How to Use Wordless Picture Books in Your Speech Therapy Sessions – Episode 35

On the podcast, we share a lot of narrative picture books to use with your students, but a type of book we don’t often mention is wordless picture books. If you are anything like we used to be, maybe you were uncomfortable using these types of books when you first became an SLP because you didn’t know how to use them appropriately. 

Now that we have done more research and have seen how effective they are, we love using them and value the benefits they bring students. So in today’s episode, we’re sharing how to use wordless picture books in your speech therapy sessions.

Wordless picture books are often dismissed because they’re viewed as just something to look at and don’t add value to students’ language skills. When in reality, wordless picture books are narrative stories and develop higher-level concepts toward a student’s reading comprehension. While traditional text picture books help students with their fluency, wordless picture books require students to use visual cues, critical thinking skills, sequencing, and language concepts. 

We also share how to use them during your speech therapy sessions and provide evidence for using them. Stay tuned to our next few episodes where we share our favorite wordless picture books, specifically during your speech therapy sessions and the specific language targets.

Topics Discussed:

• The misconceptions around using wordless picture books and how they actually benefit students’ language development
• Research evidence on the power of using wordless picture books in your speech therapy sessions
• How these types of books can also benefit parents and give them confidence to read to their kids
• Why wordless picture books require more prep from you, but the language concepts developed are so crucial