When most people think of speech therapy, they imagine articulation drills, tongue twisters, or repetitive exercises. But therapists often use playful activities that make therapy enjoyable and effective. One surprisingly powerful tool? Blowing bubbles.
Why Bubbles Work in Speech Therapy
Blowing bubbles isn’t just fun—it’s a functional exercise that targets several key speech and language skills:
1. Breath Control and Diaphragmatic Support
Controlled exhalation is essential for clear speech. Blowing bubbles encourages clients to take deep breaths and exhale slowly and steadily. This strengthens the diaphragm and improves overall breath support, which is critical for producing strong, clear speech sounds.
2. Oral Motor Strength and Coordination
Blowing bubbles requires lip rounding, tongue positioning, and jaw coordination. These oral motor exercises are crucial for improving articulation, speech clarity, and even swallowing skills.
3. Speech Timing and Phrasing
When clients practice blowing a steady stream to form a bubble, they are also learning to control airflow for extended sounds and phrases. This is particularly useful for children working on sentence fluency or adults practicing speech after a stroke or neurological event.
4. Engagement and Motivation
Speech therapy can sometimes feel repetitive. Bubbles transform practice into play, increasing motivation, attention, and willingness to participate—especially for young children. Seeing the immediate result of their breath in the form of a floating bubble reinforces effort and success.
5. Sensory Feedback and Mindfulness
Bubbles provide visual and tactile feedback. Watching them float away can be calming and help clients focus on breathing and oral movements. It’s a gentle way to integrate mindfulness into therapy sessions.
How to Use Bubbles in Speech Therapy
- Articulation Practice: Have clients blow a bubble before saying target sounds or words. The steady airflow helps produce clear consonants like /p/, /b/, and /m/.
- Breath Support Drills: Encourage clients to blow a bubble for a certain count or distance, teaching sustained exhalation for better phrasing in speech.
- Turn-Taking and Social Skills: Use bubble play in group sessions to model conversation, waiting, and turn-taking.
- Motivation Breaks: Offer short bubble breaks as positive reinforcement during challenging exercises.
Final Thoughts
Blowing bubbles may look like simple play, but in speech therapy, it’s a multi-functional tool that strengthens breath support, oral motor skills, articulation, and engagement. It reminds both children and adults that therapy doesn’t have to be boring—learning can be fun, visual, and interactive.
So next time a speech therapist says, “let’s blow some bubbles,” know it’s more than just play—it’s practice in disguise!
Parent Notes:
Do you want to know how to use bubbles to improve your child’s communication skills or simply want to share your experience using bubbles? Let’s connect!!! We’d love to hear about your child’s achievements or assist with any concerns you may have.
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Find our friends Tokapop on Teachers Pay Teachers and grab the perfect companion for this blog. This free “5-Minute Bubble Exercises Guide” goes with our blog like milk and cookies! It was designed to support functional communication, made with the most care for parents, and is very easy to use, practical, and ready to implement.
