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What's in My Speech Therapist Tote Bag
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items Twenty years of home visits, and the bag has gotten smaller. These are the items I bring to every late-talker session, the ones that reliably pull words out of kids who won't talk for anyone else. Not toys for entertainment. Tools, picked for one rea...
I pull these out in the first 10 minutes of a first session, with any child. They make a loud, satisfying sound when stretched which means the child wants them stretched again. Hand them over collapsed. Wait. "More," "pull," "again," "open," “help,” ...
Pop Tubes Sensory Fidget Toys for Kids & Adults
A tube of 10–12 tiny animals for $10. I use them for kids who are stuck at single-word animal names ("dog, cat, cow") and need to move to actions. I line up five animals and narrate: "the cow is jumping. The cow is sleeping. The cow is eating." Same ...
TOOBS® Miniature Figurines | Safari Ltd®
Looks like nothing. Does everything. I use it for turn-taking with kids who won't sit still, two adults (or an adult and a child) hold each end and pass it back and forth while saying "my turn, your turn." The physical tension of the slinky forces bo...
Original Slinky Walking Spring Toy, 2.75-inch Metal
Non-obvious pick. I use it when a child isn't imitating mouth movements, which is about a third of my caseload. We sit shoulder to shoulder, both looking into the mirror. I say "puh puh puh" and point to my lips, then theirs. Watching their own mouth...
Amazon Best Sellers: Best Handheld Mirrors
I pull this out for kids who have language but refuse to show it, the ones whose parents say "they talk at home but won't say anything to you." I draw something wrong on purpose (a cat with no tail, a sun that's purple) and wait. Kids who won't initi...
Magna Doodle Archives | Cra-z-art Shop
The key is that a toddler cannot work a wind-up alone. They hand it to me. I wait. They say or sign "go," "more," or “help,” and I wind it. That's the entire session, repeated 20 times. Wind-ups are the single highest-yield tool I own for requesting,...
Wind Up Toys - Amazon.com
Not for making things, for opening things. I put a small toy or cracker inside the container, hand it to the child, and wait. "Open" and "help" come out within three tries, every time. The Play-Doh itself becomes the second round: I roll it into a ba...
Play Doh Modeling Compound 10-Pack Assorted
This one surprises parents. I use it with kids who are sensory-seekers, the ones who can't sit for a book but will sit for anything that touches their skin. Rub a dot of lotion on their hand, pause, wait for a request for "more." For chapstick-loving...
Travel Size Lotion & Body Care - EOS
This one surprises parents. I use it with kids who are sensory-seekers, the ones who can't sit for a book but will sit for anything that touches their skin. Rub a dot of lotion on their hand, pause, wait for a request for "more." For chapstick-loving...
Aromatic Food and Drink Scent Lip Balms
Any toy where the child puts something in something else, feed the shark, feed the monkey, drop coins in a piggy bank. The "in" is the whole point: I want to hear the word "in," and I want to hear the noun that goes in ("ball in," "coin in"). Two-wor...
What's in the Box Toy - 7 Surprise Pieces
The kind where you lift out the pig and it oinks. I use it for kids who have animal sounds but not animal names, we work on pairing "moo → cow, cow → moo" until the sound and the word are fused. Most late talkers have the animal sounds first, and thi...
Melissa & Doug Farm Animals Sound Puzzle
I use these for kids who are stuck at single words and need "more" drilled until it's reflexive. Pull one bead off. Wait. "More." Give another bead. Repeat 15 times. Boring for adults, perfect for toddlers. The repetition is the point, a word you say...
Lacing Beads - Amazon.com
Last in the bag, first out when nothing is working. I turn off the overhead lights, turn on the flashlight, and shine it on things around the room while naming them. Novelty buys me another 10 minutes of attention with a child who was about to quit. ...
Small Flashlight - Amazon.com