Changing the routine

What do you do when you have students who get tired of your articulation drills? 

Turn it into something that resembles a game! In this case, I had to really sit down and ponder how to re-vamp the good old "S" slide (as we call it). The idea of using Chutes and Ladders didn't hit me until I pulled out my board game one day after school. I modified it to include some of the reminders that I use during my sessions as well as giving ample practice with our sound slide. 

So far, it has helped to break up the routine.

Grab your copy of Slides and Ladders for Lateral /s/ here.

Thoughts on Bubble Talk

I recently stumbled across a game that has been on my SLP wishlist for what feels like forever at the Goodwill Outlet. It was just sitting there in a bin that had been pretty well picked over by the point I walked in the door. Why was I about ready to bust out in my happy dance?

Well,  Bubble Talk is a very versatile game that can strike up a conversation almost instantly. The pictures range from completely wacky to the more realistic. The bare bones premise of the game is that you match the funniest caption card to each picture.

I see this game being so much more:

1. Using the pictures and/or caption card as a story starter.
2. Open-ended questioning.
3. Describing what they see.
4. Identifying the action or the noun.  
5. Identifying emotions and giving a reason why the person/animal might feel that way.
6. Identifying what doesn't make sense with the pictures.
7. Articulation carryover

My one suggestion would be to go through all of the cards before you pull this game out for therapy. (Actually, it's a good thing to do this with any new game.) I found a few that were a bit questionable for the age group that I serve. 

The picture of the sister tying her little brother to the chair will probably be one that really gets them talking.

I've learned over the past three years that my favorite games to use in therapy are either the ones that can hit multiple targets, like this one, or the ones that will get me multiple productions from turn-taking without being too time consuming.

One of my favorite pictures for emotions.
Why do you think the baby is making that face?