Welcome back to “The Talk with April Anderson”—our December edition of this monthly series for feeding therapy professionals, designed to share practical strategies, family-centered tools, and playful ways to use speech therapy toys in real-life sessions and home routines.
The holidays are the perfect time to refresh your therapy bag with toys and games that kids love—and that also can functionally target speech and language skills. Whether you’re working on following directions, imitation, storytelling, describing, categories, or expanding language, the right materials make all the difference. These are also great recommendations to make to parents as they start to plan out the perfect gift from Santa!
If you’d like to catch up on previous topics, explore the full The Talk with April Anderson series, where each month focuses on practical, family-centered feeding and communication strategies.
Below is a list of 10 versatile, engaging toys that support a wide range of speech and language goals for kids of all ages.
10 Speech Therapy Toys That Build Speech & Language Skills
1. Little Live Pets My Baby Panda
Targets: Imitation, labeling, vocabulary, early storytelling, social phrases
Why it works:
This interactive toy allows kids to use and improve on a variety of skills. It can be adapted to different ages and abilities.
2. Melissa & Doug Food Cutting Set
Targets: Feeding skills, functional play, categories, sequencing, describing
Why it works:
Pretend food invites vocabulary-rich play. Kids can “cut,” “cook,” “serve,” and “eat,” creating natural opportunities for verbs, adjectives, and mini story sequences. Work on target word lists during articulation practice and then serve up a pretend snack!
3. Pop Tubes
Targets: Oral motor exploration, cause-and-effect, imitation, sensory regulation, early requesting
Why it works:
They are fun objects and encourage lots of vocal play (“ooo,” “ahh,” “pop!”). You can model sound imitation or simple directions (“Pull it,” “Twist,” “Make it small”) as well as making requests. These also work great for food exploring (use it as a chewy) or to work on tongue placement.
4. Animal Figurines or Farm Set
Targets: Categories, describing, action words, expanding language, storytelling
Why it works:
You can never go wrong with figurines and animals are timeless therapy staples. Pair with a barn or simple props to build stories, practice spatial concepts, and expand utterances (“The cow is sleeping in the barn”). You can also print out picture scenes and have the child place animals in a specific area to target following directions.
5. Gabby's Dollhouse Meow-mazing Interactive Dollhouse
Targets:
Following directions, describing, labeling, storytelling, and imaginative play
Why it works:
Another great interactive toy that kids recognize and love. Pair it with singing songs from the show, or using flashcards or other figurines. Don’t have kids into Gabby? There’s also a similar Bluey version.
6. Mr. Mouth, Pop the Pig, Pop-Up Pirate
Targets: Turn-taking, waiting, excitement for imitation, following directions
Why it works:
High-interest, quick-play games build social communication, joint attention, and impulse control. Perfect for early group sessions, turn-taking, sibling play, and a way to pair rewards when working with older children.
7. Mini Karaoke Machine
Targets: Articulation, imitation, story-telling
Why it works:
Who doesn’t love karaoke? Pull out the microphone and encourage kids to sing, imitate, label, and produce sounds before their next curtain call.
8. Feed the Woozle / Sneaky Snacky Squirrel
Targets: following directions, categorizing, matching, expanding comments, feeding therapy
Why it works:
Use the cards to work on expressive or expressive language skills. Sneaky Snacky Squirrel supports colors, categories, and prepositions (“Put it in the log”).These cooperative-style games also practice “feeding,” which is perfect for targeting feeding goals.
9. ThinkFun Gravity Maze
Targets: Spatial concepts, describing, requesting, problem-solving, critical thinking
Why it works:
Build a maze to support a marble while using problem solving and critical thinking skills while also targeting vocabulary, labeling, and requesting. Great for describing shapes and practicing prepositions (“on top,” “next to,” “under”).
10. Books With Moveable Parts (e.g., Lift-the-Flap or Push-Pull Books)
Targets: Imitation, vocabulary building, joint attention, answering questions, early narrative skills
Why it works:
You can never go wrong with books! Interactive books boost engagement and provide natural pauses for modeling simple phrases (“Open!” “Where is it?”). They also support WH-questions and sequencing.
How to Maximize Language With Any Toy
Any toy can be the best toy when you keep these things in mind:
- Encourage interactive and imaginative play, which naturally supports language expansion, storytelling, and expressive vocabulary.
- Combine sensory/motor engagement with language opportunities — helping with sequencing, categories, requesting, and spatial concepts.
- Offer repetition, routine, social play, and joint attention — all foundational to speech and language development.
Simple toys often give you the biggest return—and the gifts on this list offer boundless opportunities for connection, communication, and creativity. Whether they are found in a holiday stocking, under the tree, or in your therapy bag for the new year, clients will reach their goals with your creative support!
For even more kid-approved ideas and therapy inspiration, browse the TalkTools blog hub for related reading and activities.
TalkTools Team Top Picks: Therapy Tools to Pair with Holiday Play
How to Pair Therapy Tools With Holiday Toys
These clinician-favorite tools layer beautifully on top of the toys in your holiday gift guide. You can:
- Use drinking tools (like the Honey Bear and Itsy™ Cup) alongside pretend food sets or snack breaks to reinforce safe sipping, straw drinking, and oral motor control.
- Pair the Straw Kit with high-interest games or a mini karaoke machine to practice jaw–lip–tongue dissociation while kids are already motivated to make sounds.
- Introduce the Horn Kit before or after fast-paced games (like Pop-Up Pirate or Mr. Mouth) to channel excitement into structured breath support practice.
- Keep the Therapeutic Feeding Kit nearby during board games or cooperative play so mealtimes and therapy goals can overlap in a low-pressure, playful way.
These small pairings help families integrate therapy targets into everyday play, without needing to “stop the fun” for separate exercises.
5 TalkTools Team Top Picks
1. TalkTools® Honey Bear
A TalkTools original that lets caregivers gently control liquid flow while teaching straw drinking. It supports lip rounding, tongue retraction, and transitions from bottles or sippy cups to more mature drinking patterns. Resources like ASHA’s pediatric feeding and swallowing materials highlight how SLPs help children with feeding challenges across settings.
2. TalkTools® Itsy™ Cup
An all-in-one drinking cup that transitions with the child, from supported sips to straw and open-cup drinking. It provides repeated practice for oral motor control during mealtimes.
3. TalkTools® Straw Kit
The TalkTools® Straw Kit is a 12-step straw hierarchy that promotes jaw, lip, and tongue dissociation. It supports tongue retraction, grading, and lip rounding, and helps lay the groundwork for clearer speech.
4. TalkTools® Horn Kit
The TalkTools® Horn Kit is a motivational horn hierarchy designed to improve breath support and velopharyngeal function. You can explore our horn hierarchy tools to target specific speech sound errors as part of an OPT program. Tools that support breath control and oral motor patterns may be included in broader intervention plans for children with orofacial myofunctional disorders, guided by an SLP following frameworks like ASHA’s overview of orofacial myofunctional disorders.
5. TalkTools® Therapeutic Feeding Kit
The TalkTools® Therapeutic Feeding Kit is a curated collection of mealtime and sensory tools in one portable case. It is ideal for families who need a therapist-guided starting point for safe, nutritive feeding at home. You can find this and other comprehensive therapy sets in our programs and kits collection.
Therapist Tip 💡
No matter the toy or tool, the real magic is in how you use it. Model language, build simple predictable routines, and keep play child-led. When children feel in control and connected, communication flourishes.
If you’re looking to deepen your clinical skills while you play, explore TalkTools training courses for CEU opportunities focused on OPT, feeding, and speech sound development.