Do you have a loved one that receives speech therapy?
Practicing outside of speech therapy is incredibly beneficial to the client. If you are someone who has a loved one in speech therapy read the following “tips” to help continue their progress on specific communication skills:
Give them the opportunity
We often don’t recognize all the daily opportunities we have to our advantage. Example: The child wants an apple, but only points to it. You can use this opportunity for practice. You should point to the apple and call the fruit by its name. Give the child the opportunity to say “apple” by asking them to do so before you give it to them. Wait for a verbalization to happen and if it doesn’t happen repeat the word to them, you can also say ” Do you want the apple?” to reiterate the name. This can be done in many situations whether naming things or trying to expand on utterances.
Make it fun
Practicing at home, on the road, or anywhere you like can be fun! Having fun is always attractive. Example: Get crafty! Let’s say your child needs to practice naming 6-8 related items, begin with drawing a spider without legs (or if you don’t dig spiders maybe a flower with out petals) and in the middle of the spider or flower write “yellow things”. Have the child tell you or write in all the related items as the legs or the petals. Finishing this activity will leave the child with a nice craft and hands on practice.
Talk to the therapist
The examples above are related to specific goals. Do you know your loved one’s goals? Whether it’s a receptive, expressive or articulation goal there is a way to practice. Talking to the therapist can greatly benefit your child. If you engage with the therapist you can learn tricks and tips that are useful to your loved one’s success. Example:You sit in during the session and your child’s has an expressive goal that includes semantic cueing. No idea what semantic cues are? Ask the therapist and you should find that there is indeed a way to help at home. SLP’s can give you handouts that include information related to any area in speech therapy. Do not be afraid to ask questions!
If you or someone you know needs the services of a licensed and certified speech-language pathologist, please be sure to discuss your concerns with a physician, a speech-language pathologist, or another qualified provider. You can also find a provider through the ASHA ProFind service or visit us at www.bilingualspeech.org for more information. NOTE: This article is intended only as a general source of information, i.e, it is not intended to replace information given to you by a qualified health professional that is familiar with your particular circumstances. Lastly, if you have an urgent medical need, please seek immediate medical attention.