October 23, 2025

Functional Communication Curriculums for Speech Therapy

30 minutes

Functional Communication Curriculums for Speech TherapyA 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.

Start your Free Trial to Access the Functional Communication Curriculums →

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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

First Words

Shaping Echolalia

(For Gestalt Language Processors)

Augmentative/Alternative Communication (AAC)

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.

Try the Early Interactions Curriculum Free for 7 Days

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.

Try the First Words Curriculum Free for 7 Days

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.

Try the Shaping Echolalia Curriculum Free for 7 Days

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.

Try the AAC Curriculum Free for 7 Days

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! Learn More about the Curriculum →

The post Functional Communication Curriculums for Speech Therapy appeared first on Speech And Language Kids.

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By Carrie Clark, M.A. CCC-SLP

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