Who says that therapy has to happen at a table, or even within the walls of a therapy room? Break from the routine and give children (and parents, and therapists!) a much needed shake-up by doing something a little different in your session.
Some ideas for moving therapy beyond the therapy room include:
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Cook something: even if you don’t have kitchen facilities available, you can make something simple like lemonade, fruit salad, or sandwiches.
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Go on a scavenger hunt: plant objects/pictures of target words, work on following multi-step directions, search for words that start with a target phoneme, work on prepositions, etc.
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Go on a listening walk: for new listeners, walk around and point out sounds in the environment.
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Take a real world field trip: practice communication skills at the post office, grocery store, or other community location (these places can also be great for listening in noise).
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Enjoy the outdoors: instead of writing out therapy work, use sidewalk chalk.
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Visit the child’s classroom: do some push-in work or consult with the mainstream teacher.
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Observe the child playing with peers and take a language sample.
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Do a “real” task: who says you can’t learn while cleaning out an old bookshelf, washing toys, or sorting mail? These activities can help parents realize that they can, and should, incorporate therapy goals into everyday activities at home.
Elizabeth A. Rosenzweig 