Everyone has their go to materials that they love to use. Today I wanted to share my can’t live without therapy materials. With the holidays close by – it is a great time to indulge in some new materials!
1. Winds up toys are
a must! They are so fun! I think I got into speech therapy partially for all of
the super cool materials we get to create and use. Purchase these and have a
blast in therapy. You can use these to work on so many skills. You use the wind
up toys to work on requesting. The student can communicate which specific toy
they want. You can use these to work on requesting for help- sheesh those
little buttons can be hard to turn for small hands. You can also use them to
work on intraverbals or filling in the blanks. Pick up the toy, start to wind
it up and say, “Ready, Set, ________ and the students says “Go” So much fun in
such a small package! Check out my favorites here.
2. The language
builder cards are a must as well. I feel like everyone has these – right? If
not you should check them out. They are my favorite and comprehensive noun card
deck. There are cards from a variety of categories to include but not limited
to food, vehicles, colors and shapes. You can target a variety of functional
language skills with these cards. You can set out an array of cards and have
the student receptively identify the targeted card by its label (“Where is the
frog?”) by its function (“Which one do you eat?”) or by it’s class (“Which one
is a vehicle). You can also work on categorizing with this set of cards. You
can set out a picture of a shape, color and a vehicle. Hand the student a
circle and say “match circle”, hand the student a car and say “match car”, etc.
Wow what a versatile set of cards! Check them out here.
3. Button art. I
just love this game/ art activity. It is affordable and fun! You can have the
students request which picture they want to make with the button art. It comes
with a variety of pictures that they can make. Once they choose the picture
they want to make, you can have the student either take turns with the
therapist or a peer when choosing what button to put into the picture. To
correctly make the picture, the student needs to pick the correct button color
that matches the button mat, so this also targets matching skills. When all of
the buttons are in, you can work on the student saying “ Look, I made a (picture)”.
A must for early learner’s with autism
4. Another flashcard
set that is amazing for working on actions and for targeting generalization are
The Action Builder Cards. The Action Builder Cards contain 100 high-resolution
photos with guiding text on the back. The cards are different from what have
been on the market forever and that is action sets that contain just one
picture of an action. Students with autism need us to use many examples, to
help and plan for generalization. If we want students to make a bridge from
what is going on in therapy to what is going on in the natural environment,
these cards are a must. Check out this video to learn more about how they can
help your students increase their language skills. Purchase here.
5. I also just love
Pete the Cat. My students love seeing all of the mischief that Pete gets
into with each turn of the page. Students can help you repeat the phrase “ Oh
No” before we find out what new thing Pete has stepped in. There is an amazing
video that I like to show when I read this book. It is wonderful to see the
students reference the book and the video for an amazing literature experience.
6. Llama Llama is
another favorite! This Christmas book is perfect for very young students or
students who need a simple story. This book has a great story but only one line
of text per page. So it tells a great tale but it is not overwhelming. My own
children at home just love to hear about Llama Llama and Christmas time.
7. Uno. I know that
most of us probably already own this game but there are so many different
variations that it is worth another look. They have Frozen Uno, Emoji Uno, etc.…
Some students that we work with may have difficulty playing Uno with all of
those complicated skip, reverse and other direction cards. But don’t despair,
when working with students on modified leisure just take a peak at this freebie
video and all will enjoy this game! Age appropriate and an easy game to modify,
so that all students can have fun!
So this
holiday season – indulge! You and your students will benefit. There is nothing
better than starting the year off with some new stuff! Happy Shopping!!
Did I miss
one of your favorites? Drop me a line at www.abaspeech.org.
No comments :
Post a Comment