speech therapy exercises for 8 year old

Speech Therapy Activities: 14 Articulation Exercises for Kids

If you’re looking for speech therapy activities you can do at home, in a clinical setting, or within the classroom, you’ve come to the right place. From fun and exciting articulation exercises and games to help develop and teach proper articulation, fluency, and voice regulation, to targeted speech therapy exercises geared toward developing a child’s ability to understand and express emotions through language, this collection of speech therapy activities offers a great way to help children learn and develop through play!

What is speech therapy?

Most people assume speech therapy is focused solely on the development of proper articulation and the correction of speech challenges like stutters and lisps, and while speech therapy certainly helps with speech issues such as these, the work of speech therapists and speech and language pathologists (SLPs) goes much deeper.

In addition to improving speech, speech therapy can also help an individual understand and express themselves through language, which in turn can help with things like reading comprehension, writing, and spelling. Speech therapists can also help develop communication in individuals who are non-verbal, and help treat those with swallowing and feeding disorders.

At home speech therapy

While there are many at home speech therapy games, activities, and toys children with speech challenges can benefit from, you must consult with a trained speech therapist or speech and language pathologist first to determine the scope of your child’s challenges and put together a proper treatment plan. Once that’s in place, there are HEAPS of ways you can help support your child’s speech therapy sessions at home, and we’re excited to share some of our favorites with you!

Note: I am not a therapist or a doctor, I do not have a background in childhood education, and I do not endorse the use of any of the therapies, activities, games, or toys discussed on this website. If you suspect you or your child has a developmental delay or other underlying medical condition, please consult with a trained professional before trying any of these ideas at home.

Speech therapy activities

One of the things I love about Pinterest is that it is FILLED with all kinds of fun activities for kids that help them practice certain skills without them even realizing! There are lots of brilliant speech therapy activities you can do at home to help develop your child’s articulation, language development, reading comprehension, and writing skills, and you don’t need to purchase fancy speech therapy toys to enjoy them. You can improvise with games and toys you probably already have lying around the house, and we’ve even found printables you can download for free.

Learn with Mr. Potato Head. There are so many toys and games that can be adapted for speech therapy, and this post on The Dabbling Speechie will inspire you to get your hands on a Mr. Potato Head set if you don’t already own one!

Read. Repetitive books are a great way to practice articulation, and there are heaps of great children’s books that focus on particular sounds to help with speech therapy, including:

• Silly Sally
• Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
• The Cat in the Hat
• Fancy Nancy
• One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
• Chick Chick Boom Boom
• Llama Llama Red Pajama

Fun with Straws. Drinking different textures through a drinking straw , or blowing air through a straw to move objects like pom poms are both great ways to develop a child’s oral muscles.

Mini Golf. Grab a set of kids’ golf clubs and set-up this Speech Put Put Game by The Speech Girls !

Duplo Letter Sound Matching. This beginners phonics activity by This Reading Mama offers a great way to practice different sounds with your child. All you need is a pack of LEGO Duplo Basic Bricks , and you can adjust this activity to target all kinds of tricky sounds and words!

Voice-O-Meter Voice Chart. If your child struggles to regulate his or her voice, and can’t distinguish between what an ‘indoor’ and ‘outdoor’ voice sounds like, this Voice-O-Meter Voice Chart on Teachers Pay Teachers is a great place to start!

Sing Songs. All of those silly songs your kids sing in preschool like ‘Row Row Row Your Boat’, ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Start’, and ‘The Itsy Bitsy Spider’ aren’t just for fun. They also help develop language skills! Don’t be afraid to make up your own words and melodies to help practice the sounds your child struggles with most, and remember to keep it fun and engaging so it doesn’t feel like practice.

Poetry. Yes, you read that right. Poetry can help teach things like decoding, fluency, and sight words, and this post on Create Dream Explore will teach you exactly how you can turn poetry into speech therapy activities!

Hot Chocolate Articulation Craftivity. This free printable on Teachers Pay Teachers offers a fun way to practice 20 different S-blend words!

Articulation Bowling. Grab a plastic bowling set and make this Articulation Bowling Activity I found on Consonantly Speaking . It’s one of those easy-to-make activities that keeps kids interested and motivated, which is a win-win in my book!

Roll and Retell. An Apple for the Teacher has a great Roll and Retell activity that helps children discuss and summarize the things they read before putting their thoughts on paper.

WH-Questions Pizza Party! Another freebie, this speech therapy game on Teachers Pay Teachers targets basic WH- and How-Questions to help with language development, reading comprehension, etc.

Play-Doh Mats. Play-Doh offers a calming sensory activity to do both in the classroom and at home, and these Free Digraph Mats by Playdough to Plato can be used to teach tricky sounds to kids who struggle with articulation. Playdough to Plato also offers a Digraph Activity Set, which includes 10 motivating digraph activities to learn the most popular digraphs in words: CH, CK, KN, NG, PH, QU, SH, TH, and WH. Get your copy HERE .

Mega Fluency Pack. If your child struggles with fluency, this Mega Fluency Packet for Speech and Language Therapy on Teachers Pay Teachers helps kids who struggle with things like repetition, interjection, prolongation, and circumlocution.

Whether your child struggles to articulate certain letters and sounds, needs help with fluency, has difficulty with voice regulation, finds it challenging to understand and express himself through language, or is completely nonverbal, these speech therapy activities offer a fun way to help develop the skills he needs for ongoing success.

Remember to practice often, to keep it fun, and to remember these inspiring words by Peter F. Drucker:

‘The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.’

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50 fun and easy articulation activities for speech therapy.

Articulation cards are a staple in Speech Therapy rooms. Articulation Flash Cards can be used in so many ways with preschoolers and elementary students... buuuttt sometimes they can get boring and repetitive. Check out these articulation card ideas to bring some new and exciting speech therapy activities into your therapy room! You can use these ideas in group therapy or in one-on-one sessions or even send them home for easy articulation homework ideas!

WHAT’S THERE?: Place 5 cards around the room. Ask the child to find and label the card in a particular place. For example, “What is beside the lamp?” -> “ Bee!”

MAKE A ROAD: Place target cards on the floor around the room. Drive cards over the cards. If you have a toy tractor, you can load the cards into the tractor.

FEED THE PUPPET: Feed a puppet the target cards.

FLASHLIGHT HUNT: Pin the cards around a room. Turn the lights off and give the child a flashlight to find the cards.

IS IT A ___?: Ask the child if a card is an item. For example, “Is it a cat?”. You can use the carrier phrases, “No! It’s a ____” or “Yes! It’s a ___.” Have the child complete the blank.

MUSICAL CHAIRS: Place cards on the floor. Play music and when it stops, have the child find a card to sit on.

TAKE PICTURES: Use a camera/phone to take pictures of the cards. Kids find this incredibly motivating!

BOWLING: Put the cards in paper bags. Take turns rolling a ball to knock over the ‘pins’. Say the word when you knock over a bag.

OBSTACLE COURSE: Make an obstacle course out of items that you have. Make sure to go under, over, and between objects! Place cards throughout the obstacle to practice along the way.

‘BUY’ THE CARDS: Play store! Use pretend money and have the child ‘buy’ the cards.

BEAN BAG TOSS: Place cards on the floor. Have the child throw a bean bag on the cards. For more trials, the child can also tell you which card they are aiming at.

BALL POPPER: Stand the cards up using binder clips, or stick them to a wall. Use a ball popper (or bubbles) to aim for the cards.

HOPSCOTCH: Make a hopscotch board out of tape on the floor. Place a card in each square. Say the word when you land on it.

SENSORY BIN: Place the cards in a bin filled with cotton balls, pom poms, and cut up straws - or anything you can think of! Have the child find the items using tongs or tweezers.

JENGA: Place cards between the layers of blocks.

FLY SWATTER: Place the cards around the room. Give the child a fly swatter and have the child ‘swat’ each card. Kids love running between the cards!

TELL SOMEONE: Bring the cards to show the child’s teacher/friend. Ask the student to label each card.

WHAT AM I DRAWING?: Place the cards face up, in front of you and the child. Take turns drawing one of the items. See if you can guess what it is!

HIDE UNDER CUPS: Hide the cards under plastic cups.

SNOWBALL FIGHT: Place the cards upright using binder clips. Use scrunched up paper balls to knock the cards over.

HIDE IN BOOKS: Hide cards in books. You can use Sticky Tack (or hide under flaps!) to stick the cards to the pages. Say the word when you flip to the page the card is on.

HANG AND CATCH: This activity takes a little more prep but it is so fun! Hang string with paper clips from the ceiling. Attach cards and have your students pull the cards off the string.

PLAYDOUGH: Smoosh play dough on the card each time you say the word (make sure your cards are laminated!).

TIC TAC TOE: Print a few copies of your articulation cards and play tic tac toe! Give each player 6 copies of a card.

MAKE A SHAPE: Make different shapes with your cards (square, circle, triangle).

HOPPING: Place the cards around the room on the ground. Hop from one card to another.

SIMPLE DRILL: Pair your card with a drill card and cover each number with a token or a mini object.

ROLL AND SAY: Roll a dice. Say the word the number of times indicated on the dice.

MEMORY: Print two sets of cards and play memory.

GO FISH: Use two sets of cards to play Go Fish.

MEMORY GAME: Place several cards face up on the table. Have the child study the cards. Flip them face down and see how many card the child can remember.

FISHING: Use a magnet and paper clips to create a fishing game.

WHAT’S MISSING: Put 2 or 3 cards on table, face up. Let the child take a quick peek and then close their eyes. Take one card away or turns one card over. Ask the child to guess which one is missing.

MAIL CARDS: Make a mailbox out of a tissue box. “Mail” the cards to family and friends.

EGG CARTON TOSS: Place one card in each section of the carton. Have the child toss a coin into the carton. Say the word on the card where the coin landed.

TELL A STORY: Use several cards to create a story. (This is best for conversation level).

SILLY SENTENCES: Make a silly sentence with each card.

POP IT: Use a Pop it fidget toy and have the child push one section each time they say the word.

USE CLOTHESPINS: Have the child place a clothespin on the card each time they say the word.

COLOR AND CREATE: Use black and white Articulation Cards. Allow the child to color and create their own set that they can use and take home! (My Articulation cards come in black and white and color for this purpose!)

BURY AND FIND: Bury cards under pom poms, cotton balls, or sand. Have the student use a shovel or tongs to find the cards/

BUCKET TOSS: Place cards in buckets. Throw crumbled paper or a ball in to the bucket.

MINI OBJECTS: Lay your cards on the table and cover them with mini objects. Simple but effective!

BUBBLE BLOW: Place cards on the wall using sticky tack or Painter’s Tape. Blow bubbles onto the cards. Say the word when the bubble lands on it.

MICROPHONE/TELEPHONE: Say your words into a telephone or toy microphone. You could also use paper towel rolls.

HOLE PUCH: Print Black and White Cards and hole punch the cards each time you say the word.

MAGNET WAND: Use a magnet wand and magnetic chips. Place a chip on each card the you say the word. Use the wand to pick up all the chips when you are done!

BLOCKS & CARDS: Place a block ad then lay a card on top. Continue until the tower tumbles. See how high you can build the tower before it falls!

SPOON RACE: Place the card on a spoon and see how fast you can make it across the room. Say the word when you place the card on the spoon.

FEED ANIMALS: Use toy animals and have them ‘eat’ the cards. Kids think this is hilarious!

I hope you find these articulation therapy ideas helpful. I know I am always looking for ways to mix it up and keep my students engaged.

The key to all sessions (in my opinion) is to allow a LOT of choices. If you want an Articulation Activity Choice Board (it includes 30 of the no-prep activities listed here ), sign up for my email list (link below) and you’ll get instant access!

If you're looking for some bright and colourful (and black and white) articulation cards, make sure to check out my Articulation Cards for Speech Therapy!

• Speech Therapy Tips and Tricks

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• Free Worksheets

I created these free speech and language worksheets so you can easily download and print them out to use as part of your speech therapy program.  Just scroll down the page to view the worksheets by topic.  You will find free speech therapy worksheets for articulation, vocabulary , grammar, holiday articulation and language games…and lots of other miscellaneous speech therapy creations that I love!  If you would like more information on what articulation therapy is you might like to read a post I have written called  Teaching Speech Sounds: The Process of Traditional Articulation Therapy

Parents:  If you are a mommy or a daddy (or grandma or grandpa) who wants to work with your child at home, you can use these speech therapy activity pages for extra practice.  Just choose the sound position to work on (initial, medial, or final) and click on the corresponding link to view and print the worksheets.  To help make practice more fun, you can print out two of the same page so you have pairs, cut them out, and use them to play a game of memory or go fish. You can also use them as flashcards.  You will find free speech therapy worksheets by sound and at a variety of levels; word level, phrase level and sentence levels!

Articulation Worksheets

Speech Sounds in Syllable Wheel

/th/ Sound Voiceless

/th/ Sound Voiced

Grammar Worksheets

Regular past tense.

Irregular Past Tense

Third Person Singular

Vocabulary Worksheets – Holiday and Seasonal Themed 

Fall & autumn memory game, christmas vocabulary 1, christmas vocabulary 2, summer vocabulary, summer vocabulary companion, grammar bingo games – holiday and seasonal themed, grammar bingo games.

Vocabulary BINGO Games – Holiday and Seasonal Themed

Vocabulary bingo - winter, concepts bingo - christmas, conceptual vocabulary bingo - back-to-school, conceptual vocabulary bingo - fall, conceptual vocabulary bingo - spring & easter, lemonade stand bingo - summer, 4th of july vocabulary bingo - summer.

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41 Free Online Speech Therapy Activities

There are many online speech therapy activities that you can do with your student or child to help them develop their language skills.

These online games and exercises are perfect for the online slps doing teletherapy and will not only be fun for both of you, but they will also provide great benefits for your child’s speech pathology goals and help improve their speech delay!

Fun Games for Online Speech Therapy Activities

In this article, we’ll highlight 41 online resources – including PBS Kids interactive games, Boom Cards, and Pink Cat Games. We hope that these online tools will encourage children to learn about social skills, vocabulary words, communication skills, and more.

The following section is a list of educational games that are great for any speech language pathologist to use during their therapy services.

Collection of Interactive Online Games

Enjoy this list below of online speech therapy games to work on your student’s or child’s speech goals and make your speech therapy session even more fun this school year.

Online Speech Therapy Activities

1. pbs kids.

One of our favorite online resources for speech therapy is the PBS Kids website. This online destination has a variety of fun, interactive games that help children work on their language skills.

Some SLP favorites include: “ Curiou s George Pop the Bubble “, “ Meatball Launcher “, and “ Daniel Tiger Bath Time Helper “.

Do you have students who love to build things? Be sure to check out this list of games: “ Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood: Sandcastle “, “ Hero Elementary Treehouse Trouble “, “ Hamster Run “, “ Ready Jet Go, Builder “, “ Animal Home Builder “.

All of these games are perfect for children who are in the early intervention stage or those who have autism spectrum disorder. They are also great for helping to build vocabulary skills , story telling , feelings and life skills, such as empathy, respect for others, labeling feelings, as well as others!

2. Boom Learning

Another online resource that we love are Boom Cards.

This online program makes it easy to access educational games that can help your child work on auditory processing skills, receptive and expressive language development, articulation practice, and more!

This online resource is perfect for practicing speech sounds with articulation games, vocabulary words, social skills, and following directions – all of which are important for speech development.

If you’re on the hunt for barrier games be sure to check out Boom Learning then!

SLP favorite free downloads can be found in my list of 917+ free boom cards for speech therapy !

3. pink cat games.

If you’re looking for online resources that are specifically designed for younger children, we highly recommend checking out Pink Cat Games.

This online website has a variety of great games and activities that focus on different language skills, including vocabulary development, following directions and more.

Some of our favorites include: “ Build a Monster “, “ Smarty Pants Animal Race “, and “ Quiz Wheel Game “.

All of these online resources are perfect for children in early intervention or with autism spectrum disorder, as they help to build vocabulary skills, language comprehension abilities, following directions, social communication, and more!

4. Fun Brain

This website has many online activities and games that work on vocabulary, reading comprehension, memory skill development, etc.

These online games are perfect for children who have already developed some language skills, but still need to improve their vocabulary or reading comprehension abilities.

Some of our favorite things on this site are “ Reading “, “ Games “, Grammar Gorillas , Plural Girls to work on plurals , and Simon Sees .

5. Educational Games

If you’re looking for online resources that focus on educational games, we highly recommend checking out Educational Games.

This website has a variety of online activities and games that work on different academic skills, including math, science, grammar, etc.

This online website is perfect for younger children who are just starting to learn their letters and sounds. It has a variety of online games and activities that focus on teaching the alphabet, phonics skills, vocabulary words, etc.

Some of our favorite online speech therapy activities on ABCya! include: “ Make a Cupcake “, “ Make an Ice Cream “, “ Make a Cookie “, “ Make a Pizza “, “ Make a Gingerbread House “, “ Make a Robot “, and “ Let me Grow “.

These online resources are perfect for children who are just starting to learn their letters and sounds, as well as those who need extra practice with their phonics skills. They also work great with younger children in the early intervention stage!

More reinforcement games, such as Happy Clicks, the Game of Battleship, and an Interactive Mr. Potato Head can be found in my list of 21 Best Reinforcement Games for Speech Therapy !

7. Sesame Street Games

This website offers a variety of educational games for children ages two to five. The games are designed to help with skills such as letter recognition, counting, vocabulary, and more.

Here is a list of fan favorites: “ Cooking with Cookie “, “ Ready Set Grow “, “ Brush Those Teeth “, “ Dress up Time! “, and “ Cookie Monster’s Foodie Truck “.

There are several possibilities for targeting requesting, commenting and extending utterances.

8. Match the Memory Game

If you’re on the hunt for memory games then this online memory game is a great way to help your child work on their short-term memory abilities.

9. Baamboozle

This online website is fantastic since it offers pre-made games and activities created by other SLPs that you may utilize or develop your own free games.

Simply search the games using the search bar.

Some of our favorite online speech therapy activities on Baamboozle include games with target words: “ Speech Articulation S Sounds ” by lindseycav, “ Articulation of Two or More Syllables Words in GIF ” by Susan Tourdot, and the “ /ch/ Initial Articulation ” by MG.

These online resources are perfect for children who need extra practice with their vocabulary skills or articulation. They also work great with younger children in the early intervention stage!

10. Meddybemps

If you’re looking for online speech therapy activities, look no further than Meddybemps.

They have a great selection of interactive games and activities that are perfect for helping kids with language skills.

Their games are ideal for children with autism spectrum disorder, communication delays, or other speech-language needs.

11. Jeopardy Labs

Jeopardy Labs is a great online resource for speech therapy activities. The website includes interactive games and vocabulary games that are perfect for teletherapy sessions and helping children develop their language skills.

The interactive games on Jeopardy Labs are a great way to help younger children learn new concepts in a fun and engaging way. The games are also a great way to help improve communication skills.

12. Language Play Room

The language playroom is an online learning center for children to help them learn about language.

They have activities that cover a wide variety of concepts, including reading comprehension and phonemic awareness.

13. iSL Collective Video Lessons

If I had a top pick this website would be it! I personally love using videos to make therapy more fun and interactive.

The iSL Collective is a great online resource for speech-language pathologists.

The website includes a variety of video lessons that cover topics such as grammar skills, vocabulary development, body language, and more!

If you also love using more videos in your therapy to make learning more fun then be sure to check out my list of 31 Best Wordless Videos to Teach Problem Solving .

14. Owlie Boo

This website is really easy for parents and therapists to use.

It offers several excellent games for toddlers and reinforcement games, which are also great for practice.

Poki is a great website with activities that are fun and interactive, and the games can be used as reinforcement while your students work on their specific skills or areas of development.

Poki is a great resource for parents, family members, and therapists looking for fun and digital games to use during therapy sessions.

Some favorite board games include: “ Tic Tac Toe “, “ Connect Four “, and “ Snakes and Ladders “.

16. Toy Theater

It has several free interactive games that you can use with your students. They can play along with you if you share your screen and let the student control (Zoom).

If you’re looking for multiplayer be sure to check out the Goose game and Snakes and Ladders game at Toy Theater.

Some of our favorite online speech therapy activities on Toy Theater include “ Stack ” and the “ Classroom Timer “.

17. Room Recess

Room Recess is an educational website that offers educational games and activities for children.

The site is free, easy to use, and provides educational online resources for kids of all ages.

Room Recess has a large library of educational games for early learners from preschool through middle school including a math tab, reading tab, word tab, lab tab, extras tab, and themes tab.

18. Mystery Animal

The Google Mystery Animal is a 20-question quiz. It’s free and very entertaining for all ages and fun for a variety of goals.

Kahoot is a perfect website for high school students or older students and a great way to review material with a class or as a family.

It is an interactive quiz game that can be used for educational purposes. Kahoot offers many different types of games, including vocabulary and grammar exercises.

SEE ALSO: 21 Best Reinforcement Games for Speech Therapy / Teletherapy

20. quizlet.

Quizlet is a website that has a variety of resources for all grade levels, including interactive flashcards and vocabulary games.

Quizlet also offers a great way to study for exams with its “learn” mode. This mode helps you memorize information from a provided list of terms, definitions, and examples.

21. Cookie  

This site has 13+ great language activities that help students build vocabulary in an engaging way.

22. Global Allied Health

This site is divided by goal area.

These online resources are perfect for teachers who have older children in the school-aged stage!

23. Highlights Kids

This website is jam-packed with secret pictures, making it ideal for vocabulary practice or as a fun reinforcement game.

The website is also a great resource for parents and family members who want to help their children with language development or those that are working on improving communication skills.

The types of activities available on Highlights Kids will keep children entertained while they learn at the same time!

There is something for everyone on this website. It is a great resource for parents and speech-language pathologists alike! Check it out today!

The website Quia.com is an educational website that allows you to create online lessons and quizzes for free. This can be a great resource for finding educational games and activities to supplement speech therapy sessions.

Quia offers a variety of different types of educational games and activities, including vocabulary games and interactive activities for younger children.

The website is easy to use and can be accessed from any computer or mobile device.

Here is a fun game for working on multiple meaning words !

25. Wheel of Names

The Wheel of Names is a fun game that is perfect for using it as a spinner.

For example, you can use it to choose who goes next. Or put vocabulary words in the boxes and then spin and have your student define their vocabulary words.

Another idea is to work on synonyms or antonyms. Place different words, such as big or tall in the spinner and then hit spin. The child then says the best synonym or antonym for that word. 

SEE ALSO: 279+ Free Speech Therapy Digital Materials

26. kids national geographics.

The Kids National Geographic website is a great educational resource for children of all ages.

It features interactive games and activities, educational articles, and videos from the popular magazine.

Children can learn about everything from dinosaurs to space exploration on this website. There are also puzzles and quizzes to help reinforce what kids have learned.

This is a great way to keep children engaged and entertained while learning educational topics.

27. Bou n cy Balls

This is a fun way to manage classroom noise or visualize music.

You can choose from a variety of themes that will help your students visualize the noise in the room!

28. Sheppard Software

This website has a great variety of educational games and activities for younger children.

Their website has hundreds of free, online, learning games for kids.

But anyone interested in online learning can use this site with access to activities in many subjects – (geography, math, animals, science, language arts, creative activities, health).

29. Mr. Nussbaum  

Here is an educational website that features many free resources to help kids.

It offers dozens of interactive games designed to reinforce essential concepts taught in elementary years, and themes that make learning enjoyable.

30. Arcademics

Arcademics is a website that offers educational games for students in kindergarten through twelfth grade.

There are over 50 games to choose from, and students can practice math, reading, science, social studies, and more.

The educational games are separated by grade level and subject, so students can easily find what they need.

31. Junior Brain Pop

One educational website that is great for speech therapy activities and games is Junior Brain Pop.

This website includes a variety of interactive games and videos that target a range of skills, including language. The games are all engaging and provide a fun way to work on important skills.

32. Splash Learn

Splash Learn has a variety of educational games to choose from that provide practice in vocabulary, phonology and grammar skills.

It also offers educational lesson plans and ideas, tips on how to use the site, FAQs and more!

33. Turtle Diary  

This site offers a large, free collection of educational games and activities to help children learn. These tools can be helpful for speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, parents and teachers who are looking for ways to support language skills in young children.

The site includes many different types of educational games that will engage your child: vocabulary building games where kids match terms to definitions, interactive short stories that teach grammar and syntax, educational quizzes, math challenges and more.

One of the best features of Turtle Diary is that many of the games are designed for specific age groups. You can easily find activities tailored for preschool students, elementary students or older students. This is a great way to target your child’s specific educational needs.

SEE ALSO: 917+ Best free Boom Cards for Speech Therapy

34. learning games for kids.

This site includes educational games for kids to make learning fun with math facts, language arts, and more.

Want educational games that make learning fun for your students? You’ve come to the right place!

35. Time for Kids

The website ‘Time for Kids’ is a great educational resource that provides articles and videos geared towards children of all ages.

Time for Kids is a great resource for educational activities, making it the perfect place to find digital resources for speech therapy.

It’s also a great way to keep younger children entertained and engaged while practicing their language skills.

Scroll down to the latest articles and stories for the free resources.

36. The Kidz Page   

Here is another educational website that provides free educational games and activities for children.

There are hundreds of free kids games, puzzles, activities, fun coloring pages, clip art & more.

You are sure to find something on this site that will help reinforce what you’re teaching your students in the classroom.

37. Disney Now Games

Disney Now has a great selection of educational games for children.

The games are designed to help kids learn math, reading, and science skills.

There are also games devoted to social skills development.

38. Word Wall

A great way to help young children learn new words and their definitions is by using a word wall.

A word wall is a collection of words, usually posted in a designated area, with each word printed or written on a separate piece of paper or card. The definition of the word can also be included.

This is a great visual aid for children and can help them learn new words in a fun way. It is also a great resource for parents and family members who want to help their child with their language development.

39. Birthday Song

Does your child or student have a birthday coming up?

Then be sure to check out this website where you type your child or student’s name and you can sing the child happy birthday with their name!

40. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

Their website also has a few articles of ideas for using online speech therapy ideas that might be worth checking out.

41. Book Trust

If you want your child or student to listen to a free book then be sure to check out this website where your child or student can watch and listen to the interactive children’s books and then play a game, such as the Jigsaw Puzzles , Coloring Pages , or Faces and Feelings .

Conclusion : Online Speech Therapy Activities

Here is a list of 41 online speech-language therapy activities and games to help your child work on their language skills!

These resources are a great way to use online technology and are perfect for children with autism spectrum disorder, communication delays, or other speech-language needs.

They are a great way to improve vocabulary skills, phonemic awareness, reading comprehension, and more. Try out these online resources today!

Want Even More?

• 21 Best Reinforcement Games for Speech Therapy
• 261+ Free Ideas for Digital Therapy
• 917+ Best Free Boom Cards for Speech Therapy
• 11 Free Articulation Games for Speech Therapy
• Learn How to Turn any Static PDF into an Interactive PDF.

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• Best IEP Resources
• 71+ Free Social Problem-Solving Scenarios
• 430+ Free Multisyllabic Words List Activity Bundle
• 432+ Free Measurable IEP Goals and Objectives Bank
• 279+ Free Speech Therapy Digital Materials
• 179+ Free Speech Therapy Wh-Questions Printable

Saturday 18th of June 2022

Thank you for this freebies! God bless your good heart!

Melissa Berg

Hi Ela! Aw, thank you so much. I'm happy to know you like this resource! Wishing you all the best, Melissa

Free Articulation Worksheets

60+ articulation worksheets ready for parents, therapists, and children. For first timers, please follow the getting started guide below.

Getting started guide

Each worksheet comes with 16 words. You can either print the sheet out and write on it directly, or  laminate it for reuse. The cards can easily be cut into flashcards as well. 

Have the child practice lip and tongue placement.

Practice the sound in isolation multiple times. Give the child a star for each attempt.

Work on syllables by combining the middle letter with each of the outer vowels. Switch the order of the letter with the vowels to practice initial, medial, and final syllables (ra, ar, ara, etc).

Every time the child says the target word make a star in 1 of the 5 circles at the bottom of the card.

Use the chart to see the average age a child produces certain english sounds. This is based off of research published in 2018. Click on the letter to jump to the worksheets or scroll down to see the worksheets in alphabetical order. 

Voiced + Voiceless TH

b-Initial Words

b-Medial Words

b-Final Words

ch Sound

ch-Initial Words

ch-Medial Words

ch-Final Words

d-Initial Words

d-Medial Words

d-Final Words

f-Initial Words

f-Medial Words

f-Final Words

g-Initial Words

g-Medial Words

g-Final Words

h-Initial Words

j-Initial Words

k-Initial Words

k-Medial Words

k-Final Words

l-Initial Words

l-Medial Words

l-Final Words

m-Initial Words

m-Medial Words

m-Final Words

n-Initial Words

n-Medial Words

n-Final Words

p-Initial Words

p-Medial Words

p-Final Words

r-Initial Words

s-Initial Words

s-Medial Words

s-Final Words

sh-Initial Words

sh-Medial Words

sh-Final Words

t-Initial Words

t-Medial Words

t-Final Words

th-Initial Words

th-Medial Words

th-Final Words

v-Initial Words

v-Medial Words

v-Final Words

w-Initial Words

y-Initial Words

z-Initial Words

z-Medial Words

z-Final Words

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Free your time. Fresh, ready activities.

Speech therapy activities designed for therapists and kids to love.

Engaging Resources

Engaged therapy sessions, here you come! Speech & language activities that are guaranteed to catch the attention of any child. Perfect for digital learning and in-person fun.

BUNDLE Executive Function

✨ As seen on Boom Cards Featured Bundles!

This BUNDLE of executive function cards includes problem solving stories, social stories, predicting stories, sequencing stories, and flexible thinking stories.

Multiple types of wh- questions, why and how questions, labeling exercises, multiple choice, and drag and drop categorizations   are included throughout this bundle to encourage an in depth understanding of each executive functioning skill.

⭐️ 80 Problem Solving

• Multiple choice question
• 2 labeling exercises

⭐️   52 Social Stories

• Topics of social skills to choose from (feelings, manners, listening, sharing & turns, making friends, being kind)
• Sorting exercise
• 2 wh- questions

⭐️   50 Predicting (✨ as seen on Top Premium Boom Cards ✨)

• What questions
• How questions

⭐️   50 Sequencing

• 3 different what questions per story

⭐️   40 Flexible Thinking (✨ as seen on Top Premium Boom Cards ✨)

• Why questions
• Labeling exercise

Each deck includes a teaching slide and visual to help your students better understand executive function skills before practicing! 

CLICK HERE for Boom Cards Preview.

To use Boom Cards, you must be connected to the Internet. Boom Cards play on modern browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge). Apps are available for modern Android, iPads, iPhones, and Kindle Fires. For security and privacy, adults must have a Boom Learning account to use and assign Boom Cards. You will be able to assign the Boom Cards you are buying with "Fast Pins," (a form of play that gives instant feedback to students for self-grading Boom Cards). For assignment options that report student progress back to you, you will need to purchase a premium account.If you are new to Boom Learning, you will be offered a free trial of our premium account.Read here for details: http://bit.ly/BoomTrial .

Wh- Questions & Short Stories

15 short stories to target wh- questions, auditory comprehension, reading comprehension, recall, and more!

Multiple levels of difficulty, including both shorter and longer paragraphs for a variety of length and detail in the stories.

⭐ Wh- Questions in Short Stories

• 15 Paragraph Short Stories
• 6 Wh- Questions for every story
• Stories are 4-9 sentences in length
• What, where, who, when, why, and how questions for every story

*This product contains the same activities as the Boom Cards version. If you would like the Boom Cards version, view   Wh- Questions & Short Stories, Auditory Comprehension, Boom Cards.

Compare and Contrast

Compare and contrast a variety of topics with 5 different activities and over 400 prompts! Improve understanding and use of similarities and differences using this comprehensive activity. 

This resource includes   5 different ways to practice comparing and contrasting , including stories, Venn diagrams, wh questions, short answers, pictures, graphs, and more. Real photos are included in this resource.

⭐️ Compare and Contrast:

• 5 stories with Venn diagrams
• 10 picture pairs with wh questions and Venn diagrams
• 10 picture pairs with wh questions and short answer questions
• 10 word pairs with wh questions and short answers
• 10 word pairs with graphs and word banks
• 2 blank templates

⭐️   Targeted Skills:

• Improve use of compare and contrast
• Increase comprehension of similarities and differences
• Expand skills for answering questions

Topics & Questions

80 unique topics with 4 wh- questions and a story prompt to improve expressive and receptive language skills, with REAL pictures. Questions and story prompts improve story telling and sentence generation skills. What, where, who, when, why, and how questions are included, with 4 different questions for each picture.

✨ As featured on Boom Cards Top Premium Decks ✨

⭐ 80 Topics & Categories

• 5 activities for each topic
• Real picture for every topic
• 4 wh-/how questions for every topic
• 1 story prompt for every topic
• What, where, who, when, why, and how questions included

⭐  Targeted Skills

• Improve receptive & expressive language
• Enhance skills for   answering questions
• Boost   story telling skills
• Develop   noun labeling and describing

Practice describing topics and categories, by answering questions and discussing a story prompt for each topic!

To use Boom Cards, you   must   be connected to the Internet. Boom Cards play on modern browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge). Apps are available for modern Android, iPads, iPhones, and Kindle Fires. For security and privacy, adults must have a Boom Learning account to use and assign Boom Cards. You will be able to assign the Boom Cards you are buying with "Fast Pins," (a form of play that gives instant feedback to students for self-grading Boom Cards). For assignment options that report student progress back to you, you will need to purchase a premium account.   If you are new to Boom Learning, you will be offered a free trial of our premium account.   Read here for details:   http://bit.ly/BoomTrial .

Conversation Starters

Conversation starters to improve commenting, asking questions, and answering questions during conversations. Conversation prompts has variety of ways to practice conversations, including questions, open response, fill in the blank, and more.

This resource includes   multiple ways to practice conversations , including pictures, comments, questions, asking questions, and more.

⭐️   All About Me Conversation Starters:

• 2 what questions
• 1 how question
• Open response opportunity

⭐️   Conversation Topics:

• 20 unique topics
• 3 open response opportunities to practice
• Practice asking questions and making comments

⭐️   Conversation Photos:

• 20 unique photo prompts
• 2 open response opportunities to practice

⭐️   Boom Cards include:

• 20 conversation topics
• 20 conversation starters with real photos
• Open response opportunities to practice

⭐️   Targeted skills:

• Improve conversation abilities
• Increase ability to ask and answer questions in conversations
• Expand commenting skills during conversations

NOTE: This resource includes 1 printable PDF with a Boom Cards companion. The Boom Cards contains part of the PDF resource, but does not include the "All About Me" conversation starters. Boom Cards are digital resources. PDF pages can be used digitally with PDF applications or can be printed for in person use.

To use boom cards, you must be connected to the internet. boom cards play on modern browsers (chrome, safari, firefox, and edge). apps are available for modern android, ipads, iphones, and kindle fires. for security and privacy, adults must have a boom learning account to use and assign boom cards. you will be able to assign the boom cards you are buying with "fast pins," (a form of play that gives instant feedback to students for self-grading boom cards). for assignment options that report student progress back to you, you will need to purchase a premium account. if you are new to boom learning, you will be offered a free trial of our premium account. read here for details: http://bit.ly/boomtrial ..

Problems & Solutions with Problem Size

Problem solving stories, problem size, solutions, common problems   and more are included in this set.   There are 80 unique problem solving and solution scenarios   for critical thinking. Open response questions and multiple choice questions are included in every story! You will receive problem size and common problem teaching pages, as well as multiple examples.

⭐️   80 Problem Solving Stories

• 80 unique problem scenarios
• Multiple choice question for every story
• 2 open response exercises for every story

⭐️   Problem Size Slides & Questions

• 5 in-depth teaching pages
• Problem size (small, medium, big) definitions
• Emotions related to problem sizes
• Color coordinated problem size visual
• 2 small problem exercises
• 2 medium problem exercises
• 2 big problem exercises

⭐️   Common Problems & Questions

• Teaching slide with definitions & examples
• 6 scenarios of common problems
• 2 free response problem & solution questions per scenario 

With 80 unique stories, 12 common problem scenarios, 6 problem size questions and multiple teaching pages, you will be able to use this resource for   many   teaching sessions. You won't need anything else!

Story Builders & Create A Story

Improve creative writing with these narrative and short story prompts! This set of   70 short story builders   comes with character, location, event and time learning targets.

Help your students improve their stories and increase their creative narrative skills. There is space for students to type or write their stories, as well as an organizing task for story parts. 

Your students will have all the tools they need to create unique and imaginative stories!

⭐️ Includes:

• 70 story builders
• 3 practice levels
• A combination of who (character), where (location), what (event) and when (time) story part targets
• 36 story builders that include 2 story parts
• 20 story builders that include 3 story parts
• 14 story builders that include 4 story parts
• Story parts organizing task with pictures
• Space for creative writing and narrative generation
• Instructions on each page 

⭐️ Teaching slides:

• In depth information about the 4 included story parts
• Descriptions
• Picture matching activities 

Save your time and energy, this set is NO PREP! Includes everything you need to elicit creative, engaging stories from your students.

Perfect for SLPs, teachers, or parents looking to expand language or writing in a fun and creative way!

Social Skills & Pragmatics

Social skills and pragmatic language set to improve executive functioning skills.   52 unique stories with sorting and wh- questions!

Social skills topic can be organized by category or practiced in random order, depending on your goals! Your students will sort each card into "appropriate" or "inappropriate" categories. They also will have an opportunity to explain how to improve social skills. Keep students engaged with interactive drag and drop!

⭐️   52 Social Skills short stories

• 2 scenarios per slide
• Drag and drop sorting for "appropriate" or "inappropriate" behavior
• What question to target improving behaviors
• Why question to target critical thinking

⭐️   Skills are able to be sorted by topic:

• Sharing & Turns
• Making Friends

BUNDLE for Executive Function Skills also available in Shine Speech Activities shop , which includes problem solving, predicting, flexible thinking, social skills, and sequencing/planning, too!

Use this deck to help teach and practice pragmatic skills - you won't need anything else!

Sentence Comprehension & Language Comprehension

Improve sentence comprehension, language and reading comprehension, and picture comprehension with 4 activities and over 125 prompts for speech therapy or classrooms! Target comprehending, receptive language, and more.

This resource includes   4 different ways to practice sentence comprehension , including wh questions, pictures, fill in the blanks, and more. Real photos are included in this resource.

⭐️ Sentence Comprehension:

• 40 sentence comprehension task cards with 3 questions each
• 30 real photo sentence comprehension prompts
• 30 multiple choice reading comprehension activities
• 30 fill in the blank language comprehension prompts
• Improve sentence comprehension skills
• Increase receptive and expressive language abilities
• Expand skills for understanding sentences and pictures

Categories with divergent naming, convergent naming, group, similarities, differences, and more! Words, cartoons, and real pictures included for a variety of ways to practice.

This resource includes   6 different ways to practice categories , including describing, naming, grouping, similarities, differences, and topics. Category cards include words, cartoon pictures to color, and real photos!

⭐️ Categories:

• 40 Describe the category
• 40 Name the category
• 40 Categories Grouping
• 24 Categories similarities
• 24 Categories differences
• 6 Categories Topics
• 10 Describe the category
• 15 Name the category
• 15 Categories Grouping
• 15 Categories similarities
• 15 Categories differences
• 5 Categories Topics
• Improve understanding categories
• Expand ability to describe categories
• Practice language with categories 

NOTE: This resource includes 1 printable PDF with a Boom Cards companion. The Boom Cards contains part of the PDF resource. Boom Cards are digital resources. PDF pages can be used digitally with PDF applications or can be printed for in person use.

Picture & Word Describing Webs

This set of 70 picture description webs targets describing pictures and words by color, shape, size, location, material, function, category and more. Includes 8 wh- questions for each word!

Teaching slides are also included to teach your students how to describe pictures.

⭐️ Picture Description Webs:

• 8 fill in the blank questions to target descriptions
• Color description targets
• Size description targets
• Shape description targets
• Location description targets
• Material description targets
• Function description targets
• Category description targets
• Who (who uses it?) description targets
• Color coded targets to improve memory of ways to describe

⭐️ Teaching Slides:

• Question example for each description target
• Concrete examples of each description type 

⭐️ Bonus Pages on PDF:

• Colored blank picture web template with 8 questions
• Black and white picture web template with 8 questions

BONUS! A blank PDF template for a color web and a black and white web are also included.   Your students have the opportunity to draw their own unique pictures and create webs.

70 trials, plus blank webs, allows for unlimited practice of picture and word describing. 

Help your students learn how to describe with this activity! PDF and Boom Cards versions are included.

Predicting in Short Stories

This activity includes   50 predicting stories . Unique and original scenarios for predicting practice!

✨ As seen on Boom Cards Top Premium Decks ✨

Each scenario   includes a "what" question and a "how" question   for further discussion and analysis for your students.

50 stories means you won't need any other activity for predicting! Use these randomized trials track data over multiple sessions.

⭐️   50 Predicting story slides

• Unique predicting scenarios
• What question for predicting
• How question for analyzing prediction

BUNDLE Figurative Language

This BUNDLE of figurative language cards includes idioms, metaphors, hyperboles, personification and similes. Over 255 practice targets with figurative language!

The set targets multiple skills so your students will have an in depth understanding of each type of figurative language! This set is a truly comprehensive approach to understanding and using figurative language.

⭐️ 60 Idioms

• Yes/no questions for every trial
• What questions for every trial
• Free response (students have an opportunity to create their own idioms) for every trial

⭐️ 40 Metaphors

• Free response (students have an opportunity to create their own metaphors) for every trial

⭐️ 40 Similes

• Free response (students have an opportunity to create their own similes) for every trial

⭐️ 45 Hyperboles

• Free response (students have an opportunity to create their own hyperboles) for every trial

⭐️ 40 Personification

• Free response to give students opportunity to create short stories with personification

⭐️ 35 Allusions

• 2 what questions for every trial
• Free response to encourage building allusions in sentences
• Allusions to Historical figures, literature, famous fictional characters, locations/landmarks, Greek mythology, movies and more

⭐️ Each deck includes a teaching slide

• Definitions
• Help your students understand and identify figurative language before practicing

Preview Boom Cards HERE.

Prepositions & Spatial Concepts

This set of   prepositions targets spatial and location concepts with 60 trials ! Teach your students prepositions and location with this robust, comprehensive deck.

You can pick which preposition to target, or practice with randomized slides. The teaching module will   teach your students everything they need to know about each preposition   before practicing! 

⭐️   Prepositions include:

⭐️   learning module includes:.

Use the practice slides to practice prepositions with multiple choice. Navigate between the learning module and practice cards using the buttons at the bottom of each slide.

CLICK HERE for Boom Card Preview.

To use Boom Cards, you  must  be connected to the Internet. Boom Cards play on modern browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge). Apps are available for modern Android, iPads, iPhones, and Kindle Fires. For security and privacy, adults must have a Boom Learning account to use and assign Boom Cards. You will be able to assign the Boom Cards you are buying with "Fast Pins," (a form of play that gives instant feedback to students for self-grading Boom Cards). For assignment options that report student progress back to you, you will need to purchase a premium account. If you are new to Boom Learning, you will be offered a free trial of our premium account. Read here for details: http://bit.ly/BoomTrial .

Main Idea & Supporting Details

Main idea and supporting details with 5 different ways to practice and 50 unique prompts! Improve reading comprehension and writing skills using this main ideas and detail resource.

This product contains a PDF version and a Boom Cards companion.

This resource includes   5 different ways to practice main idea and supporting details , including stories with questions, main ideas vs. details, create-a-story, grouping, and pictures with questions. Real photos are also included in this resource.

⭐️ Main Idea & Details:

• 10 Stories & Questions
• 10 Main Ideas vs. Details
• 10 Create-A-Story
• 10 Grouping
• 10 Pictures & Questions
• Improve understanding main ideas and details
• Increase reading comprehension abilities
• Expand skills for creating stories

To use Boom Cards, you must be connected to the Internet. Boom Cards play on modern browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge). Apps are available for modern Android, iPads, iPhones, and Kindle Fires. For security and privacy, adults must have a Boom Learning account to use and assign Boom Cards. You will be able to assign the Boom Cards you are buying with "Fast Pins," (a form of play that gives instant feedback to students for self-grading Boom Cards). For assignment options that report student progress back to you, you will need to purchase a premium account.  If you are new to Boom Learning, you will be offered a free trial of our premium account.  Read here for details: http://bit.ly/BoomTrial .

Expanding Language with Wh Questions and Real Pictures

Expand expressive language using wh- questions and sentence generation prompts with real pictures.   Improve expressive language, answering questions, labeling verbs, and story generation!   What, where, and who questions are included for every picture!

⭐ Expanding Language with Real Pictures

• 80 real life pictures
• 3 wh- questions   for every story
• Free response prompt   for every story
• Large variety of actions and topics within pictures
• What, where, and who questions for every story
• Printable pages

⭐ Targeted Skills

• Improve expressive language
• Enhance skills for answering questions
• Boost sentence and story generation skills
• Develop verb describing and labeling

Sequencing and Planning

This set of 50 sequencing and planning activity deck will help your students improve their planning skills! The deck includes a variety of sequencing and planning scenarios and trials for your students.

Each open-ended short story includes 3 color-coded wh- questions to guide sequencing.

⭐️   50 Sequencing short stories

• Unique sequencing stories
• 3 wh- questions per story
• Color-coded questions, to match teaching slide

⭐️   Teaching slide

• 6 unique teaching  slides with visuals
• Color-coded information to match questions in trials
• Drag & drop activity
• Synonyms for key words
• Example of a story sequence

CLICK HERE for Boom Cards Preview

Flexible Thinking & Reframing

This set of 40 flexible thinking and reframing thoughts cards   teaches your students how to improve flexible thinking   in difficult situations.

Each unique scenario includes   multiple questions as well as a labeling exercise   to encourage flexible thinking and increasing creative problem solving.

⭐️   Each Flexible Thinking trial includes:

• Why question
• How question

⭐️   Teaching slides include:

• Flexible v. rigid thinking comparison
• Flexible thinking examples
• Strategies for use of flexible thinking in difficult moments

INCLUDES: Both a PDF version and a Boom Cards version!

BUNDLE for Wh- Questions also available in Shine Speech Activities shop , which includes short stories and sentences!

CLICK HERE for Boom Cards Preview .

*This product contains the same activities as the PDF version. If you would like the PDF version, view   Wh- Questions & Short Stories, Auditory Comprehension .

Inferencing & Context Clues

70 inferencing and context clues trials to improve critical thinking skills! Each trial comes with 4 unique clues to help your students make an inference. They can then provide their answer, and drag the cover away to see the correct answer and a picture.

⭐️   As featured on Boom Cards Top Premium Decks   ⭐️

⭐ 70 Inferencing & Context Clues Slides:

• 4 clues for every word
• Space to type an answer
• Drag to uncover the correct answer
• Pictures of the correct answer

⭐ Skills targeted:

• Improve inferencing
• Enhance ability to understand clues
• Increase critical thinking and executive function abilities
• Boost deductive reasoning skills
• Improve ability to draw conclusions

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Free Speech Therapy Tools: Worksheets and Printables

Worksheets and Printables Are Excellent Additions To Your Speech Therapy Regimen.

Our in-depth look at tools for speech therapy continues with a look at free speech therapy tools that you can use at home. Worksheets and Printable Handouts. We have searched the Internet for worksheets that you can use with your child to use as support material in your speech therapy efforts.  There are many different worksheets and handouts to choose from, so we have narrowed it down for you and organized these activities into two categories: activities to help build speech and language skills and activities to help build literacy. And, as we continue to emphasize, these are not a substitute for proper evaluation and treatment from an SLP. These handouts are purely to provide your child with hands-on resources for improving articulation, language building and increased literacy at home and to help build a foundation for correct speech patterns and comprehension.

Many sites contain cute printables that seem better suited for a child’s entertainment, rather than actual speech therapy. Our goal with the list below is to provide valuable links and resources for both families and speech therapists looking for engaging and effective material to use as a supplement to current speech therapy treatments. The benefit to using printable handouts as a speech therapy tool, (other than the price), is that you can find worksheets that treat a specific issue of speech therapy or articulation disorder. For example, you can work specifically on the sound of /r/, if that is the only area where your child needs help. Or, help your child recognize the sounds that vowels make.

We continue to learn from you, so we encourage you to share your best sites and printable sources, so that we can all have access to this helpful information.

Free Speech Therapy Tools — Worksheets for Building Speech and Language:

• www.do2learn.com – terrific resource for kids with special needs. Includes printables and worksheets designed for home and students who need help transitioning into a school setting.
• www.speakingofspeech – a good source for SLP’s including lesson ideas, data sheets and kids activities.
• www.quia.com – interactive speech and language games
• www.freelanguagestuff.com – a wide range of over 20 specific language building exercises and activities. This site breaks down language skills into specifics such as nouns, idioms, adjectives, questions and more.
• http://www.tampareads.com/phonics/whereis/index.htm – a comprehensive site to over 56 worksheets and printables focusing on consonants and vowels.
• http://kindersay.com/words – learning and saying English words. Similar to flashcards.
• Annie’s Rhyme Time  – answer riddles with a two-word rhymes. *update: Annie’s appears to be experiencing intermittent outages, if that link doesn’t work, be sure to check out Scholastic’s other relevant free offerings .
• Rhyming Picture Cards   – nursery rhyme worksheets and printables.
• Rhyme Zone   – has a rhyming dictionary and quizzes.
• International Tongue Twisters – over 3000 tongue twisters presented in 118 languages.

UPDATE: We’ve recently added 5 new free Speech Therapy Lesson Plans for use with or without Speech Buddies Placement Tools.

Speech Blubs

by Blub Blub

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100+ fun activities for kids that will keep them entertained for hours! Target speech development through play and games. They won’t even know they are learning!

Learn about your baby and toddler developmental milestones! Check if you are on track, when to worry, and how to work on skills like language, potty training, and feeding!

Every child is different! Here are speech and language tips and tools for kids with learning differences, alongside information for parents provided by speech therapists.

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We help kids speak no matter their speech challenges! Speech therapists advise parents about late talkers, speech delay, stuttering, apraxia, articulation, and other speech impediments.

From your first worry to your first appointment, and your last speech therapy session – find the information you need to help your child thrive and gain necessary speech skills.

Parent's Academy › Speech Disorders › Speech Sound Disorders › Articulation Therapy: The “SH” Sound

Articulation Therapy: The “SH” Sound

Stacie bennett.

Speech-Language Pathologist , Trenton , New Jersey

Jan 15, 2022 Teaching the /sh/ sound can be a little frightening at first. Typically, children who have difficulty producing the /sh/ sound in words, usually don’t have any issues with it being said in isolation.

The physical production of /sh/ sound articulation can lead to kids making speech errors. The easiest way to test if your child can produce /sh/ is by asking them to hold their finger to their mouth and say “SHHHHHHH,” as if they are trying to keep a secret. 

If your child can say the SH sound then you’re ready to practice the SH sound in syllables. If your child struggles with producing the SH sound clearly don’t worry, we speech therapists can teach them.

Sound Elicitation

There are a few different ways of teaching the SH sound. You may want to begin with phonetic placement , which is when you teach the child how to position his/her tongue, jaw, lips and teeth for a good production of the target sound. “Or, you may try shaping the sound from another sound. Shaping is when you use a sound the child can already say accurately to teach a sound they are not able to say” (mommy speech therapy).

Phonetic placement

A few simple steps to teach the child where to place his/her tongue, jaw, lips and teeth for a good SH sound include:

• Have your child part his/her lips slightly
• Then touch your child’s tongue with a tongue depressor or his/her toothbrush just behind the tip of the tongue. Have him/her place the part of the tongue just touched on the roof of the mouth just behind the “bumpy part.”
• Next, have the child lower his/her tongue just a little. You may need to use a tongue depressor or popsicle stick to help your child lower it slightly.
• Finally, have your child hold this position, pucker his lips and breathe out through his mouth.

Provided your child has the oral motor capabilities and cognitive ability to follow these instructions this should produce a nice SH sound. If not, we may need to use other strategies and techniques to get the SH sound created. 

Show Visual and Audio Cues with the Help of Speech Blubs 

Speech Blubs App  has multiple activities that you can use to target specific speech sounds. The games are fun and highly engagable so your child won’t even realize that they are working on speech sounds!

Boost Your Child’s Speech Development!

Improve language & communication skills with fun learning!

To practice making the SH consonant here is the list of sections and words in them that you can practice with your child:

• Wild Animals & Petting ZOO: Fish.
• When I grow up: Chef.
• Ride your Wheels: Ship.

How to Play Articulation Bingo?

• Use the button below to download our Articulation Bingo Board
• Print out the board and give it to your child or cut out the pictures and put them into a bag
• Let your child pick a word from the board/bag 
• Find the word in Speech Blubs App and practice it, play with fun filters, and watch educational videos
• Your child is a winner when he practices three pictures in a row (across, down, or horizontally) or the entire board

Moving the SH Sound into Words, Syllables, Sentences, and Conversation

Now that your child can say the SH sound, follow the steps on our articulation process blog for moving that sound from isolation (saying the sound all by itself), to syllables, to words, to sentences and finally conversation.

You want to make sure you are working on the sound in the beginning, middle, and final position of words. Just because they have mastered the sound in one position, doesn’t mean it will be accurate in every placement of words! Articulation errors are likely, but just turn them into a learning moment.

Ask if they can hear the difference between a correctly articulated sound and an incorrect one. Then, ask them to try the correct way in all word positions. You want to make sure that hearing loss isn’t an issue.

You can also work on a sound when it’s in a rotating sentence . A rotating sentence is when the sentence stays the same, except for one word that changes.

For example, the sentence may be, “Shave the _______ with shears.” The idea is that you can rotate all the word cards you have been practicing at the word level through one sentence. It would look like this, “Shave the shower with shears.” Or, “Shave the sheep with shears.”

In this example, you can see that sometimes the sentence will make sense, and sometimes it won’t. 

The important thing is that the child is able to memorize the sentence, which allows for the independent production of the target sound at the sentence level regardless of the child’s age or reading ability.

The other benefit of practicing the sound using a rotating sentence is that you can target language at the same time. The child may say, “You can’t shave a shower!” Or, “That’s silly.” At this point, you may just agree or open it up for discussion. “Why can’t you shave a shower?”

Finally, you may also download simple SH stories targeting the sound in all positions of words. Each story has pictures that allow children of all reading abilities to practice and retell the story independently.

Older children also benefit from specifically targeting the SH sound while reading a book of their choice aloud. This gives the child lots of practice in a concentrated setting. Your child can master /sh/ sound articulation exercises with just a little help!

If your child has difficulties with other sounds, here are the articles that can help you with speech therapy and articulation activities ideas:

Articulation Therapy: An All-in-One Guide for Parents

• B Sound Articulation Therapy
• H Sound Articulation Therapy
• JJ and CH Sounds Articulation Therapy
• L Sound Articulation Therapy
• Lisp Articulation Therapy
• M Sound Articulation Therapy
• N Sound Articulation Therapy
• NG Sound Articulation Therapy
• R Sound Articulation Therapy
• S Sound Articulation Therapy
• T and D Sounds Articulation Therapy
• W Sound Articulation Therapy

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The author’s views are entirely his or her own and may not necessarily reflect the views of Blub Blub Inc. All content provided on this website is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for independent professional medical judgement, advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.

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15 Therapy Activities to Engage Non-Verbal Children

Working with non-verbal children can present a unique set of challenges. It is not uncommon for Speech-Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, and Special Education Teachers to encounter non-verbal children in their therapy jobs. Therapists’ resources are often limited in the variety of activities to engage this audience. However, speech therapists can maximize learning moments for their students by utilizing a variety of effective tools and resources. Luckily, there are several activities you can incorporate into your therapy job – here are 15 of the best!

1. Routines Boards – Use visual boards with single-step actions to help clients learn common routines. You can create a board for brushing teeth which includes Get Toothbrush, Wet Toothbrush under Faucet, Apply a Small Amount of Toothpaste, Brush Front of Teeth, Brush Back of Teeth, Brush Sides of Teeth, etc. Include as much or as little detail as the individual client needs to complete the task. Other visual boards might include Packing Backpack for School, Doing Homework, and Cleaning Up After Dinner.

2. Red Light, Green Light – Non-verbal children often struggle with basic commands. Use games like Red Light, Green Light to encourage them to follow directions in a way that can be carried over to the home environment. Use rewards for positive responses. To play Red Light, Green Light, line the children up in a straight line. Explain to them that, when you say Green Light, the children move forward. When you say Red Light, the children must stop. The terms “Red Light” and “Green Light” can then be used for other actions as one of their basic commands.

3. Practice Sharing – Play is an important activity for non-verbal children, and school-based therapists can facilitate this activity by practicing sharing. While the child is engaged in play with an object such as a toy car or tea set, occasionally take the toy from them. Then help the child learn ways to communicate that they want the toy back. This may be through the use of sign language or body language.

4. Daily Journals – Even non-verbal children have something to say, and journaling can be a valuable tool that school-based therapists can incorporate. Journals can be written or provide pictures and illustrations for children who cannot write. Use writing prompts to stimulate ideas. Prompts might include Favorite Foods, I Feel ____ When ____, My Best Friend Is ____.

5. See and Say – For younger children, animal sounds are a great way to introduce verbal communication. Use toys such as “See and Say” to help children identify animals by their sounds and begin to verbalize those sounds. Simple animal toys can also be used to facilitate this activity.

6. Modeling – The students take turns modeling the emotion shown in the picture using pictures of emotions such as sad, happy, angry, and hurt. This helps non-verbal children recognize emotions in others and learn how to display those emotions so that children can be recognized as expressing them .

7. Hide and Seek – Using a toy or other reward, a therapist’s job is to hide an object in the room and encourage the student to use functional communication to locate the toy or reward. Sign Language, PECs, or body language can be used to seek answers to the object’s location.

8. Sensory Bags – Sensory bags are a great way to help non-verbal children develop coordination, learn concentration, and use multiple senses while exploring their environment. Sensory bags can be made with various materials, including rice, flour and water, and even hair gel. Create bags that allow children to draw or search for treasures.

9. Playing House – Role play games can be an excellent way to help younger students learn words for common household items or social interactions. Other ideas for role play include restaurant, school, or store.

10. The Name Game – Non-verbal children often struggle with recognition of their own names. Speech and language therapists can play the Name Game to help them identify with the sound of their own name and respond appropriately. Play this game in small groups of 3 or 4 students calling out names at random, including the names of the students present. Whenever a student’s name is used, have the other students point to that student and have the student whose name was called, stand up. When the student stands, provide a small reward such as a sticker or a small piece of candy.

11. Textures and Feelings – While non-verbal children struggle to communicate with the spoken word, they do not lack a sense of touch, and certainly have a full range of emotions. School-based therapists can put together a box of materials with different textures to help identify emotions that “feel” like the textures they are touching. Sand paper might be frustration, while cotton balls might be love. Use pictures or word queue cards with emotions.

12. Build a Sandwich –  Therapists can help non-verbal children learn steps and details through the use of pretend assembly play. Using materials to create the ingredients for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or S’mores is a fun way to teach students the importance of steps and how to navigate directions.

13. Face Puzzles – Use Face Puzzles to allow children to show what emotions they may be feeling or help them identify what emotions would be appropriate in various settings.

14. Experience Books – When a child goes on a field trip or has a unique experience, that activity can be utilized as an ongoing teaching tool through the use of Experience Books. During the field trip, take lots of pictures of the things the child sees and does. Then print those pictures out with short sentences that help to recall and describe the experience. Picture books can help children identify objects and emotions they may not experience daily but can recall and are familiar with.

15. Same and Different – Sorting, matching, and classifying are the beginning steps to communication, whether verbal or non-verbal. Playing activities like Same and Different allows the therapist to integrate these skills with more advanced levels of communication. Same and Different activities come in the form of worksheets, card sets, and even iPad apps.

In addition to these, there are a variety of websites that offer online speech therapy activities, including Owlie Boo , Mommy Speech Therapy , and Tiny Tap .

Whether teaching children the beginning stages of becoming verbal or working with students who cannot become verbal, we hope these activities help to expand your list of tools and make your therapy job easier!

Get apps and activities delivered to your inbox monthly:  https://txsource.com/newsletter

Looking for a therapy job? Check out our current openings: https://jobs.txsource.com

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Best Stuttering Exercises to Help Your Child

“Oh, you should just speak slowly,” “maybe it’s the anxiety getting to you”- children who stutter have heard these suggestions ad nauseam.

Do they help reduce their stutter? No. Does it make them become more conscious of their speech disfluency? Yes!

The truth is anxiety, fear, or shyness do not cause stammering . Children who stutter or stammer may do so more frequently when they have to talk in front of their classmates, new people or unfamiliar situations. However emotions do not precipitate stuttering .

Modern sciences have found multiple mutations on several chromosomes that correspond to stuttering. These mutations can be heritable, although the male population is more susceptible to stuttering than the female population. 60% of the people who stutter have a family history of stuttering.

So, is there anything you can do to help a child who stutters? Well, of course. You can, for instance, help your child practice stuttering exercises at home.

Before we start discussing the top stuttering exercises to help your child, let's understand the basics.

Why Is Stuttering Common Among Preschool-aged Children?

In the case of preschool-aged children who stutter (CWS), speech therapy, regular speech exercises and practice can reduce and may even eliminate stuttering . Stuttering is common in children between the ages of 2.5 years and 3 years, when they are acquiring their language skills at an incredible speed. Such stuttering is known as developmental stuttering , and it is common in children; it disappears on its own within a few months.

Many speech therapists recommend waiting and observing a child’s speech if s/he has been stuttering for significantly less than 6 months. If they have been stuttering for more than 6 to 12 months, parents of CWS should seek the help of a speech-language pathologist or speech therapist.

Who Is At A High Risk Of Stuttering?

Stuttering or stammering is quite common. According to experts, many children experience stuttering when learning a new language or expanding their vocabulary at a rapid pace. Children outgrow their stammering on their own in many cases, but it might become a lifelong condition for some. High risk factors include –

• A family history of stuttering.
• Incidence of stuttering for more than 12 months.
• The child is male . Girls recover faster. A girl who has been stuttering for more than 12 months is at a higher risk of persistent stuttering.
• A child who begins stuttering later (onset after 3.5 years of age) has higher chance of persistent stuttering.

Children on the autism spectrum have a high risk of developing stuttering at an early age. Other disorders and conditions that co-occur with stuttering include ADHD, Tourette’s Syndrome (TS), hearing impairments, central auditory processing disorder, and cerebral palsy.

How Will You Know If Your Child Is Stuttering?

Developmental stuttering has a few signs that are hard to miss. These symptoms of stuttering include –

• Difficulty in starting a word, sentence, or phrase
• Repetition of a syllable, an entire word, or a particular sound
• Breaking of words or undue pausing, and missing syllables
• Prolongation of parts of words or entire words
• Adding sounds like “um” or “uh” at the beginning of the next word

Along with these signs, you can also notice the following –

• Twitching or trembling of the lips and/or jaw
• Tightening of facial muscles
• Clenching fists
• Rapid and abrupt blinking
• Jerking of the head

If a child experiences physical duress while trying to get the words out, it may signify a serious stammering problem. You may also notice their voice changing pitch and rising with each repetition.

These are the signs that you need to take proactive measures to help ease your child’s stuttering instead of waiting for it to ride itself out.

What Should You Do If You Notice Your Child Stuttering?

You should seek the help of a speech-language therapist. It might sound intimidating, but speech therapy for children can consist of quite a few simple stammering exercises at home moderated by their parents.

In many cases, the SLP takes an indirect approach and talks to the parents and other members of the family.. The stuttering treatment for kids aims at reducing the family’s concern and altering their family-child interactions.

What Are Some Exercises Parents Can Do With Children To Reduce Stuttering?

At Stamurai , we are always here, to help you understand speech therapy for stuttering and its implications. Here are some of the most common activities your SLP might ask you to do with your child –

1. Adopting a Slower Rate Of Speech With Pauses

A slower rate of speech has two purposes –

• It serves as a model for your child. S/he can learn what a more fluent and smoother way of speaking sounds like.
• It makes your child feel less rushed. They realize they can take more time to respond and be more fluent .

Here’s how we sound most of the time while holding a conversation with a fellow fluent adult – “hey, howryoutoday?”

While talking to your child, you might want to talk like this “Heey, How aare yoou today?”

You can also add more pauses to your speech to make it slower, but sound more natural. So, instead of your usual rushed speech, try to…taallk…more like…this. The…slight pauses…throughout your speech…will make you…sound more…relaxed…and calm.

You can also try to stretch the first word of every sentence “aaaaas you play or converse with your child.” Adding the extra stretch to the first word will show your child how to ease into a word and embrace fluency naturally in conversations.

2. Introducing Syllable-Timed Speech

Syllable-timed speech (STS) technique can reduce your child’s stuttering by almost 96% in around 12 months. However, it only works if you practice it with your child every day!

Here’s how you can include syllable-timed speech in your daily conversations with your child –

Speak. like. this. Each. per. iod. rep. re. sents. a. break. in. the. syll. a. bles. of. the. words. in. a. sent. ence.

Children under the age of 6-years can reduce their stuttering by 96% if they practice syllable timed speech for 10 minutes, 4-6 times per day for 12 months.

It might be difficult for you to syllable-time your speech in daily conversations. You can master it easily before you try it with your child by tapping your leg for each syllable.

You can learn more about STS from this video

If you feel weird speaking with syllable-timed speech at first, it’s completely understandable. Keep your voice normal and speak at a normal speed. Simply think of it as adding “finite limits around each syllable” during your daily conversations.

3. Trying Reduced Demands

A child who stutters, finds it difficult to start a conversation spontaneously. All we need you to do is dial down the demands around speaking.

Research on child psychology shows that asking too many questions can make your child feel stressed or anxious, which can worsen his or her stuttering. So let them share their emotions, knowledge and experiences spontaneously.

Allow your child to take the lead on what they want to discuss, play or watch. Do not finish their sentences or guess what they’re trying to say. Give them the time to finish their own sentences .

Instead of asking them questions, make close-ended comments. For example, instead of asking “hey, what are you playing there?” you can say, “I see you are playing Minecraft.”

Learning comes naturally to children and there’s little reason to believe that not asking enough questions will set his or her learning process back.

4 Adopting New Verbal Responses

Verbal responses are like giving your child feedback on their speech. Since children’s brains have high plasticity (ability to learn new things), they can learn to speak fluently even when you don’t teach your child complex speech therapy techniques.

Here are the five verbal responses you can use while talking to your child –

When they are fluent –

Make sure to praise them. Say “that was great buddy”, “hey, no bumps” and “I’m loving your smooth speech man.”

You can ask them to evaluate their own speech like “do you think that was better than before”, “was that smooth.”

Acknowledge their smooth speech by saying “That was really smooth,” and “smooth again.”

When they are having a bad day or stuttering, you can –

Acknowledge their stutter by saying something like, “that got stuck there a little” or “that was a difficult word.”

You can ask for self-correction. “Can you say that again for me?”

However, not every child reacts positively to comments on their stutter or self-correction. If your child reacts negatively, simply drop it.

Stick to positive verbal responses only. Make sure you give them at least 5 positive responses for every 1 comment on their bumpy speech.

5 Increasing Listening Time

Children who stutter have trouble expressing themselves. Having a family member lend a listening ear can make a significant difference in the child's attitude towards his or her own speech. Be sure to dedicate some "listening time" each day for your child.

It can be after play school when they have a lot to share about their experiences, or right before the child heads out for their playtime. Quality listening time lets your child know that you “are there” for him or her although you should intentionally make sure not to make suggestions or give instructions, especially on their speech during this time!

Attentive playtime with the child can show significant improvement in a child’s speech. For example, mirroring a child’s expression during the playtime with vocal cues, like sounds of disappointment when the child’s face shows the same emotions can build confidence in the child, in the long run.

You should let your child lead you during the interactive playtime which should also be unstructured, spontaneous, and enjoyable for your child.

Wrapping It Up

When your child is showing symptoms of stuttering which includes repetitions, prolongations, and blocks, you should immediately consult a reputed speech therapist . A professional will take into account your child’s predisposition towards stuttering, the severity and suggest stuttering treatment(s) accordingly.

These stuttering exercises are commonly suggested by speech therapists. Practicing them at home can help your child attain more fluency and confidence while sharing their thoughts.

Frequesntly Asked Questions

Does the drink-through-a-straw technique help a child who stutters.

For several decades different sources have advocated the drink through a straw technique as an exercise for stuttering in children. Sadly, there is no evidence that supports the claim. Currently, there is no published study that shows that drinking through a straw can reduce a child’s stuttering. However, there are several other stuttering exercises like the ones we have discussed above that you can teach your child at home.

Can the ‘Jaw technique’ help reduce stuttering in children?

The jaw-technique involves opening your mouth as wide as possible and lifting the tip of your tongue towards the roof of your mouth. This exercise may strengthen the jaw and tongue muscles, but it may not contribute to your child’s speech fluency! Fluent speech requires more than strong articulator muscles. Exercising jaw muscles won’t be enough to reduce stuttering in children.

Does parents’ lifestyle affect a child's stuttering?

When your child begins stuttering, it’s only normal to feel worried, helpless and, even, guilty. You may think that you have been too strict with your child or not spent enough time with them which has caused them to stutter. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Stuttering typically clusters in families and there are multiple genetic factors that contribute to the childhood-onset fluency disorder. Sometimes, stress from moving to a new neighborhood, joining a new school, and sudden changes at home like the birth of a new sibling may trigger stuttering in already predisposed children. However, it is highly unlikely that your lifestyle has caused your child’s stuttering.

Should family members avoid stuttering in front of a child who stutters?

Stuttering is a fluency disorder that sometimes clusters in families. This shows that stuttering has a hereditary (genetic) component. However, if you stutter, there is no guarantee that your child will stutter as well. If you are an adult who stutters, you should not feel the pressure to hide your stuttering in front of your child. Children cannot acquire speech disfluencies by watching or mimicking a family member who stutters. In fact, you should speak confidently without hiding your stutter to send the message that your child can speak without shame and embarrassment, even if they stutter.

How soon can your child learn to manage his stuttering with speech therapy exercises?

When a child begins to stutter, the parents should think about consulting a speech-language pathologist (SLP) as soon as possible. Early intervention improves the chances of the child overcoming stuttering. Early-onset stuttering may show up when the child is as young as 22 months. You can seek help from a speech therapist as soon as your child is around 3 years old if they are showing signs of stuttering. SLPs do not recommend speech exercises for very young, preschool-aged children since it hinders the natural development of language. There are no firm guidelines on the appropriate age for beginning stuttering therapy. SLPs typically recommend beginning it within the first 6 to 12 months after you notice the signs of stuttering. Indirect speech therapy like the Lidcombe Program is particularly effective in helping the parents apply verbal positive reinforcements that can help reduce stuttering in young children.

Can you treat a stuttering child at home?

It is indeed possible to guide your child and help them with stuttering exercises at home. However, it is advisable to seek the counsel of a speech-language pathologist (SLP) or speech therapist for assessing your child’s progress. Simply helping a child who stutters and teaching them the exercises isn’t enough. You should be able to quantify their improvement with every passing month. An SLP can teach you how to measure the severity and rate of stuttering, plan the exercise and activities for maximum positive results, and provide the updated information on stuttering therapy that your child may need.

How to help a stuttering child at home?

To help a stuttering child at home, begin by asking fewer questions. Always take time to listen to them and don’t finish their sentences. Try to speak to them slowly and don’t rush them when they are trying to respond to you. If your child is old enough to understand that their speech is different from that of their peers, learn about stuttering and tell them the facts. Educating your child about stuttering is one way to empower them.

Preschool stuttering – what can parents do?

Stuttering in preschoolers is more common than you think. If your preschool-aged child begins showing signs and symptoms of stuttering, you can help them by slowing the rate of your speech.Try to ask them fewer questions. When they talk to you, try to listen with undivided attention. If they are struggling with a word or phrase, don’t complete it for them. Instead, you can politely ask them to repeat it once for you. Always use positive reinforcement and refrain from scolding, criticizing, and comparing their speech with their peers. You should always consult a speech-language pathologist (SLP) when you notice your child stuttering.

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Oral Motor Exercises for Children

Skills refer to the appropriate functioning and use of the facial muscles (lips, jaw, tongue, cheeks, and palate) for speaking and eating. Achieving oral-motor skills is an important part of every child’s communication and feeding development. Normal oral motor development begins during foetal stage and continues up until 4 years of age. By 3 years of age a child should be able to consume liquids and solids through straws and open mouth cups and chew advance food textures such as whole fruits, meats etc.

Read here to learn about Childhood Apraxia of Speech .

Delay or deviant oral-motor development may lead to poor verbal communication skills and feeding difficulties. Some children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Down’s syndrome, Intellectual Disability and Global Developmental Delays present with weakness of oral muscles. Oro motor exercises help to improve strength, range of movement and co-ordination of the oral muscles which will facilitate better speech and swallowing function.

What are oral motor skills?

The following lists the skills for the functioning of all facial muscles:

• Co-ordination

Who needs oral-motor exercises?                   

  These are some red flags in a child that oral-motor skills need attention:

• Speech sound errors/ delayed verbal language skills
• Mouth is usually in open position
• Tongue hangs out of the mouth
• Drooling/ Excessive saliva secretion
• Often food falls out of the mouth while feeding
• Difficulty chewing and biting
• Unable to elevate or protrude tongue
• Choking or coughing often while eating
• Gagging while feeding
• Unable to suck, lick, chew or blow
• Preference of specific food texture/ oral sensory issues

“If any of the above stated issues have been persisting in a child, it is highly recommended to first consult with a Speech-Language Therapist.” Contact us now.

How and when should you practice with your child? 

The activities listed below are easy to practice with children. Try to incorporate the exercises during play time with your child. It is very important to demonstrate and model these exercises to facilitate faster learning. You can use a mirror or a puppet to make it interesting. If a child is unable to do a particular oral-motor exercise listed below, it’s an indication to train for that specific muscle group. These exercises can be repeated three to six times a day until the skills improve. Every child learns at his/her own pace, progress may be noted in a few days to weeks or sometimes it may also take months.

“If you are already consulting with a Speech-Language Therapist, please follow their advice regarding your child.”

Oral motor exercises:

Read here about oral placement therapy tools  lip exercises:.

• Make a smile then say “ooooo” , “eeeeeee”
• Lip pops, say “pop” “puh” “pe” with exaggerated pressure
• Lollypop squeeze (Hold and squeeze lollypop with lips for 6 seconds)
• Lip press (press your lips together for 3-6 seconds)
• Make a kiss (hold 3-6 seconds)
• Smack lips together (5 times)
• Make humming sounds
• Drink through a twisty straw

Cheek exercises:

• Make silly faces in a mirror
• Blow bubbles or puff balls
• Blow cheeks with air and hold (3-6 seconds)
• Massage cheeks with two fingers in clockwise and anti-clockwise direction (6 times)
• Holding ice cream stick between lips (3-6 seconds)
• Drink from a straw

Jaw exercises:

• Chewing a candy
• Chewing a chewy stick or toy
• Drinking thick milkshake from a straw
• Playing tug-a-war by holding a chewy candy in between the lips and you pull it away
• Open the jaw wide and say “aaah” (hold 3-6 seconds)
• Massage the jaw gently towards and away from the lips
• Chew to make a paste of advance food textures (carrots, apples, pear etc)
• Ice chips on jaw and lips to improve sensory awareness

Tongue exercises:

Read here to learn more about tongue aerobics.

• Lick lollipops up and down protruding the tongue outside the mouth
• Licking honey or yogurt from sides of the lips
• Tongue clicks and popping sounds
• Hold tongue elevated (3-6 seconds)
• Hold tongue outside the mouth (3-6 seconds)
• Touch tongue tip to nose
• Push and hold the tongue inside both sides of cheek (3-6 seconds)
• Chew a biscuit to make it soft and mushy
• Fold and hold tongue tip between lips (3-6 seconds)
• Push against a lollypop on either side protruding the tongue (hold 6 seconds)
• Gently press the lollypop on the tongue (6 times)
• Place chocos or cheerios on the tongue tip and lift and press against the palate
• Say “puh tuh kuh” repeatedly in the order
• Say “lalalala” “tatata”
• Say “shhhhh”
• Say “Brrrrrrrr”

Palate exercises:

• Puff cheeks and breath through nose while someone presses on against the cheeks
• Straw blowing
• Transfer puff balls through a straw from one bowl to another
• Blow cotton balls or bubbles in water
• Say “aahhhh”
• Say “ma ba” alternating
• Say “na da” alternating
• Eat cold food (ice cream etc) for oral awareness

Click here to see a detail video on oral motor skills

Is oral-motor therapy effective?

Practicing oral-motor exercises will greatly improve a child’s ability to eat better and produce speech sounds with improved clarity. However, not all children may benefit from stand alone oro motor exercises and may need additional Speech-Language therapy . If you are concerned about your child’s speech-language development, please contact a Speech-Language Therapist as soon as possible.

“If you are concerned about your child’s speech-language development, please contact a Speech-Language Therapist as soon as possible.”

With our exclusive Online Speech therapist and best online speech therapy in India , receive cutting-edge treatment from the comfort of your own home. At 1SpecialPlace you have the right to be confident in your communication and to learn from the finest.

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Leave a Comment

(11 Comments)

Excellent presentation and Very clear explanation and informative

Very informative and useful for parents.

Hello, my self Rutu here , i find it very useful, short and simple. thank you so much.

Hello Ms. Rutu, Thank you!

AYESHA ,thanks alot for the information,i really apreciated to found you on line i’m physiotherapist volonteer in a school for children with disability .i really like to be in contact with you.blessings!

Hi Daniel! I’m glad you found this information useful. Thank you for your comment.

Very informative Thank you 🙏🙏

Can you please say which are isometric and isotonic exercises..from these

My daughter sleeps with an open mouth and has nasal speaking. The ENT recommended to to have the adenoids removed. Thank you for the exercises that you listed. I will be doing them with my daughter and I hope they will improve her condition.

Glad you found them useful! All the best!

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