17 Functional Speech Therapy Activities for Adults That Actually Work
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
This post is all about functional speech therapy activities for adults
After working on a community re-integration program for adults, my view of speech therapy was forever changed! My humble two cents: Stop spending so much time using generic worksheets and focus on re-integration and functional tasks! I hope this list plants a little seed...
These functional speech therapy activities for adults are designed to improve independence, cognitive communication, and real-world carryover for patients with TBI, aphasia, and executive functioning deficits.
01
Community Events | Functional Speech Therapy Activities For Adults
I think this is SUCH a great way to incorporate functional tasks into your speech therapy sessions. Attend an actual event in the community. This could be a farmers market, a speech from a fellow stroke patient or aphasia group. Preferably something that your patient could continue to attend with you! If going into the community is not accessible, try an online group!
02
Boring Ole Errands (but make it fun) | Functional Speech Therapy Activities For Adults
Get out there and start knocking out some errands (but make it fun). For example, plan to do a cooking task for banana bread. One session located the recipe, write it out, plan out what you will need and how you will make it. In the next session, go to the grocery store. Finally (save the best for last) and work on cooking the recipe!
03
Calendar Organization | Functional Speech Therapy Activities For Adults
Start getting organized. Please keep in mind how your patient used to organize things... did they use paper planners? Electronic planners? I recommend a combination of both. Here are a few ideas to ponder:
A large calendar in the family room
A shared google calendar
Alarms and timers on the phone (noise/beeping helps a lot especially with medication)
04
Schedules | Functional Speech Therapy Activities For Adults
Focus on making a schedule for your patient. Here are some tips to keep in mind
When you are out, try to group errands together
Leave A LOT more time in between tasks to get from place to place (if showering took 20 minutes before, leave an hour and a half)
Leave time for resting
Include time for home exercise programs for PT, OT, Speech
Make sure to include FUN on there
Include spending time with family
Include pet care
05
Journaling | Speech Therapy For Adults
For patients with impulse behaviors and reduced self-awareness, I have found that journaling after an experience can help to strengthen executive functioning skills. Even the act of writing helps them to slow down (preferably do this task with pen/paper). This helps the brain process what is happening in a format that can only go as fast as the hand, which is usually a lot slower than the rate of thinking.
06
Typing | Functional Speech Therapy Activities For Adults
There does come a time when typing may be beneficial over writing. I use typing in my patients that have limited verbal capacity. The format in which the stimulus is presented does make a big difference- meaning providing the patient with a phone, verse tablet, verse computer, verse AAC keyboard can make a huge difference.
Typing is also beneficial over pen/paper when there is limited hand mobility. Some of my patients can have an entire conversation with me typing and are not able to speak to me... Please don't overlook this simple and functional modality that could open up doors to communication.
07
Mazes | Functional Speech Therapy Activities For Adults
This is another fun way to work on impulsivity and improve executive functioning. I am listing it under functional activities because it's easy to provide in therapy or as a home exercise program. As far as "functional" goes it is not going to be at the top of the list but I don't want to leave it out.
08
Reading a News Article | Functional Speech Therapy Activities For Adults
Read a news article and speak about it. TalkPathNews has a GREAT (and free) way of presenting the articles, highlighting the text as it is read out loud and has four WH comprehension questions at the end. If the patient needs a hint, it will highlight the text where the answer lies...
09
Photo Album | Functional Speech Therapy Activities For Adults
This is my one of my favorite ways to target LANGUAGE skills! Create a photo album using the patients favorite moments. Then write a sentence (or a word) at the bottom and have the patient describe the event or read the sentence. Patients are a lot more motivated to talk about things relevant to them, instead of generic worksheets (i.e. their first T-bird car, day of the wedding, time enlisted in the navy)
10
Meal Prep/Cook | Functional Speech Therapy Activities For Adults
Something your patient will need to focus on when recovering is meal-prep, cooking meals or just eating in general! They will need to find a way to make this work. Either they will need to cook for themselves, have a loved one cook for them, use a meal-prep service or figure something else out. This can be a challenge you can assist with. Go through different meal options, write down ideas, look up costs, contact meal services in their local community. P.S. If you are working in a SNF go through the weekly meal sheet with them and help pick out their food.
11
Navigating In The Community/Building | Functional Speech Therapy Activities For Adults
My favorite way to complete this task if having the person in the car with you as you navigate through the streets to a desired location. This option is not always accessible so there are other ways to do this! Print out the directions on google maps and have the client explain how to get to the place. Take the map away and see how much they can remember. Start simple: Navigate the are you are in. Take a stroll in the neighborhood and make a few turns. Have the patient find their way back.
12
Safety Awareness In The Community | Functional Speech Therapy Activities For Adults
While navigating the community, focus on safety awareness. This means looking both ways before crossing the road, identifying street signs and their meaning, talking about what happens in hypothetical situations (you lose your wallet, you find a wallet on the floor, there is an emergency etc). Reasons why navigating may look different is due to left or right sided neglect, mobility issues, executive functioning impairments and impulsivity.
13
Conversation Groups | Functional Speech Therapy Activities For Adults
Don't underestimate the power of a group session. Sometimes I catch myself being biased thinking that 1:1 therapy is always better than a group session. It's individualized, the setting is controlled, the focus is all on your patient... However, for some of my patients, they need to practice pragmatic skills or auditory processing in a group. Sometimes this goal is hard to achieve 1:1 so grouping together patients who could all benefit from this type of social interaction can be beneficial.
14
Online Ordering (Groceries, Meals) | Functional Speech Therapy Activities For Adults
Have your client's practice ordering food online. This may be the best option post-hospital due to limited mobility or access to the grocery store. You can target skills such as budgeting, problem-solving, and decision making.
Thrive Market (healthier option for groceries)
15
Communicate Through Voice Notes | Functional Speech Therapy Activities For Adults
If typing is hard due to mobility and vision constraints, help your client practice using voice notes to send messages. Practice in sessions with actual family members! Set an assignment for them to send you a voice message (at a time when you are not with them) as a memory task. Set an alarm reminder on their phone "send a message to my speech therapist now and tell them what I ate for breakfast or even better, a funny joke!"
16
Managing Medication | Functional Speech Therapy Activities For Adults
Help your client learn the names and purpose of each of their medications. Then put them in a chart and practice organizing them with different color beads. Help them set alarms/timers on their phone to remind them to take their medication. Create and easy-to-read chart and print it out for your client.
17
Customer Service Scenarios | Functional Speech Therapy Activities For Adults
Practice calling different business to ask questions, such as:
Do you sell xyz
What are your store hours?
What is your return policy?
Where are you located?
Thank you for reading about functional speech therapy activities for adults
Serving you speech tips with a side of sarcasm
