Thankfully 2020 has almost come to an end! We made it! We can finally begin to look forward to a new year that has to be better than the previous one. Are you a speech language pathologist looking to refresh some of your toys as you head back to in-person therapy, or a parent looking for toys that can help encourage language development for your child? If you fall into either of these categories, please take a look at this list for the 5 Best Speech Therapy Toys for 2021.
5 Best Speech Therapy Toys for 2021
1. Banana Blast
Banana Blast is fun new game, which helps promote turn-taking skills in a quick action-packed game. Players take turn rolling the dice to find out how many bananas to remove from the tree. One of the bananas will make the monkey jump from the tree. Language skills to work on: turn-taking (my turn, your turn), expanding utterances (Ex. I need three bananas. I rolled a two. Monkey jumped!).
2. BLUE’S HOUSE PLAYSET
This playset is wonderful for working on a multitude of language skills. The house includes three figurines, a slide, a swing, and various household furniture. In addition, many items have fun surprises. For example, the mailbox opens up, the cabinets can be opened, and pressing the pillow makes the bed open. Language skills to target: following directions (Put Blue in the tub), prepositions (in, on, up, down), verbs (slide, swing, sleep, sit, bathe), vocabulary (household items, colors).
3. POKE A DOT BOOKS
These interactive books are motivating for children who are working on expanding their vocabulary. Each picture includes a “dot” in which your child can push to make a popping sound. Have your child label the item if they are able to and then as a reward he can push the dot. Help your child expand his vocabulary by adding on to what he says (ex. If he says cup, you can say Yes, it’s a green cup). Language skills to target: vocabulary (common objects, colors, shapes), actions (push).
4. See My Feelings Mirror
This item is great for teaching your child about emotions. It is an excellent product for helping your child to learn clues to look for in others to understand emotions. The mirror comes with six different emotions to practice (happy, surprised, scared, sad, silly, and angry).
5. LadyBug Memory Game
A fun twist on a traditional memory game! This game includes five different picture cards that slide into the game board. During each turn, a player removes two ladybugs to search for a match. If he gets a match, he keeps the ladybugs. The one with the most ladybugs is the winner. Language skills to target: turn-taking (my turn, your turn), vocabulary (labeling the items under the ladybugs), expanding utterances (Truck- blue truck or I found a blue truck).
These are my 5 favorite speech therapy toys right now. Please comment below and let me know if you’ve tried any of these items yet or have other recommendations! If you’re looking for additional toys take a look here: 10 Language Development Toys for Under $10
Buzz Speech 