Let’s be real….speech therapy practice at home can feel like a chore both for parents, and for kids! I’m a pediatric speech-language pathologist, and it wasn’t until my own child was diagnosed with childhood apraxia of speech at age 3 (over 3 years ago) that I really began to realize how those word lists and worksheets given out at the end of sessions wasn’t always working for me for home practice. My daughter didn’t want “drill and kill” activities at home with me to practice speech, she wanted to play games and connect in fun ways.
Speech Therapy practice for apraxia can be fun!
My daughter has been in weekly speech therapy since 2019, and practicing worksheets of practice words at home was her least favorite chore. It was mostly viewed as boring, and unmotivating.
As a SLP, I know that consistent practice is helpful, and often necessary to really see changes with speech production. So, I started making games that we could play together to connect and have fun, but that also could be used with her speech words to practice.
With Halloween coming up, my daughter wanted a game to make “potions.”
My daughter and I each picked a color “potion” to create. We drew from a stack of cards, and could keep only the potions we needed for our recipe. All other potions went back in the deck. To get a turn in the game, my daughter had to practice one of her speech words.
Her apraxia of speech is mostly resolved now, but it has left behind some residual articulation errors (such as the blend TR that we worked on as shown in the above picture). So I had her practice one of her TR words and then she got to draw a new card from the deck. Whoever made their potion first was the winner!
With over 600+ Flashcards included, organized by syllable shape, there is plenty here to keep children busy and practicing their speech! Perfect for speech therapy at school, in the clinic, or even at home!
Find this product at https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Apraxia-of-Speech-Halloween-Potions-10349626
Practice doesn’t have to be boring! Have fun, connect, be playful, and work hard!
Let me know what your favorite Halloween themed speech therapy activities are!
Kate
Communication Blooms 
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