Internet Resources for Speech Therapy
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Children often become more engaged in a learning activity when electronics are involved. There are lots of great apps and computer programs for speech therapy. You can also use the vast resources of the Internet to help encourage your child’s progress in speech therapy. Ask your child’s speech-language pathologist (SLP) for specific websites that she might recommend. Many websites offer games for children that are intended to build vocabulary and other important language skills. Some websites offer printable activities and flashcards that are geared toward specific sound vocalization and other speech and language skills. It’s recommended that you actively work with your child to explore Internet resources.
PBS Kids – Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood
This website can help children learn the alphabet and the sounds that are associated with each letter. Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood is an interactive activity. Children can click on a letter in the alphabet to “open a room” in Mister Rogers’ castle. Clicking on a letter will reveal a word and a picture associated with that letter. For example, clicking on “J” will reveal jewelry. You can expand upon the website’s usefulness by asking your child to think of other words that begin with that particular letter. Practice articulating these words together.
This website offers interactive matching games and other activities to develop phonological awareness. The matching games instruct your child to click on words that rhyme or to select words with specific sounds in them. Your child can also play games like “Initial Ch Hangman,” for which he is instructed to guess the word that begins with the “ch” sound.
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This website offers printable flashcards, categorized into specific sounds, along with other activities designed to promote language development. Click on the “Articulation” section to print flashcards for specific sounds in the initial, medial, and final positions in words. Click on the “Language” section for interactive activities. The “Books in a Bag” section under the “Language” category offers activity ideas that you can do with your child as you read certain books together.
If your child is bored with flashcards, check out this database of tongue twisters. You and your child can practice specific sounds together with this wealth of tongue twisters. If your child has trouble with them, encourage him to slow down or to practice singing them instead of speaking them. Be advised that not all tongue twisters may be rated “G” – at least one of them involves liquor. Copy and paste your favorite tongue twisters and print them to exclude those with adult content.
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This website offers a wide variety of interactive games, some of which were designed to facilitate speech and language development. Some of these activities may be particularly useful for children with autism, such as the facial expressions game. The website offers a word pairs game and a “Create a Room” game, in which children can identify common nouns.
