How to Use Dress Up Toys for Preschool Speech Therapy

I have been feeling uninspired lately, so I reached out on Instagram and asked what you wanted to learn about! So many of you answered that you want low prep, fun, and versatile speech therapy ideas for your preschool students. Well - you’re in luck because that’s my JAM!

Like most SLPs, I don’t have a lot of time to prep (and nothing is worse than prepping the ‘perfect’ session for a student who doesn’t show up -ammirite??). I love using ONE resource for A LOT of sessions and I want you to love doing this, too!

Today I’m sharing how you can use DRESS UP toys during your speech therapy sessions with your preschoolers. Make sure to check out my other blog posts for more therapy ideas!

There are so many different types of dress up toys (Melissa and Doug Wooden Dress Up Sets, Dolls, Paper Dolls). You can use these ideas with any of these toys!

• Third person Singular Verbs: Ask the student who WANTS an item.
• WH: Questions: Who has the _____?, Where do you find a _____?, When do you wear a ___? (I like to support my students using the visuals from my Behavior and Language Visuals - they’re linked in my bio if you want to snag them!
• Following Directions: Take turns telling each other how to dress the characters.
• Describing: Choose the item based on what it looks like.
• Plurals: One shirt? Two shirtS? Play dumb if the child doesn’t use the grammar marker.
• ON/OFF: Take the clothes ON and OFF the characters.
• Describing Concepts: Spotted, Striped, Frilly, Short, Long, Plaid, Soft, Smooth, Velvety, Rough.

With a little imagination and some creativity, you can make one toy versatile enough for your entire caseload!

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