The Best Speech Therapy Early Intervention Activities

Speech Therapy & Early Intervention

Early Intervention speech therapy services are appropriate for children from birth until their third birthday. This service delivery model is rooted in parent training and coaching to work on developmental goals from speech to physical motor skills during everyday play routines.  My experience has taught me that the more practice a child has of any target, the quicker you will witness developmental gains and progress. What better way to work on developmental skills than to incorporate engaging activities for preschoolers?

This post contains examples of the best speech therapy early intervention activities with complete details of materials, speech and language targets, and play sequence suggestions for each of the following themes:

1. Water Play
2. Arts and Crafts
3. Play dough
4. Sensory Bins

For a unique activity that is especially fun at Easter, read my post about using plastic eggs to discover mini treasures.

WATER PLAY: SPEECH THERAPY EARLY INTERVENTION ACTIVITIES

Water play activities for preschoolers are always a splash in my coaching sessions.  You will need a bucket or bin filled with a little water or you could set up your online therapy room near a kitchen or bathroom sink.  No need to purchase fancy bath toys, but if you have some at home then you can use them. These everyday items will lend to some language enrichment just as well:

• Small disposable or plastic cup
• Funnel
• Dish soap
• Sponge
• Empty bottles (hand soap, dish soap, shampoo)
• Baby doll or dishware for pretend play
• Child’s watering can
• Wash cloth
• Grow towels from the Dollar Store

Following Directions with Water

I ask parents to bag up a few things and keep it handy for the session.  There is no need to fill the bucket, bin, or sink before the therapy session.  Why take the fun of it at the start, right?  Instead, your child can use bottles, cups, faucets to fill the container and squirt in a few pumps of soap.  This is a great way to work on following directions such as:

• Get bin.
• Fill bottle with water.
• Turn the water on/off.
• Pour in cold/warm water.
• Squirt 3 pumps of soap

You can even practice 2-step directions by combining the above or creating your own.  When the water bin is filled, it is time to break out the objects for play.  Your speech pathologist should give you a reminder about the goal you are targeting in this activity just before you open the bag/ container of objects.  However, once the action gets going, you should not hear much instruction to allow for the natural flow of communication.  Below are some examples of goals that you can target in this water play activity:

• Imitating actions/ sounds/ words
• Using objects/ pictures/ signs/ gestures/ words/ phrases to make requests
• Following simple directions
• Using two objects together in play
• Expanding play sequences (i.e., put toy cars in the water, scrub them with a brush, dry them)

Bubble Bin

You could always transform this water play bin into a homemade bubble one!  I stumbled upon this little gem years ago one overcast, summer day and my neighbor and I decided to try it out with our kids aged four through seven years old. They all LOVED it; big kids included!  You can follow this bubble link to a site that tells you how to make the solution and use your finger wands.  Plus, there are some activities included in the post that enhance speech and language.

After 15-20 minutes you can give your child a movement break or have him help clean up objects while you listen to specific feedback from your speech pathologist, review homework for enhancing communication during functional routines, and discuss the next week’s coaching session.

ARTS AND CRAFTS: SPEECH THERAPY EARLY INTERVENTION ACTIVITIES

Arts and crafts activities for preschoolers require just a few materials: paper, crayons/markers, and/or a Magna Doddle.  You can tell that I like to keep things simple! Here are some goals you can address in at home speech therapy arts and crafts activities:

Imitation:

1. Draw 2 horizontal lines while saying “ZOOM” leaving a few inches between them.
2. Now make vertical lines while saying “ZAP”.
3. Enjoy your train track for pretend play!

Early Speech Sound targets:

• Trace hands while singing any tune that the child enjoys.
• Model/ demonstrate me, mine, my, you, big, tiny, hi, and bye while coloring the hands together.

Following directions (varies according to ability):

• 1 Step:  Identify objects in fields of 2-3 choices (Get paper, Give crayon)
• 2 Step: First get the paper, then give me the crayon/marker.
• Novel: Put the paper on your head.
• Descriptive: Give me the blue crayon/marker.

Pragmatic skills (Using gestures, pictures, sounds, words, or phrases):

• Greeting and Departures: Practicing “hi” and “bye” during the activity.
• Requesting objects: Giving choices or placing objects within reach for selection.
• Responding to questions
• Protesting
• Turn taking with the same colored crayon/marker.
• Commenting: Labeling hand sizes (big/tiny).

Language Skills:

• What color is this crayon/marker?
• What do we do with crayons/markers?
• Where should we hang this picture?
• Which hand is big/tiny?
• Did you like this?

If you want to add a sensory experience to this early intervention activity for preschoolers, then you could use scented crayons/markers and talk about the things you smell.  Another option would be to color the hand drawings with some glue and then sprinkle Jell-O powder or a fragrant spice.  Most importantly, encourage FUN because that is what will bring out the most communicative interaction!

PLAY DOUGH: SPEECH THERAPY EARLY INTERVENTION ACTIVITIES

I have yet to meet a child who will not sit for a good period to create with playdough.  While there are some fun playdough products on the market, you can use just about anything with dough such as:

• Seasonal cookie cutters like spring flowers, shamrocks, or an umbrella
• Sturdy plastic cups for making circles and/ or rolling dough
• Plastic knife for cutting
• Mixing bowl to store tools and supplies

In the event that you do not have some play dough on hand, then you can make your own ahead of your session with this recipe.  I might suggest adding some green food coloring to transform the play dough into grass and decorate it with flowers using plastic gems, pipe cleaners, seashells, feathers, or outside objects like mini rocks or pine cones.

Now, what can we address with play dough?  A better question might be: what CAN’T you target with play dough?  Here are some of my personal favorites:

• Create “fossil” imprints with outdoor items retrieved on a scavenger hunt.  Use a cell phone to take pictures of the treasures in your yard and then go on a hunt for those objects.  Target concepts such as same and different while matching objects to impressions.
• Work on imitating actions to roll, press, smash play dough using familiar tunes to sing a song.
• Address following directions at the simple or complex levels.
• Use the play dough to cover puzzle pieces in a bin.  Your child then searches for a piece to complete a puzzle.  Pieces shaped like an object can be used to make impressions in the play dough for a conversation piece.
• Make a pretty flower with your child. I suggest sorting whatever objects you have on hand into bins or an appetizer tray, so the decorative items are within sight but out of reach to prompt requesting.
• Foster pretend play by making small “hats” for Lego figures/ mini objects/ baby dolls.  This also lends for a nice opportunity to work on a simple lexicon: hat, on, off, hat on/off.  Another option would be to make “food” like thin spaghetti, pizza, or hot dogs and then model feeding a baby doll these delicious creations.

SENSORY BINS: SPEECH THERAPY EARLY INTERVENTION ACTIVITIES

Last, but certainly not least, my favorite early intervention activity for preschoolers is a sensory bin.  For this activity, you will need a bin, preferably one with a cover to foster having your child make requests/ ask as opposed to reaching into an open bin and taking desired items.  Also, you need something to use as a fill.  Here is where you can get creative and use some nearly expired dry goods that you were about to toss.  Some of my favorite, sensory bin fills are:

• Assorted, dry pasta
• Decorative straw typically used in gift bags
• Dried beans
• Cotton balls
• Sand
• Play dough

Note that I did not include rice as a preferred fill.  It makes too much of a hot mess for my liking and is a pain to clean up later.  If the intent is to pull together a fun activity with easy clean-up, then I would advise reserving rice for meals only.

Enhance Play with Toy Integration

Sensory bins are a F A N T A S T I C way to liven just about any play task, such as puzzles, mini objects, Mr. Potato Heads, blocks, pretend play, and flashcards.  Below is a breakdown on the speech and language targets you can address using sensory bins:

• Matching object to picture with puzzles:  There’s just something exciting about searching for puzzle pieces hidden in a sensory bin rather than just dumping the parts onto a table.
• Answering basic questions with mini objects:  Mini objects are everywhere at home!  You could use doll house figures; Fisher Price play set items; wind-up toys; or a variety of matchbox/ pull back vehicles.  In this sensory bin, I would suggest partially hiding items to allow for visible answer choices and coaching parents to ask: “Where is the car?” or “What can we drive?”
• Mr. Potato Head: Target identifying or expressing body parts with this classic toy.  Again, partially hide objects for visible, answer choices.
• Blocks: Duplo, Legos, or wooden blocks will work fine in a sensory bin.  Address color recognition/ naming; early prepositions like “up”, “on”, “off”, or following directions.
• Pretend play: I have used beans and mini work trucks to create a construction truck bin or garden for planting fake flowers into mini pots.  You and your speech pathologist could brainstorm something based on your child’s likes and interests.
• Flashcards: I prefer using flashcards from sensory bins over traditional drill practices for expressive vocabulary and speech sound targets. Flashcards can be homemade or bought online.

At the end of the day, fostering an emotionally charged, fun play experience will support retention of communicative skills.  All this planning ahead of sessions takes time, but the rewards are certainly worth the efforts!