Speech Therapy WH Questions To Add To Your Daily Life Routines

Gina Britt
May 28
3 min read

Updated: Oct 13

As a speech therapist for over 14+ years, my mission is to provide effective and accessible speech therapy resources. Speech therapy at home doesn't have to be a scheduled and formal occasion with your kids. I have learned ways to naturally incorporate therapeutic tasks into daily activities.

WH questions (who, what, when, where, why, how) are important to work on because they frequently occur in our daily speech and assist with comprehension of basic language.

In this post you will learn how to add speech therapy WH questions into your daily rituals to make your in home speech therapy session easy and fun!

This post is all about speech therapy WH questions.

❓ Speech Therapy WH Questions #1

Baking? This is the PERFECT time to incorporate your child. You don't have to formally announce you are working on WH questions. Here are some ideas (bonus if you can start with something they love like brownies, cookies...)

What do the ingredients say?
What steps do we take next?
How do you think I should mix this in?
Where does this egg go?

❓Speech Therapy WH Questions # 2

Science Experiment? Conduct a basic science experiment at home. You can make an exploding volcano or make some fun putty.

What step do we take next?
What does this feel like?
Who else do you think would enjoy playing with this?
How did we make this?

❓Speech Therapy WH Questions #3

Getting Ready In The Morning? This is a great time to practice a quick language session. While getting dressed, brushing teeth, hair etc you can ask the following speech therapy WH questions

What do we do next?
Why are we brushing our teeth?
Can you show me how to brush my teeth? (having them be the teacher works well instead of always putting them in the position of having to answer)

❓Speech Therapy WH Questions #4

Walking outside? Great time to start up a quick conversation about the outdoors. If your kid does not like sitting still, then pairing movement like a light walk outdoors could help them pay better attention.

What do you see outdoors?
Where do we go next? (this could help work on navigating another important skill)
When do the leaves usually fall?
How should I get around this? (walk up to an "obstacle")

Troubleshooting:

Scenario: Your child is getting frustrated

✅ Act clueless and ask questions as if you genuinely don't know the answer and need help

Scenario: You hear many errors not related to your specific speech goal

✅ Don't correct them constantly. Get a feel for which ones they have trouble with and circle back later. You can gently give the correct answers every now and then but treat these sessions as a research study to see where and what they are struggling with.

Scenario: You forget what they said, didn't say and have difficulty keeping the information all together

✅ Jot a few notes down after (i.e. trouble with where and when). Use this to guide which WH words you target next session. It's always good to circle back instead of constantly correcting them in the moment.

Scenario: You have low energy or don't feel extra bubbly and shiny. Or on the flip side you run a really tight ship.

✅ Try to keep the conversation as natural as possible. Avoid coming across as a drill sargeant.