01/08/2026
🌟 One of my latest 3D prints!
I recently 3D printed this marble sound tree 🌲and can't wait to use it during therapy sessions!
One of the things I love ❤️ about 3D printing 🖨 is that it gives me access to much wider range of resources than you would typically find in regular toy shops. This means that I can choose activities that match each child's interests, sensory preferences and their play schemas, making learning through play more motivating, meaningful and engaging.
Rather than teaching skills in isolation, my goal is to embed communication and learning within activities that children genuinely enjoy.
A simple activity like this creates endless opportunities for learning through Natural Environment Teaching (NET), including:
🟣 Mands (requesting) - requesting marbles, asking for more, requesting a turn or asking for help.
🟢 Tacts (labelling) - naming colours, actions, sounds, fast/slow, big/small and other concepts.
🟠 Listener responding - following simple instructions naturally within play routines, such as "Put the red marble in" or "Find the orange marble."
🔵 Intaverbals - completing familiar verbal routines, such as "Ready....steady....go!", singing songs and answering simple questions.
🟡 Social communication and other skills - developing turn taking, joint attention, waiting, commenting, sharing enjoyment and engaging with others through play.
Sometimes the simplest activities create the richest opportunities for communication! 💚
