Easy to Sanitize Activities for Speech Therapy

With sanitizing and disinfecting at the top of the priority list this Fall, Speech Therapists that work with young children are faced with a new challenge in the classroom or clinic. In addition to large caseloads with busy schedules with room for little error, we now have to think about the materials we are using and how we can clean them between clients.

Here are some top suggestions from my speech room as well as other SLPs all over the country, in a variety of home health, clinic and school settings.

Some favorite, multi-purpose toys that are easily disinfected:

• The Critter Clinic: Pretend it is a zoo, house, pet store, garage, etc.
• The Smart Max Totem Pole: Work on first/then/last, top/bottom, sequencing skills.
• Little People Garage: Target “Ready, Set, Go!”, up/down, top/bottom, around, turn taking and more!
• Plastic blocks: Legos for older students, Mega Blocks for younger ones.

Create a clean and dirty bucket. After each group, at lunch, or the end of the day, sanitize and move into the clean bucket to dry. Rotate games as you clean them, that way every group will have a different game each time they come. Download these free tags HERE.

Flexible, plastic games that are super easy to clean:

• Timber Tower Block Stacking Game: It is like Jenga, only plastic!
• Plastic ring toss game
• Connect 4
• Pop up Pirate
• Don’t Break the Ice
• Jumping Jack Rabbit Game
• Topple
• Pizza Pile Up
• Yeti in My Spaghetti

Creative ideas to use worksheets, flash cards or mats.

• Dry erase pockets: Put flash cards into dry erase pockets and just check off words or let students pick words to practice each turn.
• Laminating: Laminate pages from workbooks, picture scenes
• A sheet of Plexiglass: Put activity cards or board games under the glass and wipe off! Think small town cafe and checkered table cloths with menus under the glass. If you haven’t eaten at one of these, you are missing out!

The most recommended ways to sanitize:

• Use a spray bottle with isopropyl alcohol 70%
• Spray Lysol and let it sit until it dries.
• Sanitech UV disinfecting wands
• Medify Medical Grade Filtration System from Amazon
• Force of Nature cleaning spray
• Clean Smart disinfectant (works in 10 min)
• Steramine tabs, dissolved into a spray bottle

To view a list of all EPA COVID-approved disinfectants, CLICK HERE.

This year will be full of bumps and slides. By learning from each other, we will flex through and do great things for children.

A few of my SLP Blogger friends have also written blog posts related to this topic. Check them out below:

• Ashley Rossi, Sweet Southern Speech
• Lauren Lacour, Busy Bee Speech
• Mia McDaniel, Putting Words in Your Mouth

Here’s to a fantastic, unusual year!