@fatbraintoys contacted me to review some of their toys. I said: happily!!! Below are the 4 games the sent me, and how I would use them in therapy. 

First up - Forklift Frenzy is  super super fun strategic dexterity game that includes 2 forklifts, 2 platforms, 12 barrels, 30 challenge cards. Players compete to be the first to lift their barrels and place them on the platform in the sequence indicated on the challenge card. This game is AMAZING for targetting lip closure - e.g. in the target phrase "pick up" If your student has CAS (Childhood Apraxia of Speech) be mindful of coarticulation in the phrase and try not to pause between the two words. (For children not yet ready to sequence the CVCVC, the toy game easily lends itself to simply practicing the word "up". Its a perfect compliment to the book "What Can a Crane Pick Up" - a lovely concept book where a crane lifts a different item on each page. Pair with our "What's that Sound?" Speech Sound Cards for additional visual cues. 

 

 

 Next Up - the Inny Bin. This toy is designed as a shape exploration toy, but for my purposes (inspired by my colleague Rene Jahnke) I would substitute the shape toys (illustrated above) with plastic animals that correspond to the book Good Night Gorilla. You can throw in a set of plastic keys for good measure and use it to reenact the story while practicing back tongue control for K and G in the phrase "Go Back". As with "pick up" pay attention to your prosody/coarticulation and be sure to model the phrase as a unit. Extra visual cues from our "What's that Sound?" Speech Sound Cards add both mouth shape cues and encourage letter-sound correspondence. 

 

Ladybug's Garden Memory Game is a beautifully designed memory game, with wooden ladybugs which includes five double-sided puzzle cards. (Request for Fat Brain Toys - it would be great for speech therapists to sell blank puzzle boards that we could customize for our clients).  This game would pair well with any ladybug book. The Very Lazy Ladybug is one of my favorites for working on tongue tip control for L. In this book, a ladybug is too Lazy to fLy and she prefers to sLeep instead. She Leaps from animal to animal in search of a place she can comfortably Lie down.  

Last but not least, Road Trip Packing Puzzle includes 4 game pieces that players must fit into a van according to the specifications on 36 challenge cards. This game compliments many of the poems in the book, such as: 

• "Vineyard Vulture": two recently wed vultures drive off to their honeymoon in a Van
• "Road Trip Raccoon":  raccoon packs and takes a scenic road trip to reunite with family.
• Hotel Hippo: follow hippo along on adventurous vacation 

 This appealing and durable puzzle is highly versatile for potential targets. From repetitive phrases such as "fill the van" to describing the various items that go into the vehicle. 

 

A huge thank you to Fat Brain Toys - these are welcome additions to my collection which my clients and I adore!