By Eileen Adamo, M.S., CF-SLP
Fidget spinners have become an increasingly popular gadget over the past few months. While some people view fidget
spinners as a toy, it can be a functional therapeutic tool. Fidget spinners can be an outlet for a child’s energy, stress,
tension or anxiety, which can help improve focus and attention when used appropriately.
Several of our speech therapists have discovered fun ways to incorporate them into speech therapy sessions. Here are a few functional ways to use fidget spinners in therapy and at home!
Target Area: Articulation
Print out a list of words/pictures that contain your child’s target sound. Spin and see how many target words your
child can say correctly before the spinner stops. If your child finishes the page before it stops, become the spinner stopper and win the game!
This can be used in:
- Isolation (just the sound)
- Single words
- Phrases
- Sentences
- Reading passages
- Have a conversation incorporating target words
- For younger children, hide picture cards with target sound around the room. Find and say as many as you can before the time runs out
Increasing the number of correct trials of your child’s target sounds helps your child develop the motor plan for producing the correct sound.
Target Area: Language
Spin and Say: Pick a target and take turns saying a word. Whoever says the last word before the spinner stops, wins the game!
- Categories (ex: food, clothing, colors) go around in a circle naming something from that category (ex: apple, carrot, eggs, pizza)
- Rhyming – Pick a word and try to come up with as many rhyming words as you can before the times runs out. (ex: hat)
- Encourages family involvement in practicing speech goals at home
- Practice improving processing speed
- Targets memory of recalled items (can’t repeat a word someone else has said)
Take a spin and let the fun begin!