Speech Therapy is an integral part of the language and communication development of children with specific developmental disabilities. As a speech therapist, finding the right tools, techniques, and equipment becomes a priority and lays down the basis for an engaging, fun, and productive session with the child. To further understand the meaning and importance of Speech Therapy, visit our previous blog post Working with children makes it all the more important to focus on keeping the child involved and have an element of fun to keep them involved throughout the process. Introducing games is one way to keep it going. In this blog post let us we will explore the best toys to buy for speech therapists that can aid in the development of speech, language, and social skills.

While investing in speech therapy toys, keep in mind certain aspects that will enhance the quality of therapy provided, how it can better your goal reach, and the needs of various speech and communication issues of clients.

Here are some essential aspects to consider:

• Having toys that are age-appropriate for the clientele that you cater to is extremely important. Providing a whole ‘pretend doctor set’ to a 1-year-old will not add to the development of the set goals. It's important to choose toys that match your clients' developmental stages and interests.
• Ensure that the toys you select are safe for your clients to use. Avoid toys with small parts that can be swallowed or toys with sharp edges.
• Look for toys that are relevant to your therapy goals. For example, if your goal is to improve articulation, choose toys that involve sound production, such as puppets or musical instruments.
• Choose toys that are durable and can withstand frequent use. Since speech therapy sessions often involve repetitive activities, it's important to select toys that can last for a long time.
• Choose toys that encourage interaction and socialization. Interactive toys can help improve communication skills and social interaction.

Keeping in mind the general goals of speech and language therapy, below are a few toys speech therapists can invest in, to have a fun and engaging session with the little ones.

Blocks:

Using wooden blocks firstly makes it environmentally friendly and better for children. Blocks play an important role in building and reaching speech, language, and receptive goals. It aids in learning shapes, colors, and sizes and it is also used to develop eye-hand coordination, spatial ability as well as language goals such as prepositions (up, down, under). It also sparks creativity and imagination in children and promotes vocabulary development. Children spend hours with blocks, testing and trying various combinations of colors, structures, and shapes. It is also durable and long-lasting making it easier for speech therapists as it also serves multiple purposes.

Vehicle toys:

Buying train sets and other vehicle toys such as planes, cars, and trucks can be exciting and fun for children. These toys can be used in various ways to follow directions, and improve vocabulary and language skills and the most important and unique skill can be using the various sounds of these vehicles to improve their pronunciations and phonetics. The colors, names, and the element of physically keeping active by playing with these toys also add an advantage. Eye-hand coordination and problem-solving skills are also important aspects of playing with these toys.

House/Farms/Construction toys:

Houses and Farm sets can be used as interactive toys which are realistic to the child and can act as a meaningful fun game to learn and grow their vocabulary. Introducing characters and adding a story while using these toys expands the child’s imagination, creativity, and social and emotional development and helps in following directions. These toys also add educational value by understanding the concept of people, a house, animals, and their surroundings. Construction toys also teach children problem-solving skills that are important in their overall development.

Kitchen sets/Food Toys:

Kitchen sets and food toys are common to all children as they find them relevant and familiar. Being exposed to these common items keeps them engaged and interested which benefits language development and speech. These toys also aim at improving the ability to categorize, learn verbs and expand their vocabulary by understanding their likes and dislikes in terms of food. Pretend action play can be the most effective way of using these toys.

Active Toys/Musical toys:

Children learn best when we pair motor skills with language learning. Using toys such as remote control toys, musical toys and other toys such as bouncing balls keeps children active and it aims at mixing the language with an activity to create a wonderful, meaningful language learning opportunity. Musical toys have the ability to grab children's attention for long periods of time and mimicking the sounds helps in developing speech stutters, having clearer speech, and improving overall speech.

Speech therapy is a very important part of the child’s therapy journey and having the right tools is as important. Keep in mind the needs of the clients and what can work best for them to provide a smooth and comfortable speech and language development journey. We hope these tips will help you in investing in the right toys to improve the quality of your practice.