Why music offers golden opportunities for children with speech delays and language disorders
If your child has a speech delay and the words just aren’t coming, it’s natural to start looking for activities for speech therapy that will actually help.
But knowing where to start can feel overwhelming.
The good news is that you don’t need complicated materials or a long list of activities.
Music naturally sets children with speech delays up for success, because it creates opportunities for imitation at a level that’s just right for your child.
Music lays the foundation for imitation to unfold.
Children learn how to talk by imitating those around them. Imitation develops in predictable stages*:
Babies and toddlers first learn to imitate actions with objects and then gestures like clapping, waving, and high fives.
Then, toddlers learn to imitate simple sounds, like vehicle noises and animal sounds.
Then, toddlers learn words within verbal routines, like song lyrics, followed by imitating words in all opportunities.
Music supports all stages of imitation because it combines rhythm, repetition, and movement—making it easier for children to join in at their current level. For the best activities for speech therapy, you can choose songs that match how your child is already communicating.
*Adapted from Laura Mize, M.S., CCC-SLP
If your child is not yet imitating many sounds or words, this is the best place to begin.
At this stage, the goal is simple: help your child copy actions and gestures that you model. This is also the perfect stage for some simple sign language.
Music makes this easier because songs naturally involve actions, and the repetition within a song gives you and your child multiple learning opportunities.
If You're Happy and You Know It (clap & stomp)
Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes (point to body parts)
The Wheels on the Bus (hand motions like “round and round”)
Open Shut Them (open/close hand movements)
The Itsy Bitsy Spider (simple finger and hand motions)
Slow down and exaggerate your movements
Use hand-over-hand support if needed
These First Words Dance Party® songs build in repetition, clear actions, and natural pause points to support imitation right from the start:
“It’s a Dance Party” (models pointing up/down and identifying body parts)
“Open” (models the gestures “uh oh,” “oh no,” and signs for open, help, and please)
After a child has learned how to readily imitate actions and gestures, they are ready to imitate sounds and sound effects.
At this stage, the goal is to help your child imitate simple consonant-vowel combinations. These sounds will become the building blocks of words.
Old MacDonald Had a Farm (animal sounds like “moo,” “baa,” “quack”)
The Little Green Frog (“mm ah”)
Tick Tock Cuckoo Clock (“tick tock,” “cuckoo”)
The Wheels on the Bus (“beep beep beep,” “shh shh shh”)
Row, Row, Row Your Boat (roar and “ahhhh!” sounds in later verses)
Slow down when modeling sounds
Pause and wait at the end of a lyric to see if your child joins in
Respond to any attempt—sounds, actions, or gestures all count
These First Words Dance Party® songs focus on simple sound combinations that are perfect for verbal imitation:
“Shout It Out” (encourages vowel imitation)
“Vowel Changes” (models consonant-vowel chains, leading into “mommy” and “daddy”)
After a child begins to imitate sounds and sound effects, they are ready to start imitating real words.
At this stage, the goal is to help your child use simple, functional words and eventually begin combining them into short, meaningful phrases.
While all children’s songs are great for language development, some naturally encourage verbal imitation more than others.
This often comes down to the syllable shape of the words and how easy they are to imitate.
For example, songs with these features tend to be easier for children to imitate:
simple consonant-vowel combinations (like “go,” “up,” “no”)
repetitive, predictable lyrics
motivating topics kids care about (animals, vehicles, favorite foods)
Open Shut Them (“open,” “shut”)
Zoom Zoom Zoom, We're Going to the Moon (repetitive “oo” sounds like “zoom”, “moon”)
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (predictable phrases like “up,” “high,” “sky”)
Bringing Home My Baby Bumblebee (“bee,” “me,” “mommy”)
Pair words with actions when possible
Pause and wait to give your child a chance to try
Even approximations, or partial words, count as meaningful attempts
Every First Words Dance Party® song was purposefully written to prioritize the simplest syllable shapes for the easiest imitation.
A couple of great ones to start with:
“The Cookie Song” (models “eat,” “cookie,” “yes/no”)
“It’s My Turn” (models “my turn” for sharing and turn taking)
“On and Off” (models highly functional opposite words for daily routines)
These songs focus on functional words your child can begin using in everyday life.
Songs crafted for speech and language development
As an early intervention teacher and the creator of First Words Dance Party®, I write every song with speech and language strategies intentionally built into the lyrics.
These speech therapy songs model simple, functional phrases children can use every day, like:
“I need help”
“Open please”
“My turn”
Every song models the simplest syllable shapes at the level that's just right for children with speech delays.
And these songs were written with both children and adults in mind, so they're catchy and easy to listen to.
First Words Dance Party® makes speech therapy home practice fun and engaging with music, speech therapy music videos, and printable resources for speech therapy home practice.
Now that you understand how music supports imitation, the next step is knowing exactly how to start.
This is where things begin to shift for your child—from watching and listening, to starting to participate, imitate, and communicate in their own way.
You don’t need to be a professional to support your child’s communication. Inside this FREE guide, you’ll learn how to support imitation of actions, gestures, and words by using music intentionally for speech and language success. Get your FREE guide and song choice cards to kickstart your child’s communication with music for speech therapy at home.
To go deeper into activities for speech therapy at home, these guides will help:
Music for Speech Therapy: 5 Easy Ways to Accomplish Speech Success at Home
Expressive and Receptive Language Disorder: How to Use Music for Joy and Success
Delay in Speech? 5 Easy and Effective Ways to Boost Language
Speech Therapy Home Practice: 7 Quick, Easy Activities You Need for Success
The Best Song Board for Speech Therapy: 5 Insider Tips to Know Before You Buy
Yes! It is absolutely possible for parents to do activities for speech therapy at home, and these everyday moments can be incredibly powerful for supporting communication.
As a matter of fact, parents are in the best position for speech therapy home practice. A child’s parents are their most influential communication partners.
You don’t need a certification or complicated materials to get started. You just need some simple, powerful strategies to get started. Consistent practice with a few strategies can go a very long way.
Speech therapy at home doesn’t have to feel structured or overwhelming.
It often looks like slowing down the pace of things, modeling simple words intentionally, and creating opportunities for your child to imitate during everyday routines like play and meals.
It also means limiting your questions and prompts. This may seem counter intuitive, but is incredibly important.
Music is one of the easiest ways to do speech therapy at home, because it is engaging. It naturally builds in repetition, predictability, and countless opportunities for imitation. Music supports language development for all children.
Speech and language activities for 2 year olds should be play-based and routines-based. Two year olds aren’t wired to do flashcards or drill and practice activities.
Open-ended toys, like blocks, dolls and stuffed animals, a tea set, and play food are wonderful for modeling functional language. You can model functional words like “hot”, “eat”, “drink”, “up”, “on top”, etc. with these toys while also following your child’s lead as they play.
Music is always worth its weight in gold as an activity for speech therapy. It supports early imitation, which is the foundation for communication.
This depends on the individual child and whether their needs are related to language, speech (articulation), or both.
The most effective preschool speech and language activities are always motivating and engaging first—then we layer strategies on top.
If a child’s needs are language-based, music continues to be a powerful tool. At this stage, we often move from imitation of single words into imitation of short phrases, when the child is ready. Play-based activities should follow their interests and attentional focus.
Two of the most powerful speech and language strategies you can use across your entire day are parallel and self-talk. This simply means using single words and short phrases to describe what you are doing and your child is doing.
For example, if you are cutting bananas for a snack, you could say, “cut, cut, cut” and “scoop” as you prepare it. As your child eats, you could say “got it!” as they pierce their banana with a fork.
There are two reasons this works:
You are following your child’s attentional focus, meaning that you are commenting on the exact thing they are focused on in the moment
When you comment in single words and short phrases, you are modeling language at just the right complexity for your child to imitate
Give parallel and self-talk a try! The hardest part will be remembering to comment instead of prompting or asking questions.