App and Article below by Eric Raj, CCC-SLP
I’m going to let you in on a little secret of mine, I adore the game of charades. It’s a timeless game that has the ability to turn any uneventful get-together into an action-packed party! So, that’s exactly why the game of charades has found its way into my speech therapy room on more than one occasion (err, hundreds of occasions, to be a bit more truthful!). It can turn any uneventful speech therapy session into an action-packed speech therapy party!
Do you ever play charades in speech therapy?
Charades is an easy-to-play and fast-paced game that allows all players to have fun while describing, acting out, and guessing random words. However, in the past, charades had nothing to do with speech therapy. But that’s all about to change with this brand spankin’ new app that I created called Charades Articulation. Now, thanks to this app, charades and speech therapy have been effectively combined (and I’m happy to announce that they both live together in perfect harmony!). This app elaborates on the classic charades party game by including a comprehensive collection of over 1,000 sound-specific articulation words that can be chosen from to appear during a round of play. These word lists were designed for speech-language pathologists to use with individuals who exhibit difficulty producing the following speech sounds: S, Z, R, L, S/R/L Blends, SH, CH, and TH.
Let’s chat about how to play!
Players of Charades Articulation have the opportunity to describe or act out a set of sound-specific articulation words to a designated person who is called the guesser. Everyone will be able to see the given sound-specific articulation word except for the guesser. The goal of each round of play is to provide the guesser with as many clues as possible, either verbally or physically (or both!), so a large amount of sound-specific articulation words can be successfully guessed. The more words guessed, the higher the final score!
Fun for the whole family!
I tried extremely hard to create an app that could not only live within the speech therapy room, but could also live within the home-setting. With Charades Articulation, children could easily challenge their friends and family members at home, in a way that doesn’t look or feel like completing a typical “speech homework” assignment. This smart disguise helps children to further practice their articulation skills and thereby facilitates the sometimes difficult stage of carrying over newly-acquired skills. I sincerely believe that by playing Charades Articulation with a child at home, all parties involved can reinforce that kiddo’s skills while sharing a fun activity that everyone can participate in. Practicing communication skills in environments outside the speech therapy setting increases opportunities for generalization of communication skills.
So, what are you waiting for?
Give Charades Articulation a shot today. Regardless of when, where, or how this app is used, one thing is certain, children (as well as adults) will have a delightful time giving it a try . . . and in the process, your children will continue to practice the correct pronunciation of their sounds at the word level. It just doesn’t get any better than that. Click HERE to download the app from the Apple App Store. Enjoy (and please let me know what you think)!