Fall Favorites Roundup: Teletherapy Resources
Today, I’m sharing a roundup of my favorite teletherapy resources I’ve used this fall. I know many therapists and kiddos are transitioning back to teletherapy or remote learning as COVID-19 cases spike around the country. I hope this list inspires new ideas for remote therapy sessions.
Websites
National Geographic Personality Quizzes
What is it?: A library of personality quizzes (e.g., “What planet are you?,” “What ice cream flavor are you?”). Each quiz contains 5 to 7 preference-based or hypothetical multiple-choice questions with picture support that determine the outcome of the quiz.
How I incorporate this resource in therapy: asking and answering questions, making comments within conversation, and describing picture scenes
What is it?: A resource library of 3- to 5-minute educational videos that answer a variety of questions (e.g., “Do other countries celebrate Thanksgiving?,” “Why does hair grow?”). In addition to the video, there is often bonus content related to the question that includes fun activities to try at home or additional information on the topic. New videos are posted each week.
How I incorporate this resource in therapy: answering comprehension-based questions, understanding and use of curriculum-based vocabulary, and participating in a back-and-forth conversation about the topic
Literacy Shed Comprehension Plus
What is it?: A library of 1- to 2-page texts broken down into reading level and then further subcategorized into topics (e.g., dinosaurs, fairy tales, etc.). The texts include questions throughout as well as at the end of the text. Be sure to bookmark this website if you have kiddos working on reading comprehension.
How I incorporate this resource in therapy: reading comprehension, asking questions pertaining to the meaning of unfamiliar words and/or concepts, and understanding and use of vocabulary
Bonus tip: Typically, I let kids pick the topic so they stay motivated. We then have mini units (e.g., Arctic animals) that last a few therapy sessions.
What is it?: A library of 2- to 5-minute animated videos that teach specific social skills (e.g., appropriately ending a conversation, integrating eye contact, etc.). The videos are interactive and include multiple-choice questions throughout.
How I incorporate this resource in therapy: addressing pragmatic language goals and answering questions
Boom Decks
Why - Feelings by Ishashime
What is it?: A Boom deck focused on labeling emotions within picture scenes and subsequently answering why individuals feel a particular emotion (e.g., feeling sad after dropping ice cream on the ground).
How I incorporate this resource in therapy: understanding and labeling emotions, describing picture scenes, and using context clues to answer why questions
“See” Spotlight by Rachel Madel
What is it?: Hover a spotlight over a large black square to discover all the objects and people within the hidden picture scene.
How I incorporate this resource in therapy: modeling “See” and “Look” on a child’s Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) system, identifying and labeling common objects, and making predictions
Grocery Shopping Temporal Concepts by Teacher Kiiji
What is it?: A virtual grocery shopping activity focused on following 2-step directions with embedded linguistic concepts. There are 3 levels of this Boom deck, each varying slightly in difficulty.
How I incorporate this resource in therapy: following 2-step directions incorporating temporal concepts (i.e., before, after) and using strategies (e.g., verbal rehearsal) to improve independence in following directions
Bonus tip: When playing this game, my kiddos and I take turns giving each other directions to follow.
Bear Needs Lunch by Speech in the City
What is it?: An interactive Boom deck in which you help a hungry bear retrieve food from a tree.
How I incorporate this resource in therapy: using core vocabulary words to direct actions (e.g., “Put in,” “Help me,” “Give”) and comment (e.g., “Yum,” “Like”)
Wordless Videos
When using wordless videos within therapy, I intermittently pause the videos throghout to discuss what’s happening, make predictions, and talk through questions. I often take screenshots throughout the video and use those pictures as a visual for retelling the story sequence. More on how I use wordless videos in this blog post.
