Play by the numbers

All my toys are in cupboards in my treatment room. Recently, one of my parents was delighted that their child had “moved to a new cupboard!” I sort my cupboards by age and ability After all, language and play go hand in hand up til age five. Here are a few favorites:


6 months: Such a simple toy, but this easy grab-it ball for little hands is perfect for bilateral hand skills. Midline work increases the likelihood of sound production. 


2 years: Gearation! Probably the most popular of all toys in the cupboard. Great for bridging the gap between direct cause-effect and indirect cause-effect play.
Kids are moving from one to two words. As they begin to combine toys, they begin to combine words. 

3-5: Any Fisher price, Imaginext, playmobil or other symbolic play toy. Get those narratives going. Once they combine toys they are combining words. 

Elementary: 

Marbles. I can sort them, do science and verbal reasoning, make predictions with them (light? No light?, how many little marbles will it take to equal big?). If I have a marble maze to put them with, I can create an activity while working on speech sounds. 


Rush Hour: Play using
the answer key. For receptive task, the child must listen and follow 2-3 elements correctly with spatial directions. Ask for more info, find out if they missed something if the car can't drive out at the end. For a tougher expressive task, the child decodes the answer key (QL3 for green truck left 3) and provides the directions to the SLP or other kids if in a group.

For the complete, detailed list check out the handout on my website.