Best Speech and Learning Gifts for the Holidays 2024

The holiday season is a great opportunity to give gifts that are both fun and educational. For children working on speech and language goals, thoughtful gifts can support their communication skills while keeping them entertained. Toys and games that encourage interaction, problem-solving, and language use can be valuable tools for speech and language development (ASHA, 2023). Here are five highly recommended gifts for 2024.

1. Story Cubes

Story Cubes are small dice featuring pictures that inspire creative storytelling. These cubes promote a range of language skills, including narratives, vocabulary expansion, and sequencing. Storytelling is a key activity for building a series of language skills (ASHA, 2023). Available online, they are great for one-on-one play or family fun.

2. Talking Photo Album

A talking photo album allows users to record messages for each page. This tool is perfect for children working on articulation, sentence formation, or even practicing social scripts. ASHA recommends personalized tools like these to make therapy engaging and relevant (ASHA, 2023). Find options online.

3. Magnetic Poetry for Kids

Magnetic poetry kits are great for developing vocabulary, grammar, and sentence-building skills. Kids can create fun phrases or short poems, building creativity while practicing language. ASHA suggests hands-on, word-based games as effective resources for language learning (ASHA, 2023).

4. Hedbanz or Guess Who?

These classic games encourage players to ask and answer questions, promoting social communication and critical thinking. ASHA finds that such games are excellent for improving conversational turn-taking, reasoning, and descriptive language (ASHA, 2023).

5. Apps for Speech and Language

Apps like Speech Blubs or Articulation Station turn screen time into learning. ASHA emphasizes that well-designed apps can provide valuable practice for articulation, phonics, and more (ASHA, 2023). As discussed in a previous blog article, always supervise usage and try to engage to ensure effective practice.

Gifting these items can help children develop essential communication skills while enjoying their holiday break. Check the ASHA website or trusted websites for more recommendations.

References:

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2023). Toys and Games for Speech and Language Development.