Explore seven activities to encourage speech development in school-aged children

ByLondon Speech and Feeding
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Explore seven activities to encourage speech and language development in school-aged children
Encourage speech and language development in school-aged children

We hear too often parents ask, “what do I need to buy so I can support speech skills at home?” The advice I give is to use what you have at home; you don’t need specific toys or equipment. I’ll give you some ideas so you can adapt them for your child or young person’s interests.

Ensure you know which level your child is working at (e.g., sound level, consonant + vowel, consonant vowel, word, sentence, or generalisation level). If you’re unsure ask your child’s Speech and Language Therapist. The more practice your child has, the better, so practise little and often.

1. Bubbles

Explain to your child that you will play a game. You’ll take it in turns to say their tricky sound and practise at whichever level they are working at/towards.

2. Pop up pirate or similar

Explain the rules of the game to your child (as above). You could stick a picture to each of the swords for variety or stick photos on different characters beginning with their tricky sound. This would be particularly helpful if they are struggling for motivation.

3. ISpy

This is a great game where you can involve the whole family and you can even play it to and from school. Choose their tricky sound and everyone takes it in turns to say “ISpy with my little eye something beginning with [insert tricky sound]”.

4. Hide and seek with words

Explain to your child that you will hide pictures around the room. They will cover their eyes and will be told when they can look. Then they become a word detector and search for the pictures. After they’ve found each one, they are to say the sound (at whichever level they are working at).

5. Name 10!

Your child will name 10 words beginning with their tricky sound. Your Speech and Language Therapist will be able to give you the words at the level they are working at.

6. Sound focused game – silly sentences!

Your child will make silly sentences beginning with their tricky sound. E.g., if your child’s tricky sound is /s/ a silly sentence might be ‘Simon sat on sizzling sausages this Saturday’. Take turns to create them. Allowing your child to hear the correct sound is important for their production skills.

7. Throwing a beanbag on the correct sound

Have their tricky sound and the sound they make placed on the floor. They can use a beanbag or a ball to throw or place on the sound which you produce. Explain what you expecte them to do. Use specific praise (e.g., you listened well).

You can adapt all the above activities to meet your child’s needs. Please feel free to contact me should you need any further advice. I’m here to provide support, reduce your overwhelm and empower you to support your child’s speech and improve their communication. This will in turn reduce their frustration.

Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

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    How can I incorporate AAC into my speech therapy sessions?

    ByLondon Speech and Feeding

    Many parents are surprised when I bring AAC into a session, especially if they’ve come to see me primarily for speech sound work.

    They might wonder: ‘If we’re working on pronunciation, why are we using a communication device?’

    The simple answer is this: speech therapy is about communication first, and speech sounds second. Supporting a child’s ability to express themselves clearly and confidently is always the priority, and AAC can be a powerful tool alongside spoken speech.

    What do we mean by AAC?

    AAC stands for Augmentative and Alternative Communication.

    This can include:

    • A speech-generating device (such as LAMP Words for Life or GRID as I used in the photo below)
    • A communication app on a tablet
    • A symbol board or communication book
    • Gestures, signs, or visual supports

    AAC does not replace speech. Instead, it supports language development, reduces frustration, and builds communication success while speech skills are developing.

    Pretend Play using Speech and AAC in my clinic room

    But I mainly work on speech sounds… So how does AAC fit?

    Most of the children I see are working on:

    • Articulation difficulties
    • Phonological delay
    • Motor planning challenges (including apraxia/dyspraxia)
    • Unclear speech affecting confidence

    For these children, AAC isn’t a separate therapy. It’s simply woven naturally into what we are already doing.

    If a child brings their device to sessions, I actively include it. If they don’t yet use AAC but could benefit from visual or symbolic support, I may introduce simple options within activities.

    Using AAC to support speech practice

    Let’s say we are working on early speech targets like: ‘GO’.

    We might practise:

    • Saying the word verbally
    • Listening for the target sound
    • Using play (TOY TRAIN GOING ROUND A TRACK)

    Now we can extend this using AAC.

    On the device or communication board, we might model: ‘LET’S GO’ or ‘IT’s GOING up the hill’.

    This allows the child to:

    • Practise their speech sound target
    • Build a simple sentence
    • Experience successful communication even if speech is not fully clear yet

    All responses are valid and supported.

    AAC helps children communicate more than they can say

    Many children can understand and think in longer phrases than they can physically say.

    For example:

    • A child who verbally says single words may build longer phrases on AAC.
    • A child who struggles to plan speech movements may use AAC to communicate smoothly while still practising verbal attempts.
    • A child who becomes frustrated when misunderstood gains a reliable backup system.

    Rather than slowing speech progress, AAC often:

    • Reduces communication pressure
    • Increases participation in therapy
    • Encourages more attempts at speech
    • Supports language growth

    When children feel understood, they usually become more motivated to try speaking.

    There are no ‘prerequisites’ for AAC

    One of the biggest myths I hear is: ‘My child isn’t ready for AAC yet.’

    In reality, children do not need to:

    • Reach a certain speech level
    • Use pictures first
    • Prove they understand everything
    • Show immediate interest

    Instead, we presume competence and introduce AAC in meaningful, playful ways.

    That means:

    • Modelling words while blowing bubbles
    • Commenting during playdough activities
    • Choosing words during games
    • Building simple phrases in shared reading

    AAC should never feel like extra ‘work’. It’s simply another way to join in communication.

    My goal is always the same: to help each child communicate as clearly, confidently, and successfully as possible, using every helpful tool available.

    If your child uses AAC (or might benefit from it)

     Please feel free to:

    • Bring the device to sessions
    • Show me how your child currently uses it
    • Share advice from school or other therapists

    I am very happy to incorporate AAC into our work together so that speech practice, language development, and real communication all move forward hand-in-hand. Because ultimately, therapy isn’t just about producing perfect sounds. It’s about helping your child be heard and understood.

    If you’d like support or advice, please contact me and I can help guide the next steps.

    Sonja McGeachie

    Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

    Owner of The London Speech and Feeding Practice.

      Health Professions Council registered
      Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists Member
      Member of ASLTIP

      Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

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    • Language development

      ByLondon Speech and Feeding
      Kids Speech Therapist London
      Language Development

      Books, Stories And Colourful Semantics

      Many of my students have difficulties telling stories. When looking at a book together, even books they love and have seen many times, they often struggle to understand what they are reading and cannot therefore retell the story in any sequence. A great method I often use with those students is called Colourful Semantics.

      What is Colourful Semantics?

      Colourful Semantics is an approach aimed at helping children develop grammar and meaning of phrases and sentences. We help children identify WHO is the subject in a story, what is he/she/it DOING to WHAT and WHERE. There are lots of colour coded stages but we tend to start with the basic 4:

      WHO = ORANGE

      DOING = YELLOW

      WHAT = GREEN

      WHERE = BLUE

      Once a student is accomplished at this level, we move on to different colour codes for describing words (adjectives), connecting words (with/together/and/therefore) feeling words (PINK), timing words (BROWN) eg. when, tomorrow, last week etc.

      Colourful Semantics is a really useful method and helps children to organise their sentences. It also helps me knowing how to guide a student in thinking about the story.

      The approach can be used with children with a range of Speech and Language Needs, such as:

      • Developmental Delay / Disorder
      • Autistic Spectrum Condition
      • Down Syndrome
      • Any other syndromes and related speech and language delays
      • General Literacy difficulties

      There are a wide range of benefits to using this approach and I use it in my therapeutic work with children of around 3 years plus. Below is a little video which shows how I use it with this student who has general language difficulties associated with Autism. One of the main benefits with this student is that seeing the Cue Cards helps her to use a much wider range of vocabulary than she would ordinarily generate. Her sentences are getting longer and she is more able to answer questions. In general, I find it useful to help with storytelling and to guide us through the story in a sequence.

      There are many on-line games these days that have incorporated the Colourful Semantics Approach. Once a child is familiar with the basic colour scheme then gradually the visual prompts can be reduced to using verbal prompts.

      Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

    • · ·

      Navigating the exciting 9–18 months journey: Your baby’s communication milestones

      ByLondon Speech and Feeding

      Between 9 and 18 months, your little one undergoes a remarkable transformation, blossoming from a curious explorer into a budding communicator. This period is filled with exciting milestones in speech, language, and social development. Let’s delve into what you can expect.

      9–12 months: The world opens up

      Communication takes flight

      • Babbling becomes more complex with a wider range of sounds. By babbling we mean syllables like: pa ga ka ma da and then ‘baba’ gohgoh’. First we hear one and two syllables together and then longer and longer strings! This is so exciting!
      • First words! One day around the 12 months–14 months mark we hear a first word! My older son’s first word was ‘Licht’ which is the German word for ‘light’ as literally every time I carried him along the corridors in our home, I pointed out the light switches to him and turned them off and on a few times. And each time I said ‘Licht!’ and it stuck! PS: sadly I cannot remember what my younger son’s first word was… poor second and third babies they just have to muddle along and call loudly to get noticed!
      • Understanding grows! Baby now understands simple instructions like ‘where is your ball’ and responds by looking to the ball across the room!

      Social butterflies

      • Your baby now starts to show interest in other children, and may try to copy their actions. Now we are getting proper traction with simple social games like peek-a-boo and patty-cake. Whilst your baby is generally interested in other people and children he or she may show separation anxiety when mum or dad or other familiar person suddenly leaves the room and they feel alone with strangers.

      Fine motor skills

      • Pincer grasp develops. This is where your child puts an index finger to the thumb in order to pick up of small objects, hold them and transfer them to either a box, back on the floor or into the other hand.
      • Your baby may start to explore objects by banging, shaking, and mouthing.

      12–15 months: Words are taking shape

      • Language explosion: From our early words we now suddenly see baby’s vocabulary expanding, with new words added each week. I would highly recommend parents keep a little journal of all the words they hear. If nothing else this is a wonderful aide-memoire for years down the road when you might like to reminisce about the first ten words. I promise you otherwise you won’t recall! (especially for second and third babies; I would do this now, had I the time again).
      • Understanding grows:
        • By about 15 months our baby can follow simple two-step instructions like ‘Go get your shoes and bring them here.’
        • Begins to understand the concept of ‘no.’ and that’s a very useful thing. Though before you breathe a sigh of relief… your toddler may well show you that he is understanding a ‘no’ though he may not stop doing what he is doing or come down off the table!
      • Playtime gets interactive:
        • Now we engage in more complex play, such as stacking blocks, pretending to eat with a spoon, and imitating actions.
        • Many toddlers now start showing an interest in picture books.

      15–18 months: Communication blossoms

      • Words combine: Towards 18 months or around about then your toddler may start to put two words together, such as ‘more milk’ or ‘bye-bye dada.’
      • Gestures and sounds: Now we also use gestures to communicate, such as pointing, shaking head ‘no,’ and waving ‘bye-bye.’
      • Exploration and curiosity:
        • Your toddler is now EVERYWHERE! Turn your back and he or she is gone! Your toddler now shows a strong sense of curiosity and explores their environment with enthusiasm.
      • Copying
      • Look out for actions and gestures your toddler will copy such as clapping hands or patting a cushion or banging a spoon on the table .

      Remember

      • Every child develops at his or her own pace.
      • These are just general guidelines, and some children may reach certain milestones earlier or later than others.
      • If you have any concerns about your child’s development, please consult with your speech and language therapist. We are always keen to hear from parents and happy to help promote all those lovely early skills.

      General tips to encourage communication if you feel your child needs a little more help

      • Talk, talk, talk! Engage in frequent chatting with your child.
      • Listen to your child: Allow for periods of silence when playing with your child to allow them to say something or make sounds which you can then copy and respond to.
      • Read aloud regularly. Use books with simple words and pictures.
      • Play interactive games: Hickory Dickory Dock, Row Row the boat, Old McDonalds, 5 little monkeys jumping on the bed, chasing and catching, tickling games.
      • Respond to your child’s babbling and gestures. You can copy them or if your toddler says long strings of babbling you cannot understand you could just say: ‘Oh ok!? ‘yes that’s great!’ ‘who knew!’ ‘wow you’ve got much to say!’ as if you understood.
      • Limit screen time or if your child is very passionate about watching clips then sit and watch with your child so that you can see what is the best bit, which songs they like the best and what sort of phrases they love hearing.

      This exciting period of rapid growth and development is a precious time for both you and your child.

      By providing a loving, stimulating, and responsive environment, you will naturally nurture their communication skills! Any more questions, please get in touch!

      Sonja McGeachie

      Early Intervention Speech and Language Therapist

      Feeding and Dysphagia (Swallowing) Specialist The London Speech and Feeding Practice

      The London Speech and Feeding Practice

      Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

      1
    • ·

      Tongue training: Why tongue placement matters for clear speech

      ByLondon Speech and Feeding

      As speech and Language therapists (SLTs), we know that where your tongue goes, so goes your sound. This blog post will explore why tongue placement is so vital for speech correction and how we use tools and techniques to help our clients find their ‘sweet spot’ for sound production.

      Let me show you here a little video clip where I am using my dentist’s mouth/teeth model to help my clients navigate their tongue movements.

      The tongue: A tiny muscle with a big job

      The tongue is a small but mighty muscle. It’s incredibly versatile, playing a key role in eating, swallowing, and, of course, speaking. For each speech sound, the tongue, along with the lips and jaw, needs to move to a very specific spot. Think of it like a dance: every part of your mouth has a choreographed movement to produce the correct sound. If the tongue is out of sync, the sound comes out muffled, distorted, or just plain wrong.

      The trouble with our tongue movements is that most of us never think about how the tongue has to move and what it does to: swallow, chew, drink, suck and speak. Most parents when asked to think about their own tongue placement for say the /S/ sound are completely lost as to what their tongue is doing. Yet, of course, they produce a perfect /S/ and perfect speech in general. The same goes for swallowing. When did you last think about what happens in your mouth when you swallow? I bet you have not thought about it. We ‘just do it’, right?

      Why is tongue placement so important?

      Accurate tongue placement is the foundation of clear articulation. When a child struggles with a particular sound, it’s often because his or her tongue isn’t quite reaching the right spot or moving in the correct way. For example, the /S/ sound requires the tongue to be slightly raised and positioned behind the top teeth, creating a narrow channel for air to flow through. If the tongue is too far forward, you might get a /TH/ sound instead. If it’s too far back, the /S/ can sound muffled.

      Visual aids: Our secret weapon

      We SLTs love our visual aids! They’re incredibly helpful for showing clients exactly where their tongue needs to be. Here are some of our favourite tools:

      • Mirrors: Mirrors provide instant feedback. Clients can see their tongue’s position and make adjustments in real-time. We often use hand mirrors or even the mirror on a compact for quick checks.
      • Tongue depressors: These simple tools can gently guide the tongue to the correct position. We might use them to show where the tongue tip should rest for the /L/ sound or how the sides of the tongue should touch the molars for the /K/ and /G/ sounds.
      • Diagrams and models: Pictures and models of the mouth can help clients visualise the tongue’s movements. We might use a cross-section diagram of the mouth to show how the tongue forms different sounds.

      Beyond the tongue: The jaw’s role

      While the tongue takes centre stage, the jaw plays a supporting role. It provides a stable base for the tongue and helps control the opening and closing of the mouth. Sometimes, jaw stability is an issue, and we might use techniques to help clients find a comfortable and stable jaw position.

      Making it fun and engaging

      Learning correct tongue placement can be challenging, but we make it fun! We use games, stories, and playful activities to keep clients motivated. For younger children, we might use silly voices or pretend to be animals. For older children, we might incorporate their interests, like using a car analogy for tongue movements.

      The takeaway

      Correct tongue placement is essential for clear speech. By using visual aids, interactive techniques, and a bit of creativity, we can help our clients master their speech sounds and communicate with confidence.

      If you have any concerns about your child’s speech, don’t hesitate to reach out to a qualified speech and language therapist, we are here to help! Contact me via my contact form.

      Sonja McGeachie

      Early Intervention Speech and Language Therapist

      Feeding and Dysphagia (Swallowing) Specialist The London Speech and Feeding Practice

      The London Speech and Feeding Practice

      Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

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    • ·

      13 tips to support children and young people with food aversions

      ByLondon Speech and Feeding

      When you have a picky eater it’s easy to feel on edge and that others are judging your parenting skills. It is astonishing how suddenly the world and its brother/sister are all experts on how to feed your child, even the lady in the corner shop is not shy to offer unsolicited tips and advice on your child’s nutrition intake. They will say “try this or that“, “how about these new crackers (only £1.99 special offer)” but…

      The fact is often that you are very concerned about what your child is eating. And you desperately want to give them a healthy, nutritious packed lunch but you know that it will get left, unopened, and unfinished. So, instead, you stick to the same sad soft cheese sandwich on white bread as it is at least something you know they’ll eat.

      Sensory needs can impact on eating with both individuals with and without other conditions. We need to consider all these elements:

      • taste (sweet vs. sour)
      • consistency (crunchy vs. soft)
      • temperature (hot vs. cold)
      • colour (beige vs. colourful)
      • and smell (pungent vs. mild)

      Let’s take a blueberry as an example: it can be sweet or sharp; it can be firm or mushy; it can even differ in colour. Now let’s look at a piece of cereal: it’s crunchy all the time; it looks the same. It’s very predictable, and therefore less anxiety provoking.

      Speech Therpaist in London

      Find our top tips here:

      1. Check with a medical professional that there is nothing physically wrong (e.g. gastrointestinal, or anatomical structural difficulties).
      2. For swallowing difficulties, whether confirmed or suspected, please book an assessment with a certified swallowing/feeding Speech and Language Therapist or please contact me.
      3. Does your child have confirmed or suspected allergies? If so, please contact a dietician who has experience with allergies and can advise, for example: Dr Rosan Meyer.
      4. Talk to other family members about food and their experiences of food. Perhaps there is a family tendency to be picky with eating/food avoidant. This may be important information that you can share with your clinician during the case history taking.
      5. Be patient, though this is easier said than done/felt! Know that many children need repeated exposure to food(s) before liking them, up to 14 spoons! So, take it at your child’s pace and it’s vital we don’t force them to try new foods or use bribes.
      6. You can provide opportunities to engage with food, perhaps you could cook with your child, and allow them to choose what they want to cook. For younger children try Messy Food Play – there are tons of suggestions on Pinterest for ideas on how to incorporate foods into play activities or ask your feeding-Speech and Language Therapist.
      7. You may want to talk about pictures in books that introduce new foods (e.g. The Very Hungry Caterpillar for younger children or magazines if older).
      8. You can play with toy food in a toy kitchen for little ones, or comment on supermarket adverts for young people who are older.
      9. Offer opportunities to taste new foods. You could use a toothpick for bite-sized pieces.
      10. Be sure you eat together with your child as often as you can, modelling positive eating behaviour is most important and can be really effective over time.
      11. You could ask your child to sort foods by colour or stack them on a plate.
      12. We know that Autistic Spectrum Conditions often come with hypersensitivity to textures, so consider what your child prefers (e.g. they may not like slices of tomato but prefer the runnier texture of a tomato sauce).
      13. Reward and give praise following your child’s flexibility with foods and their attempts to try and not whether they like/dislike the food, for example “well done for touching the avocado!” Or “great you licked your fingers with the humous on, that’s excellent”.

      We are always here to support you in whatever way we can. Contact me for support.

      Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

    • ·

      Some ideas to encourage communication

      ByLondon Speech and Feeding

      Coming up with ideas for supporting your child’s speech, language and communication can be difficult especially during the holidays. All these activities are easy to implement and can be adapted to your child’s age and stage of development.

      Some activities to support your family through the summer:

      1. Create a story book / photo book of what you’ve been up to over the holidays

      Collect photos of everyday activities and stick them into a file. You can print them out or you could just look at them on your phone or tablet. Create good little sentences or words / phrases for each picture: yummy ice cream / eating pizza / digging the sand / a sandcastle with mum.

      This enables your child to develop

      • their attention and listening
      • sequencing of events
      • expressive language (talking)
      • and conversational skills.

      2. Explore the outside world (e.g., water the flowers, dig in the soil)

      Depending on your child’s language level keep it very simple: single words or short phrases. Or you could practise concepts such as ‘pronouns’: he is eating an ice cream / we are splashing in the pool / she is riding a bike.

      3. Splashing in a paddling pool

      This is a great activity to build attention. You can call “splash, splash, splash”, “ready steady go splish splash splosh”, ”pour pour pour”, “stir stir you’re stirring”.

      Offer different sized containers. This is often so powerful and keeps your child occupied for a nice long time. No need to buy anything special: just bring out your kitchen utensils and some Tupperware containers.

      4. Blow bubbles

      Bubbles are a fantastic way to engage children. You can play ‘stop and go’ games, take turns and practise key concepts such as ‘under – blow bubbles under my hand’. Your child can practise their expressive language, creating sentences such as ‘blowing bubbles in the pool’.

      5. Draw with chalk on pavement slabs to encourage speech sound production or just general nice communication

      Use chalk outside to draw a ladder. Your child can practise their speech sound production without even realising it! You can go first to model the sound if needed. Drawing anything onto the pathway with coloured chalk can be really fun.

      Afterwards you can wash the pathway and again there is lots of vocabulary you could use there to help your little one practise speech sounds. For example, if your child is practising the word “YELLOW” (as many of my children do) you can draw lots of little yellow things and then name them together:

      • yellow banana
      • yellow flower
      • yellow submarine
      • yellow balloon

      You get the idea!

      6. Walk in nature. Comment on what you see, smell, hear and feel

      Make the most of where you live. Go for a walk. You can sing songs along your walk or comment about what you see, smell, hear and feel. For example: I hear the birds, they are singing; I smell the sea and can hear the waves crashing against the rocks. Make sure your comments are appropriate for the age and stage of your child.

      7. Sing songs

      This is a lovely way to get your child hearing language, rhyme and rhythm. You can take turns, and fill in the missing words such as “heads, shoulders, knees and ______”.

      8. Word games (such as ISpy)

      The beauty of this game is that it can be played anywhere and everywhere! The importance is that these word games develop phonological awareness (the ability to hear and manipulate sounds in words).

      Contact me for speech, language and communication support.

      Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

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