FREE therapy ideas for adolescents

We discovered this wonderful site during our search of the world wide web for different therapy ideas for teenagers.  At Small Talk Speech Pathology, we have started working with a few older clients for communication therapy and thought it would be good to get a fresh approach on how to incorporate appropriate language content and themes into our sessions.  

Please check out this site as Karen (a super experienced SLP based in Arizona) has much knowledge and wisdom to share regarding this population.  In addition to numerous tricks and tips, she has shared a list of over 30 therapy activities that target a broad base of language skills.

Karen lists the materials/resources required, skills targeted and also provides instructions. 
Here is an example: 

Funny Headlines & Newspaper Clippings  (Activity)
Materials/Resources: Amusing and poorly written headlines and newspaper clippings are a source of comedy on the Tonight Show and on the Internet.  Within a classroom  or therapy setting, headlines/clippings can be used to help students identify ambiguous language, syntax, and mechanical errors.  Students also utilize inferential and reasoning abilities to discover the original semantic intent of the headline or clipping. For school appropriate headlines, please refer to the corresponding page for a list that can be used as part of this activity.   

Skills Targeted:   *Ambiguity *Syntax *Writing Mechanics/Error Identification *Semantics *Vocabulary *Reasoning *Inference 

 Instruction: 1. Introduce the headline or clipping to the student(s) by stating that the headline has errors. 2. Provide clues for the students as to whether the errors are related to semantics, syntax, or mechanics and adapt to the academic level of the student(s). 3. Have the student(s) read the headline or clipping aloud to assist in identifying the error. 4. If the error is semantic, have the student(s) state the double meaning of the headline. 5. This activity can be done as a group or individually.

Here is a sample of some of the humorous headlines from her list:*Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers *If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile 
*Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures 
*Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges 
*Man Struck By Lightning: Faces Battery Charge 
*Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half 
And there's more!  Please check out this wonderful website and share with other speechies who may be interested.



Thank you Karen!

Click here at Speechdrive.net to access Karen's site and resources.  

Love, 
STSP