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Allison Fors, Inc.

Speech Therapy Tools for SLPs and Educators

5 Easy Ways to Make an Activity Engaging

5 Easy Ways to Make a Speech Therapy Activity Engaging

Making speech therapy activities engaging is sometimes half the battle! It is critical to have a child want to participate and communicate while in speech therapy, especially when working on early communication skills. I have found the key to this is making therapy hands-on and interactive. Here are my go-to tips to instantly make an activity exciting and feel like play…not work! These ideas can easily be incorporated into any activity you already have and are versatile in their uses!

Magnifying Glass

magnifying glass speech therapy

Magnifying glasses are a fun tool to incorporate into any speech activity. Use them while reading books if your student needs help staying engaged. Use them to play “I spy” for language or articulation! I mainly use them with language scenes or picture books to target various language goals – pronouns, prepositions, vocabulary, verbs, sentence formulation, WH questions, etc.

Pointer Finger

pointer finger speech therapy

The bigger the better! I have this Learning Resources one. I like using pointer fingers to practice multisyllabic words or  to slow the rate of speech in stuttering therapy. Use them in social groups or mixed groups to designate a turn or speaker. Or tape articulation cards or task cards on the wall and have the student point to one to say/complete the task!

Bingo Chips & Magnetic Wand

 bingo chips speech therapy

Bingo chips and the “magic wand” are an easy and motivating tool to use. You can simply use it as a reinforcer or you can play various games with the bingo chips. For example, covering an articulation card after each successful trial with a bingo chip, then picking them up at the end with the wand. Use the chips as manipulators as well, for example, when working on multisyllabic words or working on expanding sentences.

Sensory Bin

sensory bin speech therapysensory bin articulation cards

Keep a sensory bin with just the filler available to throw in any activity.  For example, hide articulation cards, picture cards, or task cards for the student to find and complete. If you’re working on pronouns, hide toy people. If you’re working on asking appropriate questions, hide trinkets for the student to find and ask a question about. Sensory bins also serve as a great reinforcer and reward!
Unsure what a sensory bin is or how to make them? Read this post!

Movement

Incorporating motor breaks can work wonders for engaging a child. Set up an obstacle course with articulation cards or different activity stations around the room. You can even go on a walk around your office/school to work on generalizing the pragmatic language skills your students have been working on. Another idea is to incorporate a dress-up box and put on costumes! There are tons of language opportunities in pretend play and role play.

Thanks for reading! I hope these ideas were helpful.
Do you have a go-to item you use to make activities interactive and engaging?

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5 Easy Ways to Make an Activity Engaging

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August 23, 2018 allisonfors Leave a Comment Filed Under: Sensory Bins, 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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