Speech Therapy Ball Popper

Therapy Ideas

This speech therapy ball popper toy is seriously awesome! It's fun, versatile, and cheap (checks all my boxes). Most kids love it. Honestly, most of my parents end of buying it as well to target goals at home.

  A few things before you watch this video:

1. This was my FIRST video ever. I'm just getting the swing of things.
2. I will talk about younger kids first and then move on to older elementary students.

Where to buy speech therapy ball popper toy

I bought my toy at Amazon. You can find it almost anywhere. My only suggestion is to pay a few extra dollars to get a more "sturdy" toy. The dollar store version breaks within a day and you will end up paying more in the long run. 

Here is the link if you need it: 

Ball Popping Toys: Articulation Ideas

Articulation Ideas

I use this speech therapy ball popper toy for articulation therapy (word, phrase, sentence level) quite often. Below are some ideas to try!

• B: Ball
• K: Catch
• M: Me, My Turn, Game
• P: Pop, Up, Snap
• F: Fast
• S: Ready-Set-Go
• S Blends: Snap, Pops
• T: Take, My Turn, Fast, Hit
• G: Go
• CH: Catch
• R: Really high, Ready-Set-Go

Vocabulary Ideas

For older elementary students, you can use this speech therapy ball popper game to work on vocabulary.

Give the student "secret directions" that target different parts of vocabulary such as:

• Categories
• Function
• Description
• Parts

For example, you might say "pop the ball and hit...

• something you write with (pencil)"
• a thing you sit on (chair)"
• something that is made of metal (file cabinet)"

Social Skills

I didn't talk much about social skills in the video, but this game has a lot of opportunities for social skills. 

Social skills are one of the MOST IMPORTANT skills we NEED to know to be a successful at school, jobs, and really any aspects of life. Social skills develop throughout our life through experiences, observation, and direct teaching. You can show good social skills from the start through modeling. 

1. Practice asking for a turn to use the ball popper thing.
2. Practice inviting a friend or family member to join in the play
3. Talk about who you want to invite over to play and how to do it.
4. If a child doesn't want to share or wait for a turn, talk about why it is so important. This will pay off in the long run!
5. Learn how to win or lose GRACEFULLY and why that is important.

Want more free speech therapy ideas?

Sign up for the free newsletter and you will receive new ideas right to your in-box about once per month. You are welcome!