Many years ago, early in my career, there was an argument that existed, that if a deaf child was taught sign language, it would be a disincentive to speak. One only has to spend some time with deaf adults to see that they communicate using all of the tools available to them, including sign language and speech, and while speech might be how we are programmed biologically, even greater than speaking, is our desire to communicate, in all the ways necessary including: voice, gestures, writing, facial expression, and so on.

This is a guest blog post by Jennie, a school-based SLP, all about speech therapy materials for preschool and early intervention. Like with any population, it is so important to have the proper tools to create therapy sessions that are engaging, fun, and meaningful. Below are some of my favorite toys, books, and apps to use with the early childhood demographic. It is crucial to find the right tools in order to be a more confident and successful speech-language pathologist, but I want to emphasize that you don’t need all these things. I find that intentionality and simplicity is key in order to create purposeful and effective therapy.

Learn how Fairfax County Public Schools uses Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Devices to help give students a voice in their learning.

Nothing beats doing work at the table. Use a kids table and chair to create a study environment. It’s a place where once you and your child sit down, there’s a consensus to what is about to happen… Which is to play and also work on speech and language (or other things for that matter).