For many of our parents, it can be very challenging to come up with ideas for home speech therapy practice.
Trying to think about how to incorporate your child’s target words/sounds/concepts into activities with the familiar toys at home can be frustrating, especially when your child engages more easily and is highly motivated when working with the novel toys at the speech pathology clinic!
Never fear, you’re not alone! And your Speech Pathologist will be able to provide you with handouts and ideas for games and how to incorporate your targets at home.
In the meantime, read below for two ideas to fill the gaps.
Build speech therapy into your daily routine
Daily routines provide some of the best opportunities for your child to learn their speech and language targets. This is because the target is used in context that is relevant to the child. Make every opportunity a learning activity — a trip to the shops, bath-time or getting dressed. Start to model words in your child’s environment. Point to things, name them, sing a nursery rhyme, or ask a question.
It is important to remember to model the target sound or vocabulary. That way your child can learn what you are asking of them. For example, Jack is working on his /t/ sound. He also needs support developing his vocabulary. At the supermarket, his mother picks ‘trolley’ as a target word for him to learn and say correctly.
Mum: “Here’s the Teddy, here’s the Teddy. You’re holding the……” (mum waits for Jack to fill the gap )
Jack: “Deddy!”
Mum: “Teddy, fix it up!”
Jack: “Teddy”
Keep your message short, relevant and conversation natural. It’s easier than you think!
Busy Bugs
The Internet has countless resources and activities … But … who has the time to sift through and find do-able activities? Liz and Lynn at Busy Bugs Early Speech and Language Resources do! This is an Australian website FULL of FREE quick and easy activities for both articulation and language therapy. We particularly like the activity kits (found under the dark pink Books tab). These pdf’s contain activities for children 6 months to 3 years and detail the materials needed (nothing you don’t already have!), jobs for child as well as jobs for parent.
The best part about is website, is that it is Australian, so the ideas and sounds are relevant to our children and we don’t have to sift through the raccoons, cell phones and chipmunks.
There are also many other resources on the Busy Bugs website. You will find information about speech and language development, toy reviews, how to incorporate books into therapy and much more!
If you are really stuck for ideas, speak to your Speech Pathologist. Good luck and happy home-practicing!