4 Ways to use LEGOs in Your Speech Therapy Session
Hey friends!
While our jobs can be TOUGH sometimes, one thing I love about it is that we have the unique ability to appeal to each of our client's special interests! While many other professions often have to adhere to set standards of what materials they can use, we get the freedom to choose whatever we want (within reason of course)!
However, we can sometimes struggle with a child when we incorporate their special interests without having a plan for working towards our speech goals.
The good news?
Almost any toy can be modified to fit our goals if you just think creatively! 🙌🏼
Let's go through the thought process for a special interest of many clients: LEGOS!
Curious how you can use LEGOs to target your client's goals? Here's four easy ways you can steal for your next session 👇🏼
Following Directions:
Using LEGOs with children working on following directions is a no brainer! Especially for middle schoolers, following directions while engaging in a hands-on task can help them generalize these skills easier than simple drill work unrelated to their lives. Try finding LEGO sets that require step by step instructions to build a specific item and assist by reading directions or providing cues as needed. This may take more than one session and that's fine!
Pragmatic Goals:
Working within a group while using clear communication seems to be a goal that always pops up for a few middle and high schoolers. LEGOs can help address this goal naturally. Let the students working towards this goal be the “Project Manager” and let them work with each person in the group to meet the goal of constructing or inventing a new LEGO masterpiece while taking turns, listening to others' ideas, and engaging in a group-based activity.
Articulation/Phonological Processes:
I love keeping speech tools that I can pull out and adapt to any special interest, like LEGOs. For speech goals, I grab my Articulation Drill Cards and use the blocks to cover the targets. Once the child needs the block, they have to say the target underneath to use it. They can also use the LEGO blocks to “slide” from one sound to another when working at the syllable level! This strategy is great at getting lots of trials in while not feeling like an overly structured task for the kids!
Describing:
Tell the child you are their “assistant” and will fetch their LEGOs for them, but they have to describe the one they want. A great, simple way to work on shapes, size, color, and other attributes!
As you can see, with a little flexing of the brain, most toys can serve multiple purposes while addressing goals. Plus, by incorporating special interests into our sessions, we can make kids feel valued and seen while getting natural buy-in!
Happy speeching!
👇🏼 Save this image to Pinterest so you can refer back to it later! 👇🏼
