April 8, 2015
Kelly C. Bawden, MS, CCC-SLP
4/14/20: This page is all of a sudden very popular! While we loved these sites in 2015, that was an eon ago in internet years. Check out our freshly updated post for telepractice sites we're loving in 2020.
There are a plethora of materials and tools on the web for online speech therapy sessions. If your video-conferencing software allows screensharing (which we recommend), the internet is a great resource to provide you with use tools with your client during a session. Here are ten of our current favorites, chosen by our telepractice clinicians. Hopefully you can add some of these to your toolbox, and if you have any favorite sites that we missed, feel free to share in the comments section!
Note: We have not been asked to mention or been compensated for advertising these websites, nor can we vouch for all of the content contained on them. Just spreading the word to help others in telepractice settings.
1. QUIA
Content: Created for teachers and students but great for SLPs too, this site allows you to customize and share your own online content. Create quizzes, flashcards, scavenger hunts and more based on the material you want to cover with your client or student. You can also search for shared material by subject, activity type, and associated textbook. Quia has some awesome articulation and language games in particular, according to one of our most experienced SLPs, Lucinda Bowman. She also says it’s a great resource for families as well for home practice.
Pricing: $49/year after a 30-day trial, with a discount for groups of 10 or more people
2. SPEAKING OF SPEECH
Content: There is a wealth of PDF materials on this site under the “Materials Exchange” page covering therapy games, articulation, fluency, medical and rehab forms etc.--almost any focus a speech therapist might have. Plus there are other resources to help SLPs organize themselves such as an “IEP Goal Bank” and a “Lesson Plan & Data Form” section.
Pricing: Free
3. FUN BRAIN
Content: This site has lots of academic focused games. The reading games are the most relevant for speech therapy clients as they cover grammar (“Grammar Gorilla” and “Mad Libs Junior”), correct spelling (“Word Confusion”), and hangman by subject (“Stay Afloat”). There are also links to comic strips and children’s books (no audio).
Pricing: Free
4. ARCADEMICS SKILL BUILDER
Content: Arcademics boasts “blending video game features into instructional research in order to achieve a high rate of student learning through increased time-on-task and engagement.” Games in the Spelling and Language Arts category are particularly relevant to speech clients.
Pricing: Free games. If you want to customize games or use their data and progress tracking software, and Ipad app, there’s a 30 day free trial, and then $5, $20, or $100 yearly packages (depending on your group size) to purchase the Plus packages.
5. VIRTUAL DICE
Content: Choose a virtual number dice for games with 6, 8, 10 or 12 faces. There’s also an option to customize die with words relevant to your client’s goals. Sarah Lockhart uses this as part of her sessions and incorporates it into other activities.
Pricing: Free
6. STORYLINE ONLINE
Content: Videos of actors from the Screen Actor’s Guild reading 28 different children’s books (and counting) ranging from 5-15 minutes long. Betty White, Tia & Tamera Mowry, and Elijah Wood are just a few of the talented folks that narrate while the video displays the illustrations. Our very own Jenny Peddicord says these stories are “good for sequencing, 'wh' questions, and vocabulary.”
Pricing: free
7. ESL GAMES PLUS
Content: Loads of language-related games which are great for both ESL and clients with language issues. There are so many language-based topics to choose from. You can have multiple players and use a shared control feature to take turns. Tracy Buckendorf uses the materials to engage with younger kids while addressing therapy goals that may be unrelated to the games themselves.
Pricing: Free
8. VIRTUAL PIANO
Content: This simple but useful site displays a working five-octave keyboard. Click on a key with your mouse and a pitch-perfect note plays! This is a tremendous tool to utilize with your voice clients. This is great for clients who have trouble with prosody and intonation, and is also crucial when helping transgender voice clients match pitches.
Pricing: Free
9. COOKIE
Content: With flash-based games for preschoolers, elementary age kids, and the ESL population, this site is chock full of material! Games are both skill-based (e.g. Learn the Months) and just for fun (e.g. Hook the Fish). There are also worksheets and a few interactive books on the site.
Pricing: Free
10. CAT/MOUSE PREPOSITION GAME
Content: This is a preposition game where client has to help the cat find the mouse by identifying where it has moved in the room. Is the mouse behind the lamp?, under the bed?, on top of the desk? This cute little animated game keeps the kiddos engaged.
Pricing: Free
We had fun coming up with this list! As you all know, though, the internet changes quickly, and you just never know when you'll stumble on something new. We'll keep you updated, if you do the same!
