Do you love buying those mini-pumpkins as much as I do? When I went to Trader Joe’s this year, they had tons of adorable mini-gourds too! It got me thinking about pumpkin speech therapy activities. Here are some ideas: Pumpkin Speech Therapy Activities Ideas:   Pumpkin Speech Therapy Craft – 3D Pumpkin This adorable 3D pumpkin craft reminds me of the mini-pumpkins from Trader Joe’s: win-win! Plus students will love to take home the little pumpkin for carry-over! It includes articulation targets and language targets (like categories, synonyms, irregular plurals, and more) on the sides of the pumpkins that you can work on as students color, cut, assemble and glue…

Do you use wordless picture books for speech therapy? They are great for getting language samples! Just open the book and have the student tell you what they think is happening. But wordless picture books can also be used to target skills such as making inferences, creating a narrative, and answering questions. This post contains affiliate links, which means we could receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. Wordless Picture Books for Speech Therapy: Good Night, Gorilla: This silly book is great for younger children. As the zoo keeper says goodnight to all the animals, the gorilla secretly lets them all out…

Ahh, fall . . . sweater weather, warm drinks, and pumpkin everything. I love fall – and fall speech therapy activities are no exception! These ideas include lots of ideas for students who are working on language goals – from emergent communication (think pre-k or minimally verbal students) as well as students working on language therapy skills such as following directions, inferences, and WH- questions. There are also a couple of articulation activities in the list! This post contains affiliate links, which means we could receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. Fall Speech Therapy Activities: Fall Crafts for Speech Therapy I…

Using YouTube videos for speech therapy can be a great way to grab students’ attention and to target so many language skills. The following YouTube videos are ones that I used when working with preschool and elementary-aged students on the autism spectrum, many of whom were minimally verbal and used AAC. Best YouTube Videos for Speech Therapy: Target: “Quiet Hands”/Impulse Control I loved to use this catchy music video with cookie monster to start off my small groups in the preschool classroom. I had visual icons of “quiet hands” and of “play” ready to go. Then I would set a moderately desirable toy set in the center of the table.…

Are you starting to think about Back-to-School speech therapy activities for your students? The activities I’m going to talk about include lots of visuals, so they are particularly good for preschoolers, students on the autism spectrum, and non-verbal/minimally verbal students who use AAC! You could use some of these activities as First Day of speech therapy activities and use the rest throughout the first month of school. RELATED READ: Back-to-School Speech-Language Activities for Elementary Students This post contains affiliate links, which means we could receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. Back-to-School Speech Therapy Activities: School-Themed Interactive Books I like interactive books…

I made this set of Wh Question cards with a functional, grocery-store theme that I’m giving away right here on SpeakPlayLove.com! The free wh question cards are large and include visuals, making them perfect for both verbal and non-verbal students. The visuals and low-distraction backgrounds are ideal for students on the autism spectrum or any young learner.   Each Free WH- Question Card includes: A written WH question A large picture related to the question to increase comprehension Three visual answer choices paired with written words These cards utilize Picture Communication Symbols® (PCS/Boardmaker symbols – used with permission), which are familiar to many special education students, including students on the…

Whether you are looking for some end-of-the-school-year speech therapy activities or you are teaching ESY speech therapy (extended school year), here are some summer speech therapy activities to get you started. These summer speech therapy activities include lots of visuals, so they are particularly good for students on the autism spectrum, non-readers, or non-verbal/minimally verbal students! I find that most of my students with these types of needs attend summer school to prevent regression of skills. RELATED READ: Summer Speech-Language Activities for Elementary Students Summer ESY Speech Therapy Activities: Favorite Things about Summer Activity I love to start a season with a fun, getting-to-know-you activity that is errorless. Just because…

I once heard that you are either a “book” speech therapist or a “game” speech therapist. While I love books. . . I am definitely a game therapist. So I wanted to share some of my favorite board games for speech therapy with you! I actually kind of fought being a “game” therapist for a while. I LOVE books in real life. (And I do use them in therapy sometimes) But it turns out that I love using games in therapy even more. RELATED: Wordless Picture Books for Speech Therapy (This post contains affiliate links, which means we could receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something…

Looking for a speech therapy ice breaker activity that can be used with your students who need visual supports? This free “School Favorite Things” booklet is ideal to use in individual or group speech therapy sessions with students in special education classrooms. I’ll go over ideas for differentiation below, so you can also use this activity with verbal students alongside non-verbal students in a group! Free Speech Therapy Ice Breaker Activity: This activity works on sharing opinions, error-less choice-making, and early social skills! RELATED: Back-to-School Speech Therapy Ideas   Set-up for Your Speech Therapy Ice Breaker Activity Print copies for each student Cut the five booklet pages and cover apart…

Using interactive songs in speech therapy with little ones (early intervention/preschool age) is a fun way to work on language development. And trust me, the kids won’t care if you are a terrible singer (I know from experience – bad singing runs in my family). Plus, you don’t need any fancy equipment or bulky toys to enjoy all the benefits of using music in your speech therapy sessions! If you are working with pre-talkers or any client who would benefit from visuals, you can grab my free, printable 12 song choice cards here. Just print and laminate (or put in a mini photo book). Then, you can let your client…