This week we will talk about how we can help children with easy ways to respond to speech therapy at home.
It is important for parents to create activities that provide motivation and opportunities for children to develop language skills. Undoubtedly children begin to learn and understand words and phrases long before they say their first words. Parents and caregivers of children are essential factors for the early development of language and speech. But how can they help? Below you will find four easy ways to encourage your child to acquire language skills.
Discussion is encouraged
Talk to your child daily. Consider asking open-ended questions, not yes or no. For example, “What would you do if you saw a big elephant in our yard?” These questions cause children to activate their logical thinking and criticism. It also provokes a more detailed and enriched answer. It is a fun way to encourage children to express their ideas without fear of saying something wrong or right.
Listen, Listen, Listen carefully
Remember the kid’s phone game? Playing the phone is a great way to teach a child to listen to words and pronounce them. If you can not remember the game, here’s how to play it. Sit in a circle with friends, siblings and parents. A person whispers a word to the person next to him/her and in turn to the next person respectively. The goal of the phone is to finally come up with an expression with the word they started. If, for example, the child does speech therapy for the voice / s / then the phrase that can be created is “I wash my hands with soap”. When the child speaks to us, he/she offers us his/her thoughts giving the parent the opportunity to listen to his/her ideas and his feelings. They want to feel that they sound (like everyone right?)
Read
Reading is one of the most important activities you can do with your child. Ask questions about the pictures you see, ask the child to show you the objects in the pictures. Have your child narrate even if he/she is not reading, or imitate a hero from the fairy tale. Ask your child which hero he/she likes and why, ask him/her to make small suggestions. Find words with the phoneme he/she learns in speech therapy or name verbs. Example “What is the wolf doing there? It blows at home “. Do not be surprised if your child asks you to read it over and over again. Listening to the same story over and over again helps in the feeling of intimacy and security, while at the same time important language skills are built.
Make it fun
Young children learn when the experience is interactive and fun. If they feel that the activities are homework they will certainly not respond as good. Create in your child impatience and joy every time you work with him/her. For example, buy a mirror for his/her exercises, stick stickers every time he/she finishes, use his/her favorite toys.
Do you have favorite speech therapy methods that you do with your child at home? We will be very happy to hear your ideas.
Alexandra Papadopoulou
Speech Therapy