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Many at-home speech therapy activities and techniques, such as Speech Buddies, can often be squeezed into a few minutes here and there before bedtime, while making dinner, etc. In many cases, simply knowing how to talk to your speech disordered child can make a huge difference. But did you know that you can also customize your child’s favorite sport to turn it into a fun speech therapy session?
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Speech therapy activities often work to improve a child’s understanding of language. If you’ve read our recent posts on boosting expressive language and receptive language skills in children, you’ve probably already realized that vocabulary has a lot to do with those crucial areas. After all, how can your youngster follow your direction to “Stop aggravating your sister, Billy!” when he does not yet understand the word “aggravating”? Before jumping to the conclusion that your tiny tot is in a rebellious stage and is purposefully trying not to follow directions, consider whether he understands the vocab you’re using.
Building a child’s vocabulary probably sounds like a tedious task. But you can banish those images in your head of long hours spent doing flashcard drills (unless, of course, your youngster actually – gasp! – enjoys doing flashcards). Building your kidlet’s vocab can – and should – be fun! There are countless games you can play that helps strengthen vocab skills, and I’ve listed a few of them in this post to get you started. As always, it’s important to collaborate with your child’s speech-language pathologist (SLP). She can point you in the right direction for speech therapy activities that suit your child’s needs.
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Are you the type of person who dips a toe in the pool to test the temperature or do you prefer to dive in headfirst? It’s often difficult to navigate an entirely new field of study, whether you’re just beginning to learn about speech therapy activities or whether you’re analyzing MySQL performance with TCP/IP network traffic. The technical jargon might seem impossible at first, but if you keep reading everything you can on the subject, it will eventually become second nature to you. Although your child’s speech-language pathologist (SLP) will be doing the lion’s share of the work, your child can greatly benefit from doing speech therapy activities at home with you. By accelerating his progress, you can watch him overcome his speech disorder even sooner. So without further ado, here are some of the common speech therapy activities and techniques your child’s SLP might use with him. Bear in mind that every child and every SLP are different, so be sure to consult your SLP about the best speech therapy activities for your youngster.
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For many people, autumn holds the promise of beautiful, breath-taking foliage and fun activities like apple picking. If you love this time of year, you’re probably already stocking up on hot chocolate and visiting your local farmer’s market for bagfuls of colorful pumpkins and acorn squash. (Or, if you’re like me, you’re stocking up on heavy-duty hand lotions to combat dry, lizard-like winter skin.) But if you’re a speech-language pathologist (SLP) or a parent of a speech disordered child, you’re also probably looking for ways to incorporate the season into speech therapy lessons. There are lots of fun activities to do in the fall. With a little tweaking, you can customize your family outings into engaging speech therapy activities. Plus, you’re more likely to keep your child’s attention with hands-on activities than with flashcards.
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We’ve all been there before: your toddler gets hungry or bored in the supermarket and throws an embarrassing temper tantrum in aisle 3. Or your teenage son starts getting fidgety during a dinner party and tries to stick his spoon to his nose. Kids will be kids, but what do you do when your child is bored with his speech therapy activities? If your child’s speech-language pathologist (SLP) has informed you that little Matthew seems to be slacking off in his efforts during speech therapy, he might be getting bored with the activities. Most kids crave entertainment and stimulation. Instead of trying to cajole your child to put in more effort, change the method of instruction. Talk with the SLP about the current activities she is using during speech therapy sessions and review what you’re doing at home. To keep your child engaged in learning, a change is definitely in order.
