Puzzles are great and all, but SOUND puzzles are the absolute BEST! I own 4 Melissa & Doug sound puzzles, specifically the farm animals, zoo animals, pets, and vehicles. Kids of all ages love hearing the different noises and are eager to participate in any activity where these puzzles are used! Scroll down below to see how I use sound puzzles in my therapy room!

Making Choices: For some of my younger kids or kids on the spectrum learning to make choices, I will hold up two puzzle pieces and prompt the child to reach for the piece they want.
Imitating: Animal and vehicle sounds are perfect targets for little ones learning to imitate. I hold each piece up to my mouth, say the animal sound, and give an expectant look, hoping the child will imitate me. If they don’t, I try this two more times then just give them the piece. If they do imitate the sound, I give them the piece immediately and imitate the sound right back to them. Make it a big deal!
Requesting: The child can verbally request puzzle piece they want, either at word-level (e.g., “more,” “mine,” “want,” “car,” “dog,” etc.) or at phrase- or sentence-level (e.g., “want train,” “I want elephant,” etc.).
Labeling: Practice labeling the different animals and vehicles before putting them in the puzzle.
Prepositions: Target location words such as “in,” “out,” and “inside.”
Describing: Describe each puzzle piece before or after you put it in or take it out. Click here to download my super helpful describing anchor chart for only $1!
Asking Questions: I grab an opaque container and hide one puzzle piece inside at a time. I cue the child to ask a question like “What’s that?” and then I open the container to dramatically reveal the puzzle piece hiding inside.
Negation: I hold up two puzzle pieces and ask a question, such as “Which one is NOT an airplane?” I use cues (acoustic highlighting, shaking my head) to teach the child the concept of negation. They will get the piece that is NOT the one I mentioned and put it in the puzzle. I often say “That’s right! A boat is NOT an airplane. No, it’s NOT!” to increase their exposure to the concept.
Articulation:  Pick a carrier phrase that includes your target sound. For example, you could pick “go in” if you’re working on the /g/ sound. You could tell each puzzle piece what to do, like “Fish, go in!”
Reinforcer: Pair the puzzle pieces with articulation cards or another activity. Put the puzzle piece on top of the card and each time the child says the target word, move the puzzle piece closer and closer to the child! I usually aim for 3-5 productions.

I looked around Amazon for you and linked some of the best sound puzzles I could find Enjoy!

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