Early Intervention Made Easier: Simple Tips for SLP Success

Hey, speech friend! 👋🏼

Back in grad school, what was your dreaded therapy area?

For so many students and new SLPs, I hear the same answer: Early Intervention.

The mental image? Chaos. A toddler running circles around the room, toys flying, and you desperately trying to keep the session together.

(And okay… sometimes it really does look like that. We’re not perfect therapists!)

But here’s the thing—Early Intervention doesn’t have to feel like surviving a toddler tornado. With the right mindset and strategies, your sessions can feel more productive, more connected, and even fun (yes, really!).

Here are my three favorite go-to tips for making Early Intervention sessions run smoother.

1. Keep Their Interests in Mind

If your client loves ducks, lean all the way in. Read books about ducks, sing songs about ducks, make a duck-themed sensory bin, and pull out duck toys for pretend play.

Why? Because trying to redirect a toddler away from something they’re obsessed with is a losing battle. Instead of swimming upstream, let their interests drive your therapy activities.

When you tap into what they already love, you:

• Boost engagement instantly

• Reduce meltdowns and resistance

• Create more natural opportunities for language use

It’s not about making your therapy plan fit the child—it’s about making your therapy plan fit the child’s world.

2. Keep It Play-Based

Let’s be honest:
Would you want to sit at a table and drill flashcards of words you don’t know yet? Or would you rather do an activity you enjoy, while a friend naturally helps you learn along the way?

For kids, play is their work. It’s how they explore, problem-solve, and communicate. Play-based therapy gives you countless opportunities to model language, prompt responses, and encourage interaction—without it feeling like “therapy” to them.

Some of my go-to play-based ideas:

• Pretend play: Kitchen sets, doctor kits, or farm animals

• Sensory bins: Hide target items in rice, beans, or water beads

• Movement games: “Ready, set, go!” with slides, swings, or ride-on toys

• Art activities: Painting, stickers, or Play-Doh creations

The more natural and enjoyable the activity, the more language opportunities you’ll see.

3. Keep Parents Involved

Here’s the reality: You see your client for maybe an hour a week. Their parents? They’re there for every meal, every bedtime routine, every car ride. If they aren’t reinforcing and expanding on what you’re doing, progress will move at a snail’s pace.

But when parents are part of the process, progress skyrockets.

How to make it happen:

• Debrief each session – Give parents a quick rundown of what you worked on and why.

• Model, don’t take over – Show strategies in action, then coach the parent while they try it.

• Use visuals and handouts – Leave behind reminders so parents don’t have to memorize everything on the spot.

• Start and end with them – Include them in the goal-setting and reflection process so they feel like true partners.

When parents feel empowered and supported, they’re more likely to weave language strategies into daily routines—which is where the real magic happens.

Putting It All Together

Early Intervention sessions can be unpredictable, sure. But by focusing on what the child loves, keeping therapy rooted in play, and making parents active partners, you set yourself (and your client) up for success.

Instead of chaos, you get sessions that feel more like:

• A shared game that’s full of laughter

• A storytime where everyone is engaged

• A moment where the parent says, “I heard them use that word at home!”

And those moments? They’re the reason we do what we do.

💡 Your Turn:
What’s your favorite way to turn a potentially chaotic Early Intervention session into a win? Drop your ideas below—because the more tools we share, the better we all get at serving our little ones.

Want a deeper dive into Early Intervention?! Check out my course, The Early Intervention Academy where I go even further into how to master EI as a speech therapist! 

>> CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT <<