At the SLP Center we incorporate games into nearly all of our sessions! Why? Because they are a functional and fun way to address a variety of communication challenges. From turn-taking to executive functioning to articulation practice, games are an excellent way to get your child engaged and motivated in improving their speech and language abilities. Check out some of our favorite games below!
Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel & Shelby’s Snack Shack Game: These games from Educational Insights are a huge hit with ages 3+! Work on turn-taking, counting, colors and articulation! These are particularly great for working on generalization of /s/ and /s/-blends (e.g. snack, sneaky, steal, squirrel)!
Zingo: We love Zingo for simple vocabulary, turn-taking and visual referencing! Try talking about action words and categories for increased language modeling. For example, “I got something you can eat!” or “I still need something that flies.”
Race to the Treasure: This cooperative game is amazing for working on collaboration (i.e. shared decision making), turn-taking and early problem solving!
Guess Who: This classic game is one that everyone in the family can enjoy! We love it for working on describing, problem solving, negation (e.g. “They don’t have brown hair.”), and articulation. This game is awesome for working on generalization of the sounds your child has been working on in therapy. It can be helpful to establish your goal ahead of time. “Hey, while we play Guess Who, I’m going to be listening for you to use your best /r/ sounds. If I hear a tricky one, we’ll try to say it again together!” Check out the other versions of Guess Who to mix it up and lean into your child’s interests (e.g. pets, Marvel, Paw Patrol).
Give these games a try (keeping your communication goals in mind) and let us know how it goes! Ask your speech therapist for specific recommendations for games that may help meet your child’s goals.