Prietto Speech Therapy

Pediatric speech therapists LOVE toys. Among the physical and occupational therapists we work with, we are known for our ample toy closets and frequent new toy purchases. Here are 5 popular toys you’ll find in SLP’s cupboards and how we use them with beginner talkers and beyond.

1. Bubbles-Bubbles are wonderful. The sense of awe and visual delight is evident when watching babies, toddlers and children of all ages play with bubbles. SLPs use a simple, no-spill bubble tumbler and wand to:
   • increase attention to our lips
   • model lip rounding and blowing
   • instruct our clients how to round their lips & blow
   • target language such as “blow, up, pop, catch”. We also target pointing to pop as well as “clap, pinch, poke”, adjectives such “big, little, shiny, sticky, colors” and pop on various body parts (nose, elbow, toe, etc)
   • *Pro tip: It is easier for beginners to blow the bubble off the wand, rather than through the wand. So, you can blow a bubble, catch it with the wand, then hold it to your child’s lips for them to blow.
2. Balloons-Balloons say “Party!”. They are delightful and so much fun. Like bubbles, blowing up a balloon draws attention to our face, especially our lips. As SLPs, we use balloons to:
   • Make therapy fun!
   • As rewards when home activity projects are completed
   • target new vocabulary (colors, balloon, blow, hit, etc)
   • make choices of two (choosing colors)
   • target requesting such as “balloon, please”, “I want green”, “blow big one”, “tie it”
   • model actions
   • target back and forth engagement. hitting a balloon back and forth is easier than catching and throwing a ball. This skills can be a precursor to back and forth conversation
3. Balls-Balls are fun to bounce, throw, hit, shoot, catch and more. SLPs use balls to:
   • engage in back-and-forth play to teach my turn/your turn like in conversation.
   • model action words to increase expressive vocabulary: roll, bounce, kick, throw, catch, hit
   • teach adjectives: colors and various sensory types (squishy, bumpy, spiky)
   • build sentences: “I throw”, “you kick it”, “let’s play ball”, “shoot basketball”
   • engage our whole body in activities. Many children talk more when moving.
   • provide goal-oriented activities such as kick a ball into a large goal or slam dunk a ball into a hoop
   • teach specifics within categories: basketball, football, baseball, etc.
4. Blocks-By 18 months, toddlers are expected to be able to stack 6-7 blocks. How can they complete this task without being exposed to blocks!? As SLPs, we take out blocks to:
   • Build towers to knock over. Babies, toddlers and more tend to love to watch things crash. It’s a fun cause and effect activity, which precedes the concept “I say something and get your reaction” that children learn.
   • Model sounds & words, “whoa, uh-oh, boom, wow, up, down, crash” and counting while building.
   • Teach imitatation with objects. Children often can imitate our actions before they can imitate our sounds. We build a tower of two blocks, and give them two blocks to build their own. Other actions to imitate, knocking a tower with a race car, building a simple bridge of three blocks and knocking two blocks together
   • Describe creations. Build a “fence” for animals, a house, a bed, boat, etc. Use blocks to create and language to describe it
   • Label the tiny pictures or numbers on the blocks.
5. Baby dolls-SLPs often have baby dolls or stuffed animals with care taking supplies that our students can love on. Here’s what we work on:
   • Labeling body parts and facial features. Babies often can find body parts on others before they can on themselves. Using a baby doll to point out eyes, noses, mouth etc prevents getting poked!
   • Teaching adjectives and vocabulary associated with bathtime/feeding such as: messy/dirty, clean, wet, dry, dirty feet, wipe hands, soft towel, clean diaper, etc
   • Demonstrate functional use of everyday objects: using a spoon to feed the baby, a cup or bottle to give a drink and a washcloth to wipe mouths
   • Symbolic play-use a cloth as a blanket or pretend to feed baby with an empty cup
   • Pretend play-three year olds and older can act out sequenced steps, such as feeding the baby, wiping its mouth and putting to bed with a blanket.
   • Front load new experiences. Act out visits to the doctors with a doll, discussing what will happen, such as getting a shot and soothing the baby.

There are so many more ways to use these toys and so many more toys we love. I’ll share more toys SLPs like soon.

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