Discover practical, fun ways to support your child's speech development at home—from capturing attention to encouraging reading, using mirrors, and building confidence through positive reinforcement.
As a parent, supporting your child in speech and language therapy can be challenging and stressful when you don't have the know-how. However, you should start helping your baby through home-based speech therapy as soon as possible. Therefore, this calls for you to learn the best ways to support your child learn how to speak.
A child with speech difficulties can significantly benefit from your encouragement and support through simple home-based speech therapy sessions.
So, are you searching for ways to improve your child's speech? If so, there are fun and involving ways to support your little one learn how to speak.
According to ASHA: The most effective way to get your child's attention is to get down to his/her thinking level and engage with him/her.
By thinking, acting, and talking at the same level as your, you can attract their attention. You can also call your child by his/her name to capture attention before talking or asking a question.
Eventually, an attentive child is likely to learn how to utter words, enhancing his/her speech capability.
As a grown-up, your thinking capacity is high, and you can process information fast. However, your child will need more time to process information before responding.
Avoid pressuring your child to respond as this can affect their thinking.
Ensure you maintain eye contact as you patiently wait for his/her response.
Reading is part and parcel of the therapies for children with speech problems.
Start by introducing your child to reading simple books with repetitive words and phrases
Encourage your kid to read the same book several times to help him/her exercise and develop self-confidence
As your child grows, provide him/her with slightly challenging books to advance speech and language skills
Guiding and encouraging your child to read different books can significantly improve his/her speech.
Modeling is used as an essential aspect in speech therapy programs. You can use a wall mirror to make speech learning fun for your child while helping him/her learn how to pronounce words.
How It Works:
A child with speech or language difficulties often has challenges understanding long directions.
Key Principle:
The fewer words you use to give directives, the better for your child.
Breaking down the instructions can help him/her learn much and eventually improve his/her speech.
Always Do:
Always encourage your child's effort towards speaking even when he/she isn't getting the words right.
Don't Point Out Mistakes:
If your child says a word wrongly, show him/her the right way instead of pointing out the mistake.
Example:
Child says: "I wanted to school"
You reply: "Wow, you went to school!"
By avoiding pointing out the mistake, you encouragingly correct your child, helping him/her learn speech quickly.
Come up with exciting stories where you narrate fascinating animal characters to your child.
Story Guidelines:
Learning how to speak can be challenging for children. Therefore, if your child has speech and language delays, things can only become more challenging.
However, there are various ways you can support your child through home-based speech therapies. For instance, you can start by capturing your child's attention, giving enough time to respond, encouraging reading, and using a wall mirror for pronunciation.
You should also give short instructions, avoid criticizing and tell exciting stories.
Ultimately, through these home speech therapies, you can enhance your child's speech and help them thrive.
Author: Sheryl Wright
Support your child's speech therapy through seven powerful techniques: capture attention by getting to their level, give enough processing time without pressure, encourage reading with repetitive books, use wall mirrors for fun pronunciation practice, shorten directions into simple steps, encourage efforts rather than criticizing mistakes (model correct speech positively), and tell engaging animal stories with happy endings. With patience and consistent home practice, you can significantly enhance your child's speech development.