5 Reasons to Use Mouth Puppets in Speech Therapy

Sep 15, 2023 Ultrassist

Mouth Puppets are excellent speech therapy tools for working with children. Why? There are at least five reasons 1) It is easier to relate to the child, 2) It shows the kids how to arrange the speech organs correctly, 3) The child is more likely to imitate the mouth puppet, 4) It encourages the child to act spontaneously, and 5) It turns the speech therapy exercise into a fun activity.

1. It's easier to relate to the child

A child's first contact with a speech therapist may be difficult. The child may be nervous or frightened by the presence of an adult he/she does not know. He/she may also have difficulty understanding what he/she is going to do or should do. Therefore, it is a good idea to have a mouth puppet act as a speech therapy assistant at the beginning of the class to reduce the child's anxiety and allow him/her to relax first. With the help of a friendly and lovable hand puppet, you can slowly explain the therapy process to the kids in a relaxed atmosphere. This makes it easier to build a trusting relationship with your child and encourage him/her to pursue further therapy.

2. It can show the kids how to arrange the speech organs correctly

Mouth puppets with movable tongues are great for demonstrating articulation exercises to the kids, as well as showing how he/she should arrange his/her articulation organs to make specific sounds. At the next stage, exchange roles. The children can explain to the mouth puppet how to practice. In this way, the kids gain the necessary knowledge to achieve better results in speech therapy as he/she participates in recreational exercises.

3. Kids are more likely to mimic the puppet

Mouth Puppets are colorful and lively, and children are more likely to identify themselves with them than with adults. All that puppets do is to stimulate the child's interest. Therefore, mouth puppets not only help in the practice of articulating and stimulating sounds, but also encourage children to follow along and repeat the exercises.

4. It encourages the child to act spontaneously

No other speech therapy tool is as effective as mouth puppets in encouraging children to perform spontaneously, thereby promoting the development of their vocabulary and speaking skills. Children may feel at ease when "speaking through a puppet." Such spontaneous activities is especially important in the treatment of children with speech delays and speech disfluencies.

5. It turns the speech therapy exercise into a fun activity

Getting children to actively participate in speech therapy exercises is the key to effective therapy. Mouth Puppets, as an assistant to the speech therapist, will help you achieve this result.