By: Erik X. Raj, CCC-SLP
Copyright 2011. Reprinted with the express permission of the author as it appeared on his blog Artic Brain
When is the last time you showed one of your students a YouTube clip in speech therapy? Probably never, right? Let me tell you, by not doing this, you’re totally missing out! I’m a huge fan of incorporating audio-visual media into my therapy sessions whenever possible. Thanks to the constant improvements in internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones (iPhone, Android, etc) and digital tablets (iPad), it has never been easier to introduce videos into your therapy sessions.

Check out the above video that my students (grades 1-5) really enjoyed. It is called 30 Hula Hoops and it is only two and a half minutes.
This is how I added the video to my therapy. Prior to showing the video, I informed my clients that I was going to tell them a short story and ask them some questions after it was over. I went on to say that if they showed me great listening skills and answered my questions, they would get to watch a short video on my iPad as a treat. Below is the story I created. Feel free to use it.
My story is called “The Talent Show.” All of the students were so excited when they learned that their school was having a talent show. Tommy really wanted to be in the talent show but he wasn’t sure what he could do.
Tommy’s brother suggested that maybe he should play a song on the guitar. Tommy replied “No way, everyone will be doing that. I need something diffrent.”
“Or maybe you could sing a song?” asked Tommy’s brother. Tommy again said no.
Then Tommy came up with a great idea. Hula hoops! I can do fun tricks with hula hoops!
The next day, Tommy and his brother went to the store and purchased 30 hula hoops for the talent show.
Below you will find my after-story questions.

• What was the name of the story?
• What was the name of the boy in the story?
• Who tried to help Tommy?
• What suggestions did Tommy’s sister give him?
• What did Tommy finally decide to do?
• How many hula hoops did they buy?
• Tell me about a time you saw or played with a hula hoop.
• What fun tricks could Tommy do with hula hoops?
• If you were in a talent show, what talent would you perform?

Now after the questions have all been answered, movie time is earned. Show them the hoola hoop clip and let the good times roll. You should have seen my students while they watched the movie. Their eyes were lighting up brighter than fireworks on the Fourth of July. If you are a fan of fireworks, give this therapy idea a try and let me know how goes.
Our Featured Guest Blogger: Erik X. Raj
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Erik X. Raj is an innovative speech-language pathologist who has provided direct patient care to pediatric, adolescent, and adult clients who exhibit a broad spectrum of communication difficulties. He currently works for the Hamilton Township School District in New Jersey where he administers diagnostics and provides therapy to school-aged students with speech, language, voice, and fluency disorders.
In addition, Erik is the author of the award-winning children’s book, “One Seashell, Two Seashell, Flap, Flap, Flap,” and the founder of ArticBrain, LLC, a speech therapy product development company. With all of his original creations, it is Erik’s mission to provide each youngster with a positive experience that inspires a passion for learning and helps to build competence, confidence, and courage to pursue his or her dreams.