Ten Awesome Ideas for Early Speech and Language Intervention

Ten Awesome Ideas for Early Speech and Language Intervention

When it comes to early speech and language intervention, the simplest actions and objects can inspire progress—especially with your littlest subjects. We researched popular and effective early speech and language intervention techniques and found that school-based SLPs and other types of school-based therapists continue to be a team of crafty, creative and innovative experts willing to share what works. And for that, we are grateful.

Without fail, just about everyone with a school-based therapy job said they traveled with a magic sack full of goodies when making early intervention visits. Children love dipping into these special bags of tricks to see what they can discover. Your bag itself doesn’t have to be fancy—a simple pillowcase will do!  But when used right, it will open the doors for exploring, manipulating, building anticipation—and eventually talking!

So, consider some of these ideas when creating your special bag, and then get ready to exclaim most enthusiastically, “What’s inside?”

Don’t Ignore the Bag!  

Before we even talk about what goes into your bag, don’t overlook the bag as a tool in its own right! After all, it’s perfect for playing hide and seek with objects, toys, and even peekaboo. Watch your young student search for what’s missing and begin to make sense of object permanence.

Bubbles Never Go out of Style

Simple and much-loved by therapists and clients alike, bubbles should be part of every early intervention kit. Children are mesmerized by them and compelled to blow and pop, building on their vocabularies, articulation of /b/ and /p/ (pop pop), and oral motor skills. No-spill bubbles make SLP life on the road even easier, so make an effort to look for them.

Cars, Trucks, Boats, and Planes—And Don’t Forget a Bus!

Small vehicles are great for getting kids talking, taking turns, and building their knowledge of action words like “vroom vroom” and “beep beep.”  Announce “ready, steady—go” before driving over little body parts. We’ve heard from many out there in the field that children often say the word “bus” before “car,” so if you can find a bus, it’s sure to be a favorite.

Get Wild with Animals

Who doesn’t have a favorite animal?  Small animals are portable, interesting, and excellent conversation starters.  Work on animal sounds, of course.  But you can also have your little critters say “hello” and “goodbye” to a child as they move in and out of the bag. As skills are mastered, you can start naming animals, action words, and beyond.

Get Cooking with Play Food!

Bright fruits and vegetables inspire color recognition and the chance to put them in or remove them from a “recipe” pot or container.  Kids especially love cutting and slicing wooden vegetables with Velcro.  Have them use the play knife or “open” the fruits and veggies by pulling them apart with their hands. As a bonus, the Velcro noise gives good sensory stimulation.

Wind Up for Fun

A walking robot, monkey with cymbals, hopping frog—there are so many fun wind-up toys out there to choose from.  Some even come free in popular kid’s fast food meals!  We encourage every SLP and other school-based therapist to build a small collection for early speech and language intervention sessions. Practice requesting words like “more” and “please.” These little movers are a great way to introduce and reinforce “go” with the phrase “ready, set….go!”  You may also work on concepts like “down” by winding one up and asking the child, “Where should I put this?”

Build with Blocks

All types of blocks will do, but the Fisher-Price peek-a-blocks are definitely a favorite among young students.  Little builders will enjoy stacking while they learn “up, up, up.”  And sometimes, it’s even more fun to knock them “down, down, down.”

Take Care of Baby 

Dolls offer so many opportunities to learn and grow through pretend play. Be sure to have some accessories on hand, like hats, bowls, spoons, cups, and hairbrushes. While any doll or even a stuffed animal can work for this type of activity, plastic dolls are especially great because you can do baths with real water!  Work on receptive language by teaching a child to feed, dress, bathe, or brush the baby’s hair. As your student progresses, consider creating a list of target words based on how he or she enjoys playing with dolls.  Nouns to work on may include “baby,” “doll,” “spoon,” “bowl,” “cup,” “hat,” etc.  Verbs include actions like washing, eating, sleeping, drinking, walking, etc. Big, little, wet, dry, yucky, stinky, pretty, etc. are great descriptive words to introduce. The possibilities are endless for building on success with dolls.

Stack Those Rings

Little hands love touching and gripping stackable rings. Put the smallest and the largest pieces next to each other to teach big versus small.  Try stacking three pieces together to start working on the concept of sequencing and what comes next. Practice colors, counting, and turn-taking using the rings.  You can even put the rings over your mouth when making a sound and then to the child’s mouth when it’s his or her turn to respond. Don’t be afraid to get a little silly by looking through the rings for a fun game of “I see you.”

Get Hooked on Books

For early speech and language intervention, board books are best! You probably already have a small library of favorites. But for the next time you’re looking to switch out the picture books in your bag, here’s some great ones to try: anything from the Bright Baby collection (Colors, First Words, Animals, Trucks, etc); Baby Faces by DK Publishing; Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes by Annie Kubler;  Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle; and Moo Baa La La La by Sandra Boynton.

We hope we’ve helped inspire some new ideas for your early speech and language intervention sessions. Do you carry a special bag? If so, what’s in it?  As always, we want to hear from you.

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