Speech & Language

What Can We Do at Home?

Consistent practice of speech and language skills is essential to a student's progress in speech and language therapy.   One of the best places to practice is at home with family!  All you need is ten minutes each day (or more if you're having a lot of fun!).  On this page you will find structured word lists and activities focusing on certain sounds, as well as some great pre-packaged games for language stimulation.  There are also many activities that you can easily fit into a dinner conversation or a short car ride, without the need for paper and pencil!

Articulation Activities

Click on the links above for word lists.  These are helpful for drill work at home, such as nightly practice of speech sounds.  You can also incorporate the words into games such as memory and go fish styles of games.  Your child may want to draw a picture to go with the words for these games, or you might do a search for pictures in magazines.  When your child is ready, you can ask him or her to make up their own sentence with the word, which is the next level of practice.  Suggestions for those children who are practicing carryover of speech sounds include reading aloud at a comfortable level and monologue.

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Language Activities

"Outburst®"

This is a great pre-packaged game for language expression.  You can also create a homemade version of the game!   Ask your child name as many items in a category as they can in one or two minutes.   Keep track of time using a timer (your child will also probably enjoy being in charge of the timer once in a while).  You can also have them name a certain number of items (e.g., 5 items) without using a timer.  If you want to involve the whole family, you can take turns naming objects as a team.  You can use the categories listed above or create your own categories based on your family's interests.  Here are some more examples of categories:

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"I Spy" Describing Game

There are many variations of this activity that can be used for different needs.  You need at least one "talker" and one "listener" for this activity.  Each person takes a turn describing something in a picture or an object in the room, using critical attributes of the item.   The other players try to guess the object.  You can use pictures from a memory game, pictures from magazines or books, or anything that you might have on hand at home.  Examples of clues include:

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Guess Who? is a great game for asking questions and describing.  Your child may also need practice with grammar, for which this game can provide structured, repetitive practice.  Some children benefit from a small chart with common questions, such as:

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Fluency Activities

For quick fluency practice in connected speech, you can ask your child to provide a monologue on a topic while using fluency strategies.  This would also be a good time for you to model "easy speech" for your child.  You can also have them practice during more structured activities, like reading aloud for five minutes.  Here are some examples of questions for monologue:

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Online Resources for Home Practice

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