• Shop
    • Speech Therapy
    • Clipart
    • Reviews
    • My Account
  • Free
  • Blog
  • Topics
    • Early Intervention & Preschool
    • Language
    • Social Language
    • Articulation & Phonology
    • Sensory Differences
    • Cleft Lip and Palate
  • Contact
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • 0 items

Allison Fors, Inc.

Speech Therapy Tools for SLPs and Educators

Why You Should Be Using Sensory Bins in Speech Therapy (and a Freebie)

sensory bins speech therapy

Collaborating with occupational therapists and exploring sensory strategies has helped me have more productive sessions with the children who can’t seem to sit still or who have sensory processing disorder (SPD). One of the things I picked up along the way was using sensory bins! Not only are they fun, engaging, and interactive, but they serve great purposes for our students with SPD or those who need increased sensory input.

Sensory activities help the brain focus, self-regulate, reduce distractions, and build neural connections to learn and retain information. Sensory stimulation is critical for brains to develop and strengthen sensory-related synapses and functions. When using more than one sense, a child will learn and retain more information!

What are sensory bins?

Sensory bins are a tactile experience in a container usually filled with beans, rice, noodles, beads, corn, water beads, or sand. They are extremely easy and can be inexpensive to make. I like to use Sterilite plastic bins with lids, but you can use any container and any size. Then add any filler and any objects – toys, spoons, strainers, plastic eggs, rakes. You can make them themed for the time of year or for a particular unit. There are tons of sensory bin ideas online if you need inspiration. Here’s a Pinterest board I have specially dedicated to this topic to get your creative juices flowing! I also compiled a list of many more filler ideas that aren’t as messy and are easier to clean-up (compared to beans and rice).

You can check out some of my favorite sensory bin supplies at my amazon storefront! Sensory Needs

sensory bin fillers

Why I love sensory bins!

Sensory bins are different from anything else I use in therapy so they are a welcome change and a great way to mix things up. Kids LOVE them! Sensory bins are engaging and hands-on fun. And they easily make a boring activity fun with minimal preparation. And we are all about that, right!? I always have a sensory bin ready to go and am able to quickly throw in drill cards or other artic/language targets.

Use sensory bins for:

  • targeting joint attention
  • imitating actions (scooping, shaking, etc)
  • pretend play
  • cause and effect
  • turn-taking
  • requesting
  • practicing simple verbs (in, out, open, close)
  • hiding articulation cards, task cards, or anything that is motivating and fits their therapy goals
  • vocabulary
  • wh questions
  • following directions
  • categories
  • sequencing
  • and more…view the graphic below!

If I know motivation will be a factor, I put in fun things to find between pulling out those artic cards and doing trials. Try hiding cars, tokens, pennies, mini figurines…whatever is going to be exciting for your student. It’s a fast, fun motivator for the students to see how many they can collect!

sensory bins

Download the graphics in this post for free!

Here is some inspiration of sensory bins I’ve created and used in therapy!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Allison Fors | Speech Therapy (@speech.allisonfors)


View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Allison Fors | Speech Therapy (@speech.allisonfors)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Allison Fors | Speech Therapy (@speech.allisonfors)


View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Allison Fors | Speech Therapy (@speech.allisonfors)


Sensory bins have become such an integral part of my sessions that I began making materials specifically for them!

SHOP ALL SENSORY BINS

And definitely, don’t miss this FREE one!

Do you use sensory bins in speech therapy or your classroom? Let me know in the comments!

You may be interested in:
Why You Should be Using Sensory Play in Speech Therapy
How to Use Sensory Bottles in Speech Therapy
How to Help a Child with Sensory Processing Disorder Succeed in Speech Therapy

If you enjoyed this post, please share it!
Follow my blog with Bloglovin

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.  All opinions are my own.

Share on PinterestShare on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Email
speech therapy sensory bins

Related Posts

  • sensory processing disorderHow to Help a Child with Sensory Processing Disorder Succeed in Speech Therapy
  • Why You Should be Using Wind Up Toys in Speech TherapyWhy You Should be Using Wind Up Toys in Speech Therapy
  • barrier games in speech therapyWhy You Should Be Using BARRIER GAMES (and a Freebie)
speech therapy sensory bins

January 27, 2021 allisonfors 2 Comments Filed Under: Sensory Bins, Speech Resources, Therapy Ideas

Unique Ways to Use Puppets in Intervention
30 Children’s Books about Developmental Disabilities

Comments

  1. Rebecca says

    September 3, 2021 at 10:01 am

    How do you go with the mess? I have tried this and I spend the whole time saying keep it in the bin, or else they just go silly and it ends up everywhere- which then makes my easy prep hard clean up sessions.

    Reply
    • allisonfors says

      September 7, 2021 at 1:26 am

      A few things! Incorporate the clean up into the session, use fillers that are easy to clean up, and I won’t use sensory bins/play with some of my students.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

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.
•
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.
•
(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!

Copyright © 2022 · Allison Fors, Inc. · Hello You Designs

My Account
Terms & Conditions
Privacy Policy