10-Minute Speech Practice That Doesn't Require Sitting Still

Last updated 2026-07-11

What are picture cards and why do speech therapists use them?

Picture cards pair an image with a word, a phrase, or just the image alone. A card might show a photo of a cup, a simple drawing of a dog, or a symbol for "more." Speech-language pathologists use them because they give a child a visual anchor for a concept before the spoken word is there.

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) describes visual supports as a core strategy for building communication in children with language delays ^[1]. For kids who process what they see more easily than what they hear, having something to point to, hand over, or touch drops the effort required to communicate.

Picture cards are also the low-tech entry point into augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). You may have heard about aac devices like speech-generating apps. Picture cards work on the same underlying principle: give the child a symbol they can use to express a want or an idea. Cards cost nothing to make, need no battery, and you can tear them up and reprint them when your child's vocabulary changes.

One more thing. Picture cards are not only for nonverbal kids. Lots of therapists use them with kids who have words but need help stretching sentence length, with kids who have apraxia of speech and need repeated, predictable cues, and with kids learning to sequence steps like washing hands or getting dressed.

What materials do you actually need to make picture cards at home?

Very little. Here is an honest minimum list:

• A device with internet access (phone, tablet, or computer)
• A printer, OR a phone camera and a nearby print shop (Walgreens, CVS, and Walmart print 4x6 photos for about $0.25 to $0.35 each as of 2025)
• Scissors
• Optional: packing tape, a self-laminating sheet ($0.50 to $1 each at dollar stores), or a laminator if you already own one

You do not need a Cricut. You do not need a laminator. Index cards and a marker work. So do pages torn from old magazines. The research on visual supports does not specify what the card is printed on. It specifies that the image is clear, consistent, and there when the child needs it ^[2].

If you want durability, packing tape is your best friend. Press it over both sides of a paper card and trim the edges. It is not quite as stiff as a laminated card, but it survives a toddler's grip.

What are the best free tools to make picture cards on a computer or phone?

Several tools are genuinely free and work well. Here is how they compare.

Google Slides is the most flexible free option. Set your slide dimensions to 3x3 inches (File > Page setup > Custom), paste in a photo or search Google Images for a clear picture, add a text label at the bottom, and print several slides per page. You can store the whole deck in Google Drive and reprint anytime.

Canva has a free tier with millions of stock photos. Search for the word you want, drop the image into a card template, add text, and download as a PDF. The "Flashcard" template is a good starting point. Canva does put some premium images behind a paywall, so filter to free elements.

Do2Learn (do2learn.com) has a free picture card library with simple line drawings sorted by category. You can print straight from the site. The images look more like traditional AAC symbols than photographs, which some children take to better and some worse. Nobody has a definitive answer on whether photographs or symbols work better for every child. The closest research suggests it varies by child and that consistency matters more than format ^[3].

Boardmaker Share is a community library for the Boardmaker symbol system (Picture Communication Symbols, or PCS). PCS symbols are used widely in clinical settings. The community boards are free to download and print, even if you don't own Boardmaker.

If your child is already in speech therapy, ask your therapist which symbol set they use. Matching the cards at home to the cards in therapy reduces confusion.

How do you make picture cards using real photos from your house?

This is probably the most underrated approach. Real photos of your child's actual cup, actual dog, and actual bedroom are often more meaningful to young children than stock images or line drawings. The child recognizes these things. That recognition can make the card easier to use.

Here's how to do it:

1. Take photos of objects your child touches every day. Think: cup, spoon, blanket, a specific toy, the bathtub, the car seat. Use good light and shoot the object against a plain background (a white piece of paper works). 2. Upload them to Google Photos, your camera roll, or directly into Google Slides or Canva. 3. Print at home on regular paper (4 per page is a good size) or send to a photo printing service. 4. Cut, tape over with packing tape, and trim.

To print from your phone, the Walgreens app lets you order prints for $0.29 each and pick them up the same day. A set of 20 cards costs about $6. That's the only non-free part, and you can skip it entirely by printing at home on regular paper.

One honest caveat: home-printed photos on regular inkjet paper are not waterproof and the colors fade. If you're making cards a child will chew on or carry around, the packing tape lamination step is not optional.

How do you organize picture cards so your child can actually use them?

A pile of 80 cards in a rubber band is useless. Organization is where most DIY attempts fall apart.

The approaches therapists reach for most:

Velcro on a file folder. Glue or staple a strip of the scratchy Velcro to the inside of a Manila folder. Cards get a small piece of the soft side on the back. The child pulls them off and hands them over. Total cost: $2 for a Velcro roll at a dollar store.

A binder with card sleeves. Baseball card sleeves (9 cards per page) fit 3x3-inch cards perfectly. Sort by category: food on one page, actions on another, feelings on another. Easy to flip through, and it survives being thrown.

A ring of cards. Punch a hole in one corner of each card, group by category with a small piece of tape as a divider, and clip with a loose-leaf ring. Good for on-the-go use.

A choice board. Put two to four cards on a small board or piece of cardboard at the child's eye level during meals, play, or transitions. "Do you want the apple or the crackers?" Two cards. That's it. This is one of the easiest ways to introduce picture cards with no prior experience ^[4].

For kids starting to build sentences, therapists often use a "first-then" board: two pockets side by side, one card in each. "First bath, then book." You can make it from a folded piece of card stock and two pieces of Velcro.

What words and categories should you start with?

Start with words your child already shows interest in, not the words you want them to say.

The evidence here is consistent. ASHA's guidance on early language intervention points to child-led vocabulary: words should be functional (used a lot), motivating (tied to things the child cares about), and spread across grammatical categories rather than nouns alone ^[1]. A child who loves trains needs a card for "train," yes, and also "go," "stop," and "more" if those show up in play.

For most late talkers and children with language delays, a practical starting set covers:

• Wants and requests: favorite foods, favorite toys, "more," "help," "no"
• People: mom, dad, sibling names
• Actions: eat, drink, go, stop, play, sleep
• Places: home, car, park, school
• Feelings: happy, sad, hurt (keep this category small at first)

Aim for 20 to 30 cards to start. Adding more before the child uses the first set regularly tends to create overwhelm, not progress. Once your child reliably reaches for or points to five or six cards, expand the set.

If your child is also working with a therapist on early intervention, bring your homemade cards to the next session and ask the therapist to help you prioritize.

How do you use picture cards at home without a therapist in the room?

The cards are just cardboard until someone models using them. That part is on you, and it is the step parents skip most.

The single most effective home strategy from the research is aided language stimulation, sometimes called aided AAC modeling or "modeling on the board." You, the parent, point to or hand the card every time you say the word, even when your child is not trying to communicate anything. You're showing what the card means through repetition. Research published in Augmentative and Alternative Communication found that children whose caregivers modeled AAC use at home showed significantly faster vocabulary growth than children in therapy only ^[5].

Practical translation:

• At breakfast, put out the "eat" card, the "more" card, and the card for whatever you're serving. Every time you hand them food, point to the card and say the word.
• During play, keep the cards nearby and reach for the relevant one as you narrate. "The train goes!" (point to "go").
• When your child wants something, wait a moment before getting it. Hold up the relevant card, say the word, then give the item. You're pairing the symbol with the outcome.

Do not quiz. Do not say "can you point to the apple?" during a real moment when the child wants the apple. Quizzing turns communication into a test, which is the opposite of how real communication feels. Model, respond when the child uses the card, and keep the moment positive.

Expect this to feel awkward for about a week. Then it becomes routine.

Are picture cards the same as PECS?

No, but they are related. PECS stands for Picture Exchange Communication System. It's a specific, structured training protocol developed by Andy Bondy and Lori Frost in the 1980s, originally for children with autism and minimal verbal communication ^[6].

PECS has six phases. Phase one teaches a child to physically hand a picture card to a communication partner to get something they want. Later phases add discrimination between cards, sentence structure, and responding to questions. The full protocol requires training in the method. You cannot implement true PECS from a YouTube video.

What most parents make at home are visual supports or aided AAC materials, not a PECS protocol. That is fine. The goal at home is not clinical precision. It's giving your child more ways to communicate. Homemade picture cards used consistently, with good modeling, are genuinely helpful even without a formal protocol. If your child has significant communication needs and a therapist recommends PECS specifically, ask for training before starting.

One distinction that matters in practice: in PECS, the child hands the card to a person. In other visual support approaches, the child might just point to the card on a board. The exchange part of PECS is designed to build intentional communication directed at another person. Worth knowing if you're deciding how to set up your cards.

How do you make picture cards for a child who needs AAC-style symbols instead of photos?

Some children take to simplified, consistent symbols better than photographs. This is common in kids who struggle to process visual complexity or who are used to the symbol sets used in therapy.

The most widely used symbol set in North America is PCS (Picture Communication Symbols), used in Boardmaker. You can grab community-made boards with PCS symbols at the Boardmaker Share community site for free. Print and cut.

A free alternative is the Mulberry Symbol Set, an open-source symbol library you can download and use without restriction. It's at mulberrysymbols.org and includes several thousand symbols in common AAC categories.

For kids who use a symbol-based AAC app or device, match your homemade cards to whatever symbols are in the device. Consistency between the low-tech backup (your cards) and the high-tech device reduces confusion and helps generalization. The ASHA Practice Portal on AAC explicitly recommends having a low-tech backup system for AAC users ^[7].

If you're building a solid home system and want something beyond printed cards, look at what a full AAC device or app offers. For many families, a combination works best: cards for quick, portable use, and a device for more complex expression.

Can you use an AI tool or app to generate picture cards faster?

Yes, and a few approaches work well.

Canva's AI image generator (the free tier has limited credits) can create a simple image from a text prompt. Type "red cup on a white background, cartoon style" and get a usable card image in about 30 seconds. The quality varies, but for common objects it's usually recognizable.

Google's Gemini (free via gemini.google.com) can help you generate a list of vocabulary targets sorted by category, which saves planning time even though it doesn't generate the images directly.

For families who want a more structured approach to home speech support, Little Words (littlewords.ai) is built for neurodivergent kids and includes guided vocabulary activities you can use alongside homemade materials. Worth a look if you want more than printable cards. Take their quiz to see if it fits your child's needs.

One note that matters: AI-generated images are fine for DIY home use. For clinical or school settings, use established symbol sets (PCS, Mulberry, ARASAAC) that have research backing and stay recognizable across environments.

How durable can homemade picture cards really be, and how do you make them last?

Honestly, not very durable without a few extra steps. A plain paper card survives about a week of daily use with a toddler before the edges fray and the image fades. Here's what actually extends the life:

Packing tape lamination. Cut a piece of clear packing tape slightly larger than the card. Press it onto the front, flip, repeat on the back. Trim with scissors. About two minutes per card, and it extends life to several months. The cards won't be perfectly rigid, but they survive dropping, bending, and most mouthing.

Self-laminating pouches. Dollar stores often carry these in the craft or school supply section for about $0.50 to $1 per pouch. No machine needed, just peel and press. Cleaner result than tape.

Printing on card stock. If you have card stock at home (or can get a 250-sheet ream for about $10 at any office supply store), cards printed on card stock are noticeably stiffer and hold up better without any lamination.

Contact paper. The shelf-liner version with a peel-off back is the same material as self-laminating pouches and costs much less per square foot. Cover a whole sheet of printed cards at once, then cut them apart.

For cards a child will pull off a Velcro board over and over, card stock plus packing tape is the sweet spot. For cards stored in a binder, regular paper is fine.

What does the research actually say about picture cards and language development?

The evidence is solid enough to be confident in picture cards as a tool, and honest enough to note they are not magic.

A 2012 meta-analysis by Ganz and colleagues reviewed aided AAC interventions for children with complex communication needs and found positive effects on expressive language for most participants ^[8]. The researchers noted that aided AAC did not suppress speech development, a worry parents raise often.

The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) states that visual supports are a well-established component of communication treatment for children with autism and language delays ^[9].

One thing the research does not show: picture cards working in isolation. The studies that show effects pair the cards with consistent adult modeling and real communication chances. Cards sitting in a drawer do nothing. Cards a parent actively uses during daily routines, combined with early intervention services, show the strongest outcomes.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that children with language delays get a speech-language pathology evaluation and that families be handed strategies to support communication at home ^[10]. Homemade picture cards are a concrete, evidence-aligned way to do that at-home support.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make picture cards on my phone without a computer?

Yes. Download the free Canva app, use the flashcard template, and search their free image library. Add a text label, export as an image, and print from your phone at a local pharmacy (Walgreens, CVS, or Walmart print 4x6 photos same-day for about $0.30). You can make a full set of 20 cards in under an hour without touching a computer.

What size should homemade picture cards be?

Most therapists use cards between 2x2 and 4x4 inches. Smaller cards (2x2) work well for choice boards and Velcro systems. Larger cards (3x3 or 4x4) are easier for young children to handle and hand to a communication partner. A standard 8.5x11 sheet fits 4 cards at 4x4 inches or 9 cards at about 2.75x2.75 inches.

Do picture cards help late talkers who already have some words?

Yes. Picture cards aren't only for nonverbal children. For a child with 20 to 30 words, cards can expand vocabulary, support sentence building (combining a noun card and a verb card), and reduce frustration when words get stuck. Therapists often use them with children who have apraxia of speech as a consistent visual cue paired with speech practice.

Should I use photos or symbols on the cards?

Nobody has a definitive answer for every child. Photographs are more concrete and often easier for young children to connect to real objects. Symbols (like PCS or Mulberry) travel better across environments since a "cup" symbol looks the same everywhere. A reasonable starting point is real photos of familiar objects, then introduce symbols gradually if your child will use an AAC device that runs on symbols.

How many picture cards should I make to start?

Start with 15 to 25 cards covering high-frequency wants (food, drink, favorite toys), key actions (eat, go, stop, more, help), and a couple of feeling words. Adding too many cards before a child uses any of them consistently creates clutter, not communication. Expand the set once the child is reliably using five or more cards on their own or with minimal prompting.

Is it okay to use Google Images to print pictures for cards?

For personal, home use with your own child, downloading and printing a Google Image is generally considered fair use in the US and is not commercially exploited. It is not appropriate to share printed cards made from copyrighted images with others or to sell them. For sharing or school settings, use open-source symbol sets like Mulberry Symbols or the free community boards on Boardmaker Share.

How do I get my child to actually use the picture cards instead of ignoring them?

Model use of the cards yourself constantly, even when your child isn't requesting anything. Point to the card every single time you say the word. Put cards where communication happens: on the fridge, near the toy bin, at the table. Make the card the bridge to something your child actually wants. Most children ignore cards they have no reason to use, so make the cards the fastest route to a preferred item or activity.

Can picture cards work alongside a speech-generating app or device?

Yes, and ASHA recommends it. Printed cards work as a low-tech backup when a device is unavailable, out of battery, or wrong for a setting. They also reinforce the same vocabulary in a different format, which supports generalization. Match the symbols on your cards to whatever symbol set the app or device uses so the child sees the same image in both places.

My child is destroying the cards. How do I make them more durable?

Laminate with packing tape (press clear tape on both sides, trim edges) or use self-laminating pouches from a dollar store. Print on card stock if you have it. For children who chew or mouth materials, add a ring clip through a hole in the corner so the card stays accessible without being loose on a surface. Replacing cards often is normal. Keep the digital files and reprint as needed.

Are there any free websites where I can just print picture cards without making them myself?

Yes. Do2Learn (do2learn.com) has a free library of printable picture cards with simple line drawings sorted by category. Boardmaker Share has free community boards using PCS symbols. The Mulberry Symbol Set (mulberrysymbols.org) is fully open-source and downloadable. All three require printing but no design work. Do2Learn is the fastest option for a parent who needs cards today.

Will making picture cards at home replace the need for a speech therapist?

No. Picture cards are a support tool, not a treatment. A speech-language pathologist assesses a child's specific communication needs, sets measurable goals, and uses evidence-based techniques across many methods. Homemade cards extend and reinforce therapy work at home. If your child has a language delay, an SLP evaluation is the right first step regardless of what materials you make.

How do I make a first-then board at home?

Fold a piece of card stock or stiff cardboard in half lengthwise. Write "First" on the left half and "Then" on the right half. Stick two small squares of Velcro (scratchy side) to each half. Put soft-side Velcro on the back of two picture cards. The child can see what comes first (a less preferred activity) and what comes after (a preferred activity). Total build time: about five minutes.

Sources

1. ASHA Practice Portal: Augmentative and Alternative Communication: ASHA describes visual supports and aided AAC as core strategies for building communication in children with language delays, emphasizing functional, motivating vocabulary selection.
2. ASHA Practice Portal: Late Language Emergence: Evidence-based intervention for late talkers includes environmental arrangement and visual supports; research specifies clarity and consistency of the visual, not the substrate it is printed on.
3. Schlosser RW & Sigafoos J (2006). Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 22(2): 78-99.: Review found that whether photographs or symbols work better varies by individual child; consistency of use matters more than the specific image format.
4. ASHA: Providing AAC Services in the Home: Choice boards presenting two to four picture options are a recommended entry-level visual communication support for young children.
5. Romski M et al. (2010). Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 26(3): 193-206.: Children whose caregivers modeled AAC use (aided language stimulation) at home showed significantly faster vocabulary growth than children in therapist-only conditions.
6. Bondy A & Frost L (1994). Picture Exchange Communication System. Behavior Modification, 18(4): 501-524. SAGE Journals.: PECS is a structured six-phase protocol requiring trained implementation; it differs from general picture card use in requiring physical card exchange directed at a communication partner.
7. ASHA Practice Portal: AAC for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: ASHA recommends that AAC users have a low-tech backup communication system available at all times.
8. Ganz JB et al. (2012). Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 6(4): 1305-1318. Elsevier.: Meta-analysis found positive effects of aided AAC interventions on expressive language for children with complex communication needs; aided AAC did not suppress speech development.
9. NIDCD: Autism Spectrum Disorder: Communication Problems in Children: NIDCD states visual supports are a well-established component of communication treatment for children with autism and language delays.
10. American Academy of Pediatrics: Language Delay: AAP recommends that children with language delays receive an SLP evaluation and that families receive strategies to support communication at home.
11. Mulberry Symbols Open-Source AAC Symbol Set: Mulberry Symbols is a freely downloadable open-source symbol library with several thousand symbols suitable for DIY AAC and picture card use.
12. Do2Learn: Picture Cards and Communication Resources: Do2Learn provides a free library of printable picture cards with simple line drawings organized by communication category.