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Functional Communication Curriculums for Speech Therapy
A Step-by-Step Plan to Help Children Communicate Their Basic Wants and Needs
Give children the tools to express themselves — even if they’re just starting to find their voice.
Our functional communication curriculums guide you through teaching real-world communication skills that help children connect, request, protest, and share with others — in therapy, at home, or in daily routines.
You’ll have clear, ready-to-use plans that make every session meaningful and progress easy to see.
Practical. Evidence-based. Life-changing.
Instant access. No risk. Cancel anytime.
Who’s it For?
Children and teens who struggle to take turns or share activities with others
Those who struggle to express basic wants and needs
Those who repeat things they’ve heard others say or quote shows/videos
Those who have trouble following directions and routines
Those who use alternative means to communicate with others (behaviors, sign language, pictures, communication devices, etc.)
Who Can Use It?
Speech-Language Pathologists and Professionals
Speech Language Therapy Assistants and SLPAs
Parents and Caregivers
Teachers and Educators
Choose your Curriculum:
Early Interactions Curriculum:
What is it? A systematic, step-by-step program for helping children learn to engage and connect with others — providing a clear pathway for building early social interaction skills with confidence.
Who is it for?
Children and teens who…
- Don’t allow others to take turns with them in play
- Don’t pay attention to others who try to interact with them
- Don’t respond to others or turn when their name is called
- Struggle to follow one-step directions
- Struggle to follow multi-step directions
- Struggle to follow and participate in familiar routines
- Struggle to handle new routines or changes in routine
- Don’t answer simple questions, such as “yes/no” questions or “do you want ____ or ____?”
- Don’t engage in early social routines, such as peek-a-boo, high fives, or greetings
How does it work?
This Curriculum is broken down into three levels:
Beginner Level:
Building Awareness and Engagement
(Ages 9-15 mos and beyond)
- Responding to Name
- Joint Attention
- Basic Turn Taking
Intermediate Level:
Understanding and Responding to Communication
(Ages 1-2 yrs and beyond)
- Following Basic Directions
- Answering Yes/No Questions
- Making a Choice Between two Options
Advanced Level:
Expanding Social Participation and Interaction
(Ages 1-3 yrs and beyond)
- Participating in Early Social Routines
- Increasing Interaction Length
- Answering Wh- Questions
* Age ranges represent when children typically master these skills. However, this program can help older children/teens with these skills as well.
Instant access. No risk. Cancel anytime.
First Words Curriculum (For Analytic Language Processors):
What is it? A systematic, no-prep program for teaching children their first words — giving them the building blocks for functional communication and helping them express their wants, needs, and ideas with confidence.
Who is it for?
Children and teens who…
- Use single words to communicate (e.g., “milk,” “ball,” “go”) rather than long, memorized phrases.
- Show a gradual buildup of vocabulary, learning one word at a time instead of repeating whole scripts.
- May attempt to combine words into short phrases as their vocabulary grows (e.g., “want cookie,” “big truck”).
- Don’t rely on echolalia or repeating scripts to communicate.
How does it work?
This Curriculum is broken down into three levels:
Beginner Level:
Encouraging First Words
(Any Age)
- Modeling language in a way that supports language development
- Vocabulary-building activities
Intermediate Level:
Producing Early Word Shapes
(Ages 1-3 yrs and beyond)
- Imitating Actions and Sound Effects
- Imitating and Producing CV, VC, and CVC Words (like “no”, “up”, and “dog”)
Advanced Level:
Expanding Vocabulary and Combining Words
(Ages 1.5-3 yrs and beyond)
- Building an Expressive Vocabulary of First 50 Words
- Producing 2-Word Utterances
* Age ranges represent when children typically master these skills. However, this program can help older children/teens with these skills as well.
Instant access. No risk. Cancel anytime.
Shaping Echolalia Curriculum (For Gestalt Language Processors):
What is it? A systematic, neurodiversity-affirming program that works with children who use echolalia to communicate — honoring their natural language development process while guiding them toward flexible, self-generated speech.
Who is it for?
Children and teens who…
- Speak in full phrases or scripts they’ve heard before (e.g., from a show or caregiver).
- Use melodic speech with varying intonation but may have unclear articulation.
- May sound like they’re “speaking gibberish” with lots of emotion or intonation variability.
- Repeat phrases the same way every time they say it (e.g., says “Do you want it?” to request something because they’ve heard others say it to them).
- Love songs, quotes, and categories like numbers, letters, or shapes.
- Like to play the same way every time or seems to re-enact the same scenes over again.
- May get upset when others try to change the play or the routine.
How does it work?
This Curriculum is broken down into three levels:
Beginner Level:
Using Early Gestalts
(Ages 1.5-3.5 yrs and beyond)
- Finding meaning in echolalia
- Modeling gestalts
Intermediate Level:
Mitigated Gestalts
(Ages 2.5-5 yrs and beyond)
- Breaking Down Gestalts
- Recombining Pieces of Different Gestalts
Advanced Level:
Developing Self-Generated Language
(Ages 3-7 yrs and beyond)
- Using Single Words
- Combining Words Together to Build Longer Utterances
* Age ranges represent when children typically master these skills. However, this program can help older children/teens with these skills as well.
Instant access. No risk. Cancel anytime.
Augmentative/Alternative Communication (AAC) Curriculum:
What is it? A clear, structured program that gives therapists and parents a clear roadmap for teaching AAC — helping children build functional, independent communication step by step.
Who is it for?
Children and teens who…
- Use gestures/behaviors to express what they want/need
- Use sign language to express what they want/need
- Will point to pictures to show what they want/need
- Can use a communication device or other type of Alternative/Augmentative Communication (AAC) system to express what they want/need
- Have speech that is very hard to understand and/or are making slow progress toward intelligible speech
- Get frustrated because speech is not easily understood or seem upset that they aren’t speaking like others
How does it work?
This Curriculum is broken down into three levels:
Beginner Level:
Using AAC for Basic Communication
(Ages 2-4 yrs and beyond)
- Modeling Core Vocabulary Words on an AAC Device/System
- Using Core Words on an AAC Device/System to Communicate Basic Wants and Needs
Intermediate Level:
Expanding AAC Use to Different Communicative Functions
(Ages 3-5 yrs and beyond)
- Using AAC to communicate: rejection, recurrence, actions, descriptors, possession, locatives, self-advocacy
Advanced Level:
Using AAC for Independent Functional Communication
(Ages 4-6 yrs and beyond)
- Using AAC Throughout the Day and Expanding Language Skills with the AAC Device/System
* Age ranges represent when children typically master these skills. However, this program can help older children/teens with these skills as well.
Instant access. No risk. Cancel anytime.
You Don’t Have to Do This Alone.
Every child’s communication journey is unique — but you don’t have to reinvent the wheel for each one.
Our Speech Sound Curriculums are just the beginning. Inside the SLK Curriculum, you’ll find comprehensive therapy plans for every major area of communication:
- Language (vocabulary, grammar, comprehension, etc.)
- Speech sound pronunciation
- Social communication and pragmatic skills
- Fluency and stuttering
- Voice and resonance
- Functional Communication
Each curriculum walks you through the therapy process step-by-step — from first session to mastery — so you can spend less time planning and more time helping children and teens succeed.
Because when you have a clear plan, children make faster progress.
And when children start communicating clearly and confidently… everything changes.
Sneak Peek! 
The post Functional Communication Curriculums for Speech Therapy appeared first on Speech And Language Kids.
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