You don’t need a bunch of specialist tools. Sometimes the best things to help your child communicate are already around you.
When Ezra was dealing with speech delay, we weren’t filling the house with specialist products trying to get him to talk.
At the time, I was a stay-at-home dad while his mom worked as a travel nurse; I spent a lot of the day-to-day time with him. But I don’t want to make it sound like I was doing this alone. His mom was involved too. We were both learning, watching his progress, and figuring out what worked for him.
Most of the speech therapy materials for kids we used weren’t actually bought for speech therapy.
Books. Blocks. Toys. Playing together. Getting outside.
Looking back, I missed the clear realization that the material itself was only part of it. What mattered more was what we did with it.
Books are a great first step for starting conversation. Blocks created opportunities to copy words and describe what we were doing. A walk outside gave us real things to see, name, and experience together.
That’s something I wish I’d understood earlier.
You don’t necessarily need more stuff. Sometimes you need to get more out of the things your child already enjoys.
I’m also writing this as Ezra’s dad, not as a speech-language pathologist. Every child’s speech and language needs are different. Professional guidance matters, especially when you’re dealing with speech delay. What I’m sharing here is what we learned as parents and some of the parent strategies that became useful.
You Probably Already Have What You Need
A quick online search will give you access to speech therapy materials like articulation cards, visual aids, flashcards, printable worksheets, apps, language games, and enough specialist products. That’s all good, but do you need all of that, or can you even make the thing you need? It gives you all an opportunity to build together and learn as you go.
Books Gave Us Somewhere to Start
Ezra has always been fairly consistent at reading, thanks to his older brother Elishua, the once-avid reader, so books came naturally to him.
We didn’t need to turn reading into a formal speech therapy exercise. We’d read, stop at pictures and talk about whatever caught his attention.
Sometimes he’d copy me. Sometimes I’d build on something he said. Other times we were simply reading together.
That’s what I like about books. They can support more normal language development.
With toddlers and preschoolers, you can keep things simple. As children get older, the same book can lead to conversations about what happened, what a character is feeling or what might happen next.
The book gives you somewhere to start. Where the conversation goes after that is often the useful part.
Blocks and Toys Let Speech Happen Through Play
Blocks and toys worked for much the same reason. Ezra was playing, and I was playing with him.
If he copied something I said, I could add to it. If he wanted a certain block or toy, there was already a reason for us to communicate.
This is where techniques such as parallel talk can fit naturally. You’re simply putting words to what your child is already doing.
There’s no need to announce that you’re now beginning language practice at 2:17 p.m.
You’re playing. He’s already learning articulation and joining words together.
Expansion Is My Go-To
Even at the age of 8, this is one technique that stayed with me is expansion.
It’s basically taking what your child gives you and adding a little more language to it.
If Ezra said:
“Hike.”
I would respond:
“We’re hiking.”
I’m not telling him his word was wrong or demanding that he repeat my sentence. I’m simply giving him a slightly fuller version.
This type of language modeling became much easier for me once I stopped thinking about it as practice and started fitting it into whatever we were already doing.
Mexico Gave Us Plenty to Talk About
Living in Mexico, hiking became a bit of a pastime for our family.
It gave us exercise, fresh air and sometimes just a reset. With me being home with the boys while their mom was working as a travel nurse, I had plenty of those ordinary daytime moments with them.
The various hikes around Ensenada also gave me endless conversation starters.
If he said “hike,” I could expand it to “We’re going hiking.”
If we stopped somewhere overlooking the city, I could say, “We’re looking over the city of Ensenada.”
There was always something around us to point out or talk about.
I wasn’t walking around Mexico carrying articulation cards in my backpack. We were spending time together.
Looking back, some of the best speech materials weren’t really materials at all.
They were experiences.
When Extra Speech Materials Can Help
That doesn’t mean specialist resources aren’t useful.
Visual aids, picture cards, sequencing activities, flashcards and interactive tools can all have a purpose when they match what a child is working on.
Picture cards can help with naming, describing or making choices. Sequencing activities have their place with children to put events in order and explain what happened. Language games are good for vocabulary and conversation.
There are also plenty of free speech therapy materials and printable worksheets available online. But I still wouldn’t download everything with “speech therapy” written across the top.
Some resources have very specific purposes.
Minimal pairs, for example, may be used when working on particular speech sound differences. Articulation cards may focus on specific sounds. Other children may use visual communication, AAC or sign language.
The important thing here is getting the materials tailored towards the child’s learning.
If you’re working with speech-language pathologists during therapy sessions, ask what they’re focusing on and what you can reinforce at home.
For us, it meant taking professional guidance and finding realistic ways to support Ezra during normal family life.
What About Speech Therapy Apps?
I previously wrote an article about speech therapy apps, so I want to be clear about something.
We didn’t use those apps with Ezra.
They were resources I researched, not something his mom or I relied on during his own speech journey. Going back through that old article actually changed how I think about recommending apps now.
I don’t think parents need another enormous list.
I’d rather ask:
What is my child working on?
Choose an app that fits your child’s needs, whether that’s articulation or broader language development. Even professionally developed tools like Articulation Station Hive aren’t right for every child, so check with your speech-language pathologist before subscribing. A wider collection of materials and subscriptions doesn’t automatically mean more progress.
Different Distance, Different Tools
My support for Ezra has now changed.
When we lived together, opportunities were everywhere. Parenting from afar took away some of that spontaneity. So adapting was a necessity.
Over calls, I use simple games like Finish My Sentence and Would You Rather. They encourage Ezra to think, speak, make choices and explain himself, but I’m also using them for something equally important.
Connection.
Would You Rather can start with two ridiculous choices and somehow turn into a proper conversation. He tells me why he chose something, I give him my answer, and sometimes he explains in considerable detail why Dad has clearly made the wrong decision.
That’s expression. That’s conversation. And it’s fun.
If a simple game supports his communication while also giving us something to laugh and talk about, that’s plenty for me.
What Makes For a Useful Tool?
I’ve become much less interested in how professional a resource looks. I’m more interested in whether Ezra will actually engage with it.
Start with their likes and loves; chances are they will engage with things they enjoy. I also want materials that fit into real life.
Expansion worked for us because I could use it anywhere. I didn’t need to prepare a worksheet before going hiking.
And most importantly, the material should match what the child actually needs.
That matters with speech delay, articulation, language development, bilingual speech therapy and any other area where children may need more specific support.
The professional guidance comes first, while material helps you carry some of that guidance into everyday life.
It Was Never Just Me
There’s one thing I want to make very clear because writing from my perspective can sometimes make everything sound like “Dad did this, Dad did that.”
That wasn’t our reality.
I was the stay-at-home parent at that point, so naturally I experienced a lot of the everyday moments I’m writing about. His mom was working as a travel nurse, but she was part of Ezra’s journey too.
So were the professionals who helped us understand what he needed. We all had different roles and we played them well as a team.
What I can share is what I noticed and learned from my part in it. And one of the biggest lessons was how ordinary supporting speech could sometimes be.
Sometimes Less Is More
When I think back to those years with Ezra, I don’t remember some special speech product that changed everything. I remember everything in totality, the:
Blocks. Playing. Hiking around Ensenada. Listening to him. Expanding his words. Watching him copy me.
And now I can add ridiculous Would You Rather conversations from thousands of miles away to that list.
There are excellent speech therapy materials for kids, and the right materials can absolutely support your child’s progress. But buying more isn’t the same as helping more.
Work with the professionals supporting your child, learn the strategies they’re using and pay attention to what your child responds to; then find ways to bring those things to life.
Because sometimes the most useful material isn’t something you buy at all. It’s simply something that gives you and your child a reason to communicate. ASHA
Keep the Conversation Going. Let us know what you think.
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