Dating way back to my undergraduate clinical experience, I learned that one way to plan therapy was to pair any skill with a favorite quick play game. I still play games in speech therapy to this day, 20 plus years later.
Here is why I play games in speech therapy?
Games offer reinforcement for effort or success.
They help build rapport with peers and therapists.
Games increase participation, engagement and attention to tasks.
They aid social communication development.
They promote safe risk taking, strategy and problem-solving development, and emotional regulation.
Games foster creativity!
They work on following directions.
Here is how I play games and pair game companions:
- Set up the game as expected in the directions. You may need to keep the game within your reach and away from student reach (at first). I like to have the game ready on my table when a session starts (this helps with immediate interest).
- Figure out the number of players and pieces needed. You may wish to withhold pieces and have students earn a piece for practice trials. If this is your strategy, then play happens when all pieces are collected by the students as an end of session reinforcement/reward. You may also want to allow play in between student practice rounds to keep attention. You know your students best!
- During each round, have students perform the set task for a desired number of trials. If using a game companion, each student has an individualized board at their workspace and completes tasks on that board. I love companion boards for the uniformity, as each student has a similar board; however, tasks are individualized! I keep my game boards in sheet protectors in a binder and just pop out the boards needed for the session.
- Play continues until your desired number of trials are accomplished or when the chosen game is complete!
Game companions and a freebie:
I recently purchased Melissa and Doug Suspend Junior (no affiliation with the game or creators; Amazon affiliate link included). I had the original version for years and would bring it out with my older students, especially during social skills sessions. This game does require a calm body and patience to attempt to balance the pieces on the stand, so supports were given to aid in thinking flexibly and with emotional regulation. This game can also be used 1-1 as more of a creative building activity as the student tries to suspend the pieces.
While you surely can pair this game with any task cards or trials you might regularly use, I have also created a game companion to support both articulation and language, making it perfect for quick planning and mixed groups. If you click this link you can sign up to receive your free open-ended game boards to pair with this popular game.
If you want to check out other game companion products for Quick Cups (no affiliation with the game or creators; Amazon affiliate link included), I have an articulation and language companion version. This is one of my favorite games to play. I might get a little too competitive! Kids of all ages like this quick, interactive stacking game. The possibilities are truly endless for racing to stack the cups. My game boards are set up for earning one cup each round after 5 trials of practice. It's seriously a fun, no prep therapy session for all goals.
