My Top 5 Go-To Toys

What was your favorite toy as a kid? If you were a child of the 90's, like me, then we might have the same favorite toy - Beanie Babies. I was obsessed with Beanie Babies. They all had names and we would go on adventures.

I cannot stress enough how important play can be in improving your child's communication skills. And what your child plays with can be important too! Toys can also be use as helpful tools for encouraging communication. Many times, people want to get the new high tech toys with all the bells and whistles, but really the best toys are those that do not involve any technology. The best way for your child to be exposed to language is with good 'ole fashioned non-tech toys.

There was actually a recent study conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) that compared traditional toys to electronic toys. The report concluded that traditional toys resulted in better child-caregiver interactions and these interactions provided multiple communication-learning opportunities.

Having that knowledge, I try to use non-tech toys during my therapy sessions. Here are my 5 go to toys for speech/language development:

1) Wind-up Toys

I LOVE wind-up toys. The best thing about them is that they are hard for little ones to use (I know it sounds mean). They will usually play around with them and try to wind them up but end up needing to ask for "help". They are also good for targeting certain language categories (e.g. animals, actions).

2) Play-Doh

Play-Doh is another fun one to help develop communication skills.! You can use it for requesting so many different options (e.g. colors, cut-outs, tools). They can also be a great way for children to use language spontaneously for for requesting help or assistance. I once had a group session where all the little ones kept asking for me to make a ball with the Play-Doh. It was simple but such a great session with a ton of language. Just what I like!