As SLPs, we know that in order to make progress and see our students carry over the skills they’ve learned, we need to make sessions engaging and fun for them. I love a creative craft or board game as much as anyone, but I often do not have the time to spend prepping materials. We also know that just because we spend time and resources creating an activity, doesn’t mean the student will necessarily enjoy it! Speech Blubs Pro has been an amazing go-to activity to combat those sessions where it seems like nothing is getting through to the student. It’s a great way to switch things up while still getting tons of practice in and having a productive session.

How does Speech Blubs Pro engage students?

Video Modeling

Video modeling with kid actors helps to captivate students’ attention and prompts them to imitate. 

Interactive Digital Flashcards

There are so many uses for the digital flashcards. I’ve used them while playing board games, during free play, and tabletop activities. I like that you can customize the type of flashcards for different activities using the Themes category. For example, I have an early intervention student with a speech delay and we are working on labeling and expanding language. This student loves to play with barn animals, so we will free play with the toy barn and animals while using the animals-themed digital flashcards.

The flashcards display the cartoon animal on one side and the real-life animal when you flip it over, so the student gets to see both forms. The flashcards paired with toy play and adult modeling increases language exposure and repetition.

Fun elements like selfies, mini-lessons, and game-like interaction

Fun elements such as selfies, mini-lessons, and game-like interaction provide more tangible connection to the word and target sound, and repetition of the target word in different forms (i.e., first the video model, then the mini-lesson, then selfie) creates even more exposure to the sound. 

How I use Speech Blubs Pro in my sessions

Speech Blubs Pro has been a helpful tool in my articulation sessions, and incorporating it has made my students more engaged and attentive to practice. I love to use it when playing a board game or toy, to combine technology and real-life play. For example, each time the student takes a turn in the board game, I’ll then present one of their practice words on Speech Blubs Pro that consists of the kid actor modeling, a short educational video, and a selfie. Another way I use it is to practice as many words as possible before taking a break and engaging in free play while practicing our sounds in conversation. For example, I have an 8-year-old student who is working on /l/ blends. We will practice our /l/ blends at the word level using the app for 10-15 minutes, and then practice using /l/ blends in sentences while playing with a toy or game. 

Using Speech Blubs Pro to make homework engaging and effective

So many times, I have recommended home practice for a parent, and the worksheet gets lost among their many school worksheets, or telling a parent to “just practice their sounds” isn’t enough structure to ensure that our students are actually doing their daily practice. The homework feature of Speech Blubs Pro allows me to track when my students are doing their homework, and to adjust the difficulty level as needed. I can also see which sounds they were successful at producing at home. It’s a game-changer for my therapy!

Progress Tracking 

Progress tracking with Speech Blubs Pro helps to inform my decisions about planning therapy sessions, makes speech therapy more effective and progress quicker. I can easily identify if the syllable length of a target word is too challenging, or if we need to try a new sound altogether. It also reduces the need to take data on pen and paper during my sessions, so I can be more focused on engaging with the student and helping them achieve their goals using the correct tongue placement, lip rounding, jaw elevation, etc. without having to worry about marking all the correct and incorrect trials.

Overall…

Speech Blubs Pro makes creating fun and engaging speech therapy sessions easy. Its easy-to-use features like video modeling, flashcards, homework, progress tracking, and games has helped my students reach their goals quicker, and helped me as a clinician to add variety to my sessions. The app has also made tracking progress and homework way more efficient!