kids who are working on joint attention. Wait for the child to look at you before popping the ball.

REQUESTING AND TURN TAKING

Once cause/effect and joint attention are established, you can use the popper to work on requesting and turn taking. Have the child request a turn (either verbally or nonverbally) and target pragmatics by taking turns.

Have you used ball poppers in therapy or your classroom? What other ways have you incorporated them into your sessions?

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BALL POPPERS

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BALL POPPERS

December 2, 2021 allisonfors Leave a Comment Filed Under: Early Intervention, Therapy Ideas

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Hi, I'm Allison! A speech & language resource author who loves the creative process of making therapy materials and clipart, as well as connecting with educators world wide. Learn more about me here! Read More…

Echolalia is actually a positive prognostic indica Echolalia is actually a positive prognostic indicator for autistic children! We don’t treat it this way most of the time even though it’s a communicative function for the individual. Instead of ignoring or trying to get a child to stop, we should try to shape the content into meaningful communication by teaching the meaning of the words or modeling appropriate language.
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Echolalia is a repetition of another person’s spoken words. This often presents in a child quoting favorite movies or repeating a question directed towards them.
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(Prizant 1987)
Resurfacing this for Better Hearing and Speech Mon Resurfacing this for Better Hearing and Speech Month 👄🗣🧠👂🏼 

What are you!? Tag a friend!👇
Common Diacritics for Cleft Affected Speech 👇👇👇

Nasal emission: The audible release of bursts of air through the nose during speech while producing a consonant that requires a buildup of air pressure.

Nasal turbulence: The escape of air through the nasal cavity, but it is perceived as turbulent, a snort or nasal rustle.

Dentalized: When the tip of the tongue is pushed against the back of the upper teeth.

Hypernasailty: A condition when air flows through the nasal passage during voiced consonants and vowels causing too much nasal resonance. It may or may not be audible.

Hyponasality: A condition when there is not enough nasal resonance on nasal sounds due to a blockage in the nasopharynx or nasal cavity.

Fronted: When a sound produced in the back of the mouth is replaced with a sound made in the front of the mouth.

Backed: When a sound produced in the front of the mouth is replaced with a sound made in the back of the mouth.

Save this post to reference later!
SPEECH VS LANGUAGE. BHSM seems like a good time to SPEECH VS LANGUAGE. BHSM seems like a good time to share this again. 

Oh how many times I’ve explained these two terms! Do you find yourself breaking down the difference between speech and language?

This graphic is in the Free SLP Handouts download. 🔗 allisonfors.com/speech-therapy-handouts/
May is Better Hearing and Speech Month! Now if onl May is Better Hearing and Speech Month! Now if only there was an easy way to explain alllll the aspects of speech-language pathology! 👄🦻🏻
Want to know what the most horrific/best thing I e Want to know what the most horrific/best thing I ever did in therapy was?
Video myself.
😳😳😳
I realized I wasn’t giving enough wait time for my students. Turns out what feels like eternity after you ask a question, is really half a second. 😂 It took a lot of retraining to be ok with the quiet and not try to fill every moment with a teaching opportunity. Try counting to 10 before you jump in!

Have you ever filmed yourself in therapy? What was your biggest takeaway? 
If you’ve never done it or it’s been awhile...do it!

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