From the time we’re born, we learn to express ourselves through language, as it represents one of the characteristics that make us human; using language allows us to share thoughts, emotions and basic needs. As children, language development is one of the most important aspects considered by our parents, educators and therapists. Language delays are worrisome, and are often associated with different disabilities and developmental lapses. In such cases, engaging in language games and, or in conjunction with speech therapy toys, becomes essential in the developmental process.
Association cards have been used for a long time now in the development of expressive skills. They are often used as speech therapy toys, where children are required to make different associations when presented different cards. Language development comes naturally with these cards, and children logically feel the need to express the associations they are able to make between different objects and concepts through visual and language recognition. Identifying the requested pictures will have a positive influence on problems like language delays, contributing to the expansion of one’s vocabulary and encouraging verbal communications. Plus, both rational thinking and arguing are stimulated through these speech therapy toys.
We all know that there are two types of language; verbal and written. Not only do these language games promote verbal language development, but they also have a strong influence when it comes to the written part. They help children who have difficulty with speech or language delays tremendously by building both pre-literacy and literacy skills through fun play. Children are encouraged to use these speech therapy toys with all members of their family, but they can also be used by speech therapists during practice sessions. Recommended for children over three years old, card associations might be more effective than one might think where language delays are concerned.
Language games do not involve only the use of association cards, but also the use of opposites and part-to-whole cards. Equally useful for language development, these cards pose a challenge for children of different ages. Not only do they contribute to the expansion of the vocabulary but they also improve the capacity of visual analysis and organization. Children with language delays, those who have been diagnosed with different learning disabilities or those who suffer from autism – these represent potential categories that might benefit the most from the use of speech therapy toys. They need to develop expressive skills and learn how to communicate in order to become active member in society.
There are association cards that teach children about opposites, allowing them to improve not only their expressive, but also their descriptive skills. By playing such language games and engaging in active play, these children will eventually develop their receptive and expressive vocabulary. Learning how to communicate is best achieved through games that are fun to play, engaging all family members. Language therapy groups also rely on the use of such toys, often using them with children that are facing language delays. Association and opposites cards can be used in groups of one to four players, having a true beneficial effect on language development.
Part-to-whole cards are part of speech therapy sessions as well, contributing to the improvement of deductive reasoning. Children are stimulated in numerous ways, being presented with a number of interesting pictures and being asked to express them verbally. There are all sorts of language games out there, perfect not only for the development of syntactical skills but also capable of stimulating their memory matching abilities. In order to develop expressive skills and learn how to communicate, children with special needs have to be constantly stimulated. Association cards, magnetic games and language tool kits – these represent few of the speech therapy toys available for language delays. They each have a positive influence, contributing to the improvement of spoken language on a gradual basis.