12 Easy Ways to Use Common Objects in Stuttering Therapy

Sometimes, we don’t always have a lot of time or materials available to us as busy school speech-language pathologists. Let’s face it, we’re lucky if we get a budget to spend at all, and if you’re like me, that goes pretty quick when it’s time to order new tests or protocols.

The great news is that there are plenty of common objects that we can utilize for different therapy goals, including things like post-it notes, paper clips, and file folders! I’ll be sharing ways to use these for different areas of articulation and language later on, but today I would like to share some ways to use common objects in stuttering therapy.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of activities to try in therapy, but meant as way to get yourself to “think outside the box,” so to speak!

1. Use a file folder as a stuttering fact book. I think it is incredibly important that students know the facts and myths about stuttering, and a file folder is a great place for them to keep track of what they are learning. They can keep it in your therapy room to add to over various sessions, and is a great discussion starter. If your student has a question about stuttering that you don’t have an answer to right away, jot it down on a post it note and stick it in the folder, so it will remind you to look it up together later.

12 Easy Ways to Use Common Objects in Stuttering Therapy for SLPs by Natalie Snyders

2. You can use a popsicle stick as a pacing guide when working on slow rate.

3. You can also use paper clips as a pacing guide when working on slow rate.

4. Use a paper clip to show where to take a breath or pause when working on chunking or phrasing.

5. Use post it notes as a visual reminder on which fluency enhancing techniques to use.

6. When reading aloud, use a post it note to remind your student which strategy to use, as well as cover up the next lines to encourage your student to only focus on one line at a time.

7. Use dice as a starting point to discuss students’ feelings about their stuttering. Make sure to give examples from your own life as well.

8. Use dice to determine conversation topics when working on demonstrating fluency enhancing strategies in structured conversations.

9. Use popsicle sticks to randomly draw conversation topics when working on structured conversation.

10. Use mini erasers as story prompts when working on fluency enhancing strategies in unstructured conversations.

11. Use a file folder when practicing the slow rate or phrasing/chunking techniques as a warm up for therapy. Break up the sentences into 3-4 word chunks, and write each one on a different side of the folder. This forces the student to slow down as he or she has to flip to the next part of the sentence.

12. Use a fun band aid as a reminder to use fluency enhancing strategies outside of therapy. (Definitely check with your student first to make sure they are ok with this! I find a lot of my students are fascinated by all of the “fun” band aids I keep in my drawer, and it can be a good reminder if the student is comfortable with it.)

Need more fluency ideas? Check out this post with my favorite activities to use in stuttering therapy or check out these student self-rating scales for fluency and articulation.