by Anne Page | Sep 1, 2025 | AAC, Freebies, Inspiration, Therapy Materials and Ideas
Fall is in the air—the crisp mornings, pumpkin spice lattes, and cozy sweaters signal a brand-new season. For many students, this time of year is full of excitement: from pumpkins and costumes to colorful leaves and Thanksgiving traditions. Why not bring that same seasonal energy into your fall themed speech therapy sessions?
Holiday and seasonal themes are a powerful way to make therapy meaningful and fun. Pair those themes with interactive tools like Boom Cards, and you’ve got an engaging recipe for learning AAC core vocabulary all season long.
Why Fall Themed Speech Therapy Works So Well 🎃
Fall is naturally engaging for kids because it connects to what they’re already experiencing outside of therapy. Themed activities can:
- Build excitement: Pumpkins, costumes, apples, turkeys—these are fun, familiar, and easy conversation starters.
- Encourage connection: Students can share their personal experiences (“I went to the pumpkin patch!” or “I ate pie!”).
- Make repetition feel new: Using the same therapy structure with different seasonal visuals keeps things interesting.
When you use fall themed speech therapy activities, your sessions feel timely, exciting, and fresh.
Bringing Boom Cards Into Fall Themed Speech Therapy 💻
Boom Cards are a fantastic way to blend technology, interactivity, and seasonal fun. The click-and-drag features, bright visuals, and built-in reinforcement keep kids motivated while you target language goals.
Here are a few ways to use fall-themed Boom Cards:
- Target Core Vocabulary: Practice words like put, in, on, go, look while putting candy in a pumpkin or placing leaves on the ground. 🍬
- Practice WH Questions: Seasonal decks make questions more fun—“Where is the turkey?” “What do you wear for Halloween?” 🎁
- Support AAC Users: Model and encourage students to press their core words in real contexts, reinforced by the activity. 📱
- Encourage Generalization: After the digital play, follow up with real-life props (decorate a paper pumpkin, sort leaves, or set up a mini Thanksgiving table). 🌲
Fall themed speech therapy activities like these keep students engaged while giving you plenty of opportunities for modeling and repetition.
Tips for Making Fall Speech Therapy Extra Memorable ✨
- Pair your Boom Cards with real props (mini pumpkins, leaves, fall hats). 🎩
- Send Boom Card codes home so families can keep the fun going. 🏠
- Let students vote for their favorite activity at the end of the session for extra buy-in. ✅
If you’re looking for no-prep, festive materials to make your fall themed speech therapy sessions shine, here are some favorites:
Wrapping It Up ❤️
Fall is the perfect time to refresh your therapy sessions with new themes and interactive resources. By weaving in pumpkins, turkeys, leaves, and all the cozy fall fun, you’re not only hitting core vocabulary goals—you’re making therapy an experience your students will remember and enjoy.
✨ Here’s to a season of learning, laughter, and plenty of autumn cheer. ✨
P.S. Don’t forget to download the FREE Fall WH Questions Sampler—it’s the easiest way to bring a little fall magic into your next session! 🍎
by Anne Page | Sep 14, 2022 | AAC, Featured, Freebies, Therapy Materials and Ideas
Technology and all the wonderful tech tools that are out there to help our students is amazing. But I’m not giving up my printed core boards any time soon.
🧡🧡🧡 I love core boards because:
- They help make an abstract word visible by giving it a symbol and a location
- Visuals can focus a student’s attention and help them filter out distractions
- Many kids with disabilities have strong visual skills
- They help give language visible structure and a visual pattern
- It gives a visual foundation of frequently used words
- They work
- A big board is great for everyone in preschool classrooms, special education classrooms and in your speech rooms too.
If you are looking for help with core boards, then download your condensed guide to core boards here. You’ll find links to popular AAC boards, along with tips to get started.
Pin for later:
by Anne Page | Dec 11, 2017 | AAC, Freebies
I learned so much at the ASHA convention in Los Angeles that I just had to share it with you. After attending outstanding presentations on AAC, I have to let you in on some of my biggest aha moments and takeaways. These five free AAC Resources will make your SLP life easier.
1. AAC for students with visual impairments
This year I’m working with several students who not only have complex communication needs but they also have a visual impairment. These are the kids that I think about a lot. Trying to strategize and come up with some type of a communication system for them is really challenging.
Laura Stone gave an amazing presentation that included resources for purchasing tactile communication systems using Core Vocabulary and suggestions for how to create your own.
STACS: Standardized Tactile Augmentative Communication Symbols Kit is available online
Texas School for the Blind & Visually Impaired has standardized a Tactile System (FREE guide) http://www.tsbvi.edu/images/attachments/Tactile-Symbol-List1.pdf
And you can make your own symbols too using corrugated plastic or cardboard. I’ll be diving deeper into this subject in an upcoming interview with Laura.
2. Low-tech AAC Gems from Gail Van Tatenhove
” Low-tech doesn’t scare the crap out of people.”
” Low-tech is a rich environment in which you can do language.”
” You can have more than one motor plan.”
” Low-tech can temporarily reduce the cognitive load.”
” Look at access, intentionality, and motivation.”
Learn more wisdom from Gail Van Tatenhove, the Queen of Core at https://gvantatenhove.wordpress.com/
Kristen from The Daily Dose of Speech and I with Gail Van Tatehove
3, 4 & 5. Classroom-wide Core Vocabulary from Project Core
Project Core is a Stepping Up Technology Implementation Grant, directed by the Center for Disability and Literacy Studies at UNC Chapel Hill. Here are a few of the highlights.
- Teach teachers and classroom staff how to teach AAC (this is huge and something I’m always working on)
- “Encourage communication without requiring it.” ~Karen Erickson
- ” It’s not a model, if the child doesn’t see you do it.” ~Karen Erickson
- Make sure there’s a worthwhile topic to communicate about.
- Project Core uses Communication Matrix (which I’ve been using for the past 3 or 4 years) This is a FREE assessment tool that I find invaluable. I’ve included a link on my Resources
- Project Core has free professional development modules http://www.project-core.com/professional-development-modules/
- And FREE posters http://www.project-core.com/teaching-core-vocabulary-posters/
I hope you can use these AAC resources. I know it can be a confusing area with a lot of different resources, devices and vocabulary sets. We just have to keep ourselves informed, reach out to other SLPs, look at evidence and use our best clinical judgement.
I think one thing that all the AAC experts agree on is the importance of Aided Language Stimulation or Modeling.
So, let’s hold that point,
by Anne Page | Sep 14, 2017 | Freebies, Therapy Ideas
Looking for a fun, engaging, interactive, FREE speech app for your toddlers, preschoolers, and young students with special needs?
I found an awesome one called Speech Blubs
This subscription-based app is free for SLPs for use on one device. Children mimic sounds and words while looking at videos of engaging kids. My primary functional skills classroom loved it when I used it as a reward activity during therapy. A couple of my students that generally won’t try to imitate words, actually tried this. I was sold right then and there.
The kids really enjoy seeing the kids in the app. It’s just so natural for them to imitate other kids.The colorful images are clean, super-fun and engaging. When you activate the camera the kids can see themselves on screen, which they love (it’s like looking in the mirror). In the Early Sounds section, the kids imitate an animal noise. When they do this, fun things happen. Donkey ears appear on their head or maybe even a duck.
You have to see for yourself in this short little video I made.
Isn’t that great?
If you feel you can use this with your students, go to the App Store and download Speech Blubs. Follow the prompts and make sure you indicate that you’re an SLP so you can get your free copy.
Guess what? For a limited time, I’m giving away 10 free codes for you to share with the parents of a student. I think this would be so great for practice and interaction at home. The code is good for a 6 month subscription. If you’re interested, just comment below with your favourite animal from the app. I’ll choose ten winners on Monday, September 18, 2017.
by Anne Page | Jun 2, 2017 | Freebies, Inspiration, SLP Like a Boss, The Organized SLP, Uncategorized
Do you love planners as much as I do? I created a special SLP summer planner just to help you make sure your summer doesn’t slip away.
And the best part…it’s FREE!
WE made it through another year! Now for a well-deserved summer break. If you’re like me you start the summer with very well-intended plans of projects, revamps and things-to-do. Sometimes the transition from flat out running and wrangling kids all day to summer relaxation can be a little tricky. SLP Summer Planner to the rescue.
So you take a few days to adjust. You make some vacation plans and you sleep in. Binge watch Netflix and before you know it, summer’s over. If you’re happy with that then great.
But… what if you start the summer knowing how you want to feel at the end of it? What if we a take little time to reflect on the past year and celebrate our successes? Let’s make time for what we really want to do with these precious months and use the SLP Summer Planner to make it happen.
What can you do to take care of yourself and refill the well? Who do you want to spend your time with? Figure out if you really want to do projects. If yes, pick ones that will make you feel good. Maybe you just want to sit under a tree and get lost in a book.
Give yourself what you need. The work you do is so very important. You really do make a difference. Because you “SLP”-ed Like a Boss all year, you deserve to be the boss of your summer.
I hope you use this SLP Summer Planner with a sense of play and intention. Then when summer comes to an end (which it always does) you can use the final sheets to transition into the coming school year.
Wishing you an incredible summer,
Beautiful Speech Life
P.S. Watch for the SLP Like a Boss School Planner coming soon.
by Anne Page | May 3, 2017 | Freebies
Want to do something for Better Hearing and Speech Month (every May) and don’t have time to prepare something? I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a school based SLP who decided May was the best month for this.
I’ve got you covered with these free handouts/posters. There’s a black & white version or four pretty color options. Use them as posters or handouts, they’re actually great all year!
Better Hearing and Speech month is the perfect time to place these posters in the staff room, on your speech room door, and anywhere else that teachers may congregate. These are actually great to use as handouts (the b&w version). They’re also great for in-service days to help new teachers understand how we can all work together.
After working in the schools for many years, I’ve noticed several common factors. Teachers are over-worked. SLPs are over-worked. Teachers have too much paperwork. SLPs have too much paperwork. Teachers want the best for their students. SLPs want the best for their students. [spacer height=”20px”]
The students who make the most progress are generally the ones who have a team behind them.[spacer height=”20px”]
The more we can work with the teachers to help our students take their newly learned communication skills into the classroom, the faster our students will have success across all environments.[spacer height=”20px”]
I hope these handouts will spark ideas and stimulate discussions. I know there are some great teachers our there who fully understand what a speech language pathologist does and how we can work together. I also know there are some well meaning teachers who think we “just work on articulation.”[spacer height=”20px”]
It’s our job to help bridge that gap.[spacer height=”20px”]
I hope this helps you out. Remember summer is almost here, we can do it![spacer height=”20px”]
Happy Better Hearing and Speech month,
P.S. Need a fun low-prep year end activity that will take you through at least two therapy sessions and works for multiple goals?
Hey there I’m Anne Page. I help heart centered SLPs and educators put the fun in functional communication. 