Teaching prepositions through obstacle courses in the therapy room

Prepositions are often taught from a picture, worksheet, or verbal explanation that asks a child to place one object in relation to another. Movement-based teaching makes the relationship visible: the teddy is under the table, the ball travels over the hoop, and the child stands between two targets. That concrete experience gives receptive and expressive language a physical reference, especially when a learner is still developing vocabulary, categorisation, and motor planning.

An obstacle course in the therapy room can support those goals without turning every session into a gym circuit. Painter’s tape can mark a path, blocks can become chairs or tunnels, and soft toys can provide a meaningful reason to stop, turn, and search. The setup suits individual appointments, school-based sessions, early intervention, and telehealth demonstrations. It creates natural opportunities for before, after, beside, between, in front of, behind, and through while keeping attention on a shared activity.

Clinical value depends on the match between language demand and movement. Chasing a token through a route is engaging, but it teaches a spatial word only when the clinician models the relationship, allows a response, and checks understanding. The same course can show whether a learner responds better to a visual route, a brief verbal command, or an AAC option. That information belongs in session notes and goal review, not just in a cheerful description of the game.

For Australian SLPs, the challenge is often making a portable plan fit different environments. A session in a Sydney clinic may have limited floor space, while a Brisbane or Perth school may move between a covered veranda, multipurpose room, and outdoor play area. In a home visit, a hallway, courtyard, or nature strip can become the course. Australian NDIS plans, school learning-support programs, and kindergarten routines all value functional participation, so the activity needs a clear language outcome rather than simply a completed circuit.

Plan relational language goals before building the course

Begin with one relationship the learner can physically demonstrate, such as in and on or under and behind. Observe what the child already does with familiar objects before introducing new vocabulary. A child who retrieves a toy from a box may understand in more readily than a child who must follow the abstract direction under. Pair the chosen words with objects and actions the child already understands, then increase complexity only when responses are stable.

Decide whether the session will assess receptive understanding, expressive naming, or both. For receptive work, the clinician can vary a familiar request—“stand behind the blue line”—and record whether the child responds to the spatial relationship rather than the colour. For expressive work, place two plausible targets and ask the child to describe or show where an object belongs. Keep motor and language demands separate enough to identify why a response breaks down.

Write a measurable success statement before the course is assembled. For example: “Given two picture cards and three modelled opportunities, the learner will use under or behind to direct a toy to the correct location in four of five trials.” Record baseline and probe performance, especially when the skill appears in an NDIS plan, Individual Education Plan, or school learning-support goal. Avoid a target such as “understands positional words,” which does not show what changed.

Build a portable course that fits the room

A roll of low-tack tape, stacking blocks, a hoop, and two soft toys are enough for a useful route. Materials available from Bunnings or Kmart Australia can be adapted, but choose pieces that are stable, wipeable, and safe for the learner’s size. Masking tape on a hard floor can slip when wet, so secure it at the edges and check the surface. Use blocks as landmarks rather than platforms to climb unless the child has appropriate balance skills and supervision.

Build three or four stations with a clear beginning and end. The child might carry an animal to a hoop, travel around a block, stop between two targets, and deliver the animal to a basket. At each station, the clinician supplies one spatial direction and waits. Some learners need a demonstration, others need a reduced choice, and others need the object itself moved to make the relation visible. The course should remain a route, not a collection of unrelated games.

When the schedule leaves only five minutes, simplify the route rather than abandon the target. These five-minute no-prep activities offer a useful model for brief, repeatable endings: one word, one action, one clear response opportunity, and one note about the learner’s performance.

Recommendations for a repeatable obstacle routine

A dependable sequence reduces language clutter. Preview the route with pictures or a simple visual schedule, let the learner choose one meaningful role such as helper or delivery driver, and repeat the same spatial words at each turn. Over time, change one feature at a time so the child does not have to relearn the entire activity.

Use prompts that invite a response without supplying the answer. Let the course guide how each recommendation is enacted:

• Choose a personal route. Ask where the animal should go, accept the child’s word or gesture, and move the toy only when the response is needed for teaching.
• Pair words with visible actions. Model under, over, behind, and between while using them, then invite the child to direct the next turn.
• Change one detail between trials. Alter the object, direction, or target location to check whether the child understands the spatial relation or has memorised one script.
• Keep data brief. Mark the target, opportunity, response, and prompt level on a simple tally sheet, then note one example for the family or team.

Not every child needs the full course or every preposition. A learner may show greater progress with one positional pair in a two-step routine. Another may need the same language during snack, dressing, or a playground game. Generalisation is a clinical target: the child should recognise that behind the bin at school carries the same meaning as behind the kitchen chair at home.

Adapt practice for Australian settings and abilities

Offer a sensory and motor alternative for every station. A child who dislikes tunnels can walk beside a hoop; a child who uses a wheelchair can roll between cones; a child with limited vision can follow tactile tape or an auditory cue. Keep obstacles stable and leave enough space for an adult to support changes of direction. If a word cannot be demonstrated safely, teach it with miniature objects or a picture and reserve the movement activity for another relationship.

Adult clients may have health conditions that affect how vigorous a task should be. If someone has peripheral arterial disease or is undergoing treatment that may affect exercise tolerance, a brisk walk or repeated climb should not be prescribed from a generic worksheet. This general background on statin treatment considerations can prompt a health discussion, but current medical advice and the individual’s health plan should guide participation, with seated alternatives available.

In schools and homes, link the language to familiar Australian routines: under the table at breakfast, between siblings at the park, beside the front door, or in front of the garage. Do not assume English is the child’s home language, and invite families to contribute their own useful prepositions. In Brisbane or Perth, outdoor sessions may need shade, sunscreen, water, and a plan for very hot weather; after rain, check for slippery leaves and move the route indoors. Collaboration with an ABA team, teacher, and family is most effective when everyone uses the same visual cue and gives the learner time to respond.

Make the routine part of every session

Finish with a brief review that links the game to the child’s goal. One or two supported examples can show progress, while the tally sheet provides more reliable evidence than a clinician’s memory. Share one achievable home routine with the family, such as finding a shoe beside the bed or placing a cup in the sink. Keep the activity playful and stop while the learner is still enjoying it.

A reusable plan can include printed picture prompts, route cards, data sheets, and short video modelling. Ready-made resources from the speech therapy materials shop can reduce preparation time and make it easier to keep wording consistent across classroom, clinic, and home sessions. The value of the course comes from repeated opportunities with responsive feedback, not from the novelty of the equipment.

Choose one spatial concept today, write one measurable success statement, and build a three-station route before the next session. Explore the speech therapy materials shop for printable prompts and practical resources, then take the course into the therapy room.