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Creations with the same images you see on this site can also be found in the author's Boom Cards store. Boom Cards are a great tool for online learning, with interative and appealing games that also track data and student responses. If you would like to support Language Playroom, please consider purchasing from the author on Boom Cards.

Great for Telepractice

Telepractice is the application of telecommunications technology (such as online classrooms and chat software) for the delivery of speech-language pathology services at a distance by linking the speech-language pathologist to their client or student from far away. It can be used for testing to determine speech therapy eligibility, as well as direct treatment of communication disorders and consultations with families. Telepractice applications can include schools, medical centers, rehabilitation hospitals, community health centers, outpatient clinics, universities, clients' homes, residential health care facilities, child care centers, and corporate settings. There are no limits to where telepractice can be implemented, as long as there is an internet connection, a speech-language pathologist, and a communication partner who is ready to learn. This can be especially helpful for individuals in rural areas, or where physical disabilities may limit access, or for students attending school from home.

Even though this site is designed for teletherapists, the exact same tools can be used in a face-to-face therapy setting with computer and internet access.

Great for families

Research shows that when school-aged children practice speech and language skills more often, they make more progress in their communication skills. Even practicing speech their five minutes a day will improve a student's carryover, where they learn to apply their skills in areas outside speech therapy sessions, such as in the classroom, on the playground, or at home.

Where to Start

The activities in this site are organized in two different ways: by developmental level and by area of communication. The left side of the menu at the top has speech and language activities organized by developmental level, or by certain milestones that children are expected to achieve by certain ages. The suggested ages given below are based on typical development, so some students with moderate to severe communication delays or disorders may need to work at a level that is below their real age. For older students, reading levels also may have an impact on what level is best for them.

• Emerging activities are targeted at students developing language for the first time, and would be great for preschool students. The vocabulary is simple and functional, including many household objects and core vocabulary. This section would also be a great resource for students using AAC devices and still learning the meaning of core vocabulary.
• Developing activities are targeted at students in grades K-2, who are learning early reading skills and seeing a wide expansion of their vocabulary. In this section, there is a broader set of terms that may support elementary science, history, or reading academic content.
• Expanding activities are targeted at students in grades 3-5, who are developing more reading skills and expanding their vocabulary into more specific and complex terms or concepts, especially ones that they may not have been exposed to before. Aside from additional vocabulary expansion, multicultural concepts are introduced in this section, and the activities demand a higher level of thought and complexity in each answer.
• Perfecting activities are intended for students in grades 6+, who should be reading at near-adult levels and able to engage complexly and deeply with content, and is asking students to engage with high-level concepts as well as develop tools to understand words or concepts they've never seen before using the skills they have.

The right side of the menu at the top has speech and language activities organized by area of speech. Speech-language pathologists are professionally trained to provide intervention in five domains of communication: articulation, language, fluency, pragmatics, and voice. Each section will have games and activities that target each area.

• Articulation contains activities to target issues with speech sounds, to support someone who is difficult to understand, can't pronounce certain words/sounds, leaves out sounds in words, or replaces one sound with another.
• Language contains activities to target expressive and receptive language, which would support someone who has difficulty with asking questions, answering questions, forming grammatically correct sentences, and finding relationships between concepts.
• Social contains activities to target pragmatic and social language, which would support someone who has difficulty talking to others their same age, staying on topic in conversation, appropriately adding to conversations, and solving social conflicts.
• Fluency contains activities to target stuttering, which would support someone who may repeat sounds in words, have blocks while talking where they're unable to speak, or insert sounds or pauses into their speech.