As if I wasn’t giving Disney enough money by using Disney shorts and using 5-Minute Disney Stories while treating children (especially online) I also got into Disney Doorables. These miniature figures come from a variety of Disney movies and shows. They’ve been great for my themed sensory bins and they’re easily used for treatment in the same way as other minis!
Here are some ways I use Disney Doorables in my treatment…
Doorables Activities
- Toy trains (I love the Fisher-Price GeoTrax trains, even though they’re no longer made and so only available on eBay)
- LEGOs
- Sensory bins
Ideas for Using Doorables in Speech & Language Treatment
- Articulation – Make a box of miniatures (including Doorables) for a target phoneme. Hold the box of miniatures and go through it looking for targets that the child is working on. The child has to say a word/sentence with the target to request the miniature. If working at the conversation level, let the child set up the play with the selected miniatures and then start a conversation about the miniatures (“Wow! I can’t believe all the animals living in this town! There aren’t just dogs and cats!”). A great way to get started with this is Speech Tree Co.’s Phoneme boxes.
- Following Directions – Have the child follow directions with the Doorables. For basic directions have the child find a certain miniature in the box (“Can you find Hercules?”), for multiple-step directions have the child place the miniatures around the room (“Can you put Hercules on the table and Judy Hopps under the table?”), etc.
- Categorizing – Have the child group minis that belong together by color/habitat/classification (mammal/amphibian/bird/etc.). I once had a kid who loved this activity so much he made a global map out of my room with the animals on their own continents.
- Grammar – Get pairs of irregular targets and ask the child, “Do you want 1 deer?” while holding out both deer. This takes a bit of money and preparation. I bought duplicates of some of my sets so I can target deer, moose, calves, fish, wolves, sheep, and mice. You can also act out scenes with the miniatures. For example, pretend a cat miniature eats all of a cake then ask, “What did the cat do with the cake?” to target ate.
- Phonemic Awareness – Go through the box with the child and ask them to find animals that start with a phoneme like /b/. To turn this into a phonics activity you just need letters to add like the Lakeshore Translucent ones I use (look at my alphabet sensory bin as an example).
Here are the sensory bins I’m using Disney Doorables in…
