Children learn about their world through play as it facilitates their cognitive, emotional, physical, and social development. As young children develop, they begin understanding, learning how to communicate, and socializing within the context of play. If you’re a speech-language pathologist who works with younger students, then using play-based intervention can help save precious time with lesson plans and even increases motivation with older students. Toys can be adapted to cover multiple language goals, so you can use toys/games in many of your sessions without wasting time doing extra paperwork. When my caseload numbers get high and I have less time for lesson planning, I love being able to utilize a toy or a pretend play theme for many of my mixed group sessions. The more time that I’m able to spend working directly with my students is so valuable!
Research has shown that people learn and retain information better within the context of fun and enjoyable activities, which is why play is such an important aspect of speech-language therapy. For my older elementary and middle school students who are working on building peer friendships and interpersonal skills, playing games teaches students about social reciprocity that is needed for conversations and social communication. This facilitates older children’s understanding of taking the lead when it is their turn and waiting, listening, and watching when it is another person’s turn. I also find more willingness to participate in therapy when it is fun and centered around specific interests. Language and communication builds the foundation for academic success, too. Children need to be able to work with peers during group activities, ask and answer questions in class, interact with peers on the playground, and they also need to grow their background vocabulary so they can make connections and be successful with higher level thinking.
About my class
Children learn about their world through play as it facilitates their cognitive, emotional, physical, and social development. As young children develop, they begin understanding, learning how to communicate, and socializing within the context of play. If you’re a speech-language pathologist who works with younger students, then using play-based intervention can help save precious time with lesson plans and even increases motivation with older students. Toys can be adapted to cover multiple language goals, so you can use toys/games in many of your sessions without wasting time doing extra paperwork. When my caseload numbers get high and I have less time for lesson planning, I love being able to utilize a toy or a pretend play theme for many of my mixed group sessions. The more time that I’m able to spend working directly with my students is so valuable!
Research has shown that people learn and retain information better within the context of fun and enjoyable activities, which is why play is such an important aspect of speech-language therapy. For my older elementary and middle school students who are working on building peer friendships and interpersonal skills, playing games teaches students about social reciprocity that is needed for conversations and social communication. This facilitates older children’s understanding of taking the lead when it is their turn and waiting, listening, and watching when it is another person’s turn. I also find more willingness to participate in therapy when it is fun and centered around specific interests. Language and communication builds the foundation for academic success, too. Children need to be able to work with peers during group activities, ask and answer questions in class, interact with peers on the playground, and they also need to grow their background vocabulary so they can make connections and be successful with higher level thinking.
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