Speech Therapy at Home with Telepractice

Speech Therapy Techniques
Telepractice for Speech Therapy at Home

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Do you remember life before the Internet? When I was a kid, we didn’t even have a computer for quite a long time. When we finally got one, the modem was one of those ancient dial-ups. I could start loading a Web page, run around the block a few times, and it would still be loading by the time I got back. We might curse modern technology for its glitches and for constantly making us buy new upgrades, but the truth of the matter is that it quite often makes our lives easier. When your child is diagnosed with a speech disorder, you can find a qualified speech-language pathologist (SLP) via Google. You can also look up activities for speech therapy at home. You can practice speech therapy techniques with your child using the online Speech Buddies University. The simple, easy-to-use interface of Speech Buddies University may be used at various levels and for various target sounds.

And now, you can even take your child to see his speech therapist without getting into the car. Speech therapy at home with telepractice has been making waves in the speech therapy world lately, with good reason. It’s convenient, it works, and it lets you connect with a qualified SLP no matter where you live. So what, exactly, is telepractice?

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How to Talk to an Autistic Child & Get a Response

Autism
Autistic Child Infographic

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Every autistic child is unique, with his own set of particular challenges to overcome. If your autistic child has trouble with communication, talk to his speech-language pathologist (SLP) about at-home speech therapy activities and tools that can help him. Speech Buddies, for example, have helped many kids with autism learn to communicate more effectively. You can also use a few speech therapy techniques to encourage your autistic child to respond to you. It may help to adjust the way you speak. Always keep your audience in mind.

For example, if you’re at a family reunion and somebody asks you what you do for a living, you probably wouldn’t immediately jump into the details of corporate tax news. You’d just say you were a tax preparer because you’re less likely to get a blank stare in response. Likewise, by altering your language and the way in which you use it, you may be more likely to get a response from your child.

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How to Teach the “Ch” Sound

Speech Therapy Techniques
Speech Therapist Working with Child

Image source: speechbeginnings.com

The “Ch” Sound

The “ch” sound is produced by touching the tip of the tongue to the roof of the mouth to block the passage of air very briefly before releasing it through the mouth. Say “chicken.” Notice how the tip of your tongue touches the roof of your mouth just behind your front teeth? You might also notice that your lips pucker slightly and that your vocal cords do not vibrate when pronouncing the “ch” sound. This sound is a voiceless stop consonant. It combines the “t” and “sh” sounds.

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Coping with Expressive Language Disorders

Speech Disorders
Speech Therapist Working with Child on Vocabulary

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Expressive language refers to the way in which a person expresses his ideas or feelings verbally or nonverbally. Receptive language refers to the ability of a person to understand another person’s communication. A child could have a mixed expressive and receptive language disorder or just an expressive language disorder. A developmental expressive language disorder has no known cause, while an acquired disorder is generally the result of a traumatic brain injury or a similar medical problem.

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How to Teach the “P” Sound

Speech Therapy Techniques
Speech Therapist Working with Child

Image source: icanteachmychild.com

Your child’s speech-language pathologist (SLP) should provide you with activities to do at home to encourage your child’s progress. If not, ask the SLP for “homework.” If your child needs help with individual sounds, work on helping him master those sounds before moving on to syllables and whole words.

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