All children develop their communication abilities at their own speed. From crying, to babbling, to basic word structures and finally more complex language, each child follows their own timeline on their path to becoming an effective speaker.
However, oftentimes children don’t hit speech and language milestones appropriate for their age. Maybe they’re experiencing a delay in speech development compared to similarly aged children, or perhaps they don’t respond with language or gestures when you point, or ask them a question, or say their name.
This may be a sign that your child has a speech and language disorder. It can be worrisome for parents, many of whom don’t know whether they’re child is just a late-bloomer, or if they have a more serious problem that could continue into school-age years and even adulthood.
As speech and language issues can affect children’s academic, social, and emotional development, it’s imperative that you speak with your doctor if you have any concerns. In many cases, they may recommend that your child sees a speech-language pathologist, which are the most qualified professionals to evaluate, diagnosis and treat speech and language disorders.
However, this doesn’t mean your work is done.
Regardless of your child’s condition, or whether their issues are minor or more severe, parents are critical in helping their children make progress towards their communication goals.
Think about it: learning speech and language skills is just like learning anything else. Mastering a new instrument, for example, takes practice, persistence, and patience. Sure, you’ll learn a few new scales and chords if you only attend your weekly lessons, but those serious about improving continue to practice and reinforce new techniques at home. Speech therapy is the same way.
That’s why parents and guardians are so essential. Research has shown that when parents are actively involved in helping their child develop their speech and language skills, children make considerably more progress towards their goals.
Why Parents Are so Important
From electricians to mechanics, we rely on highly-trained specialists to fix our problems. However, speech therapy doesn’t work the same way. We need to be active collaborators with our speech therapists, helping to apply the lessons and techniques they teach into our child’s daily life.
Below are a few reasons why parental engagement is so important:
● No one Knows Their Child Better: If speech therapists bring clinical recommendations and treatment to the table, then parents bring expertise on the child. While speech therapists will do everything to understand a child’s needs, struggles, and preferred learning styles, they’ll never replace a parent’s intuitive connection with their child. You know your child’s personality and temperament best – which makes you the ideal teacher!
● Every Moment is a Learning Moment: It’s tempting to think that speech and language therapy happens in a classroom or specialized clinic. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Teaching your child critical developmental skills doesn’t require a desk or chair or even materials! In fact, practicing speech therapy skills can happen during bath-time, play-time, trips to the grocery store, the dinner table – you name it!
● Comforting Environment: Many children learn best in an environment they’re most comfortable. Working with your child at home is a familiar and stress-free way to put the skills they learned in therapy into practice.
● Speaking With Those That Matter: Children learn to use language by speaking and communicating with the ones they love. When children see a therapist, they gain valuable education, but when they communicate with you during everyday activities, they’re able to put that knowledge into practice.
Simple Ways to Engage and Educate Your Child
Arming yourself with knowledge, resources, and skills is important to help reinforce speech therapy practices at home. Depending on your child’s diagnosis and treatment plan, these strategies will vary. However, here are a few suggestions that make it easy for parents to get involved in a way that feels fun and natural.
● Flash Cards: If your child is having trouble pronouncing certain sounds, syllables, or phrases, try building flashcards. This can be a fun method to get kids to practice areas they’re having trouble mastering. When they say a word correctly, find ways to praise and reward them, such as offering your child a tasty treat.
● Narrate Your Daily Life: Simply narrating your life can help introduce children to language and make connections to the world around them. Parents can sing in the car, describe what you’re cooking, or speak out loud about what’s happening on the television
● Reading Books: There’s no greater gift you can give a child than the love of reading. Reading out loud with your child, ask them thought-provoking questions, and encourage them to repeat after you. You can read more about making reading fun and engaging for children here.
● Fun, At-Home Exercises: Just as putting cheese on broccoli helps kids consume their vegetables (it works for me!), engaging activities can make the practice of repetition, corrections, and cues more enjoyable. Fortunately, there are many valuable blogs and resources out there that I regularly turn to for help. Some of these include the ASHA, Home Speech Home, and Mommy Speech Therapy.
● Recording Videos: I created an instructional YouTube series with a range of videos that teach parents common techniques to improve their child’s language development. These videos provide helpful tips and strategies for making speech therapy a natural part of everyday life, and cover topics such as: Modeling Words, Joint Attention, Using Choices, Reading to Toddlers, and Teaching Children How to Take Turns
About Leanne Sherred, M.S. CCC-SLP:
Leanne calls Austin, Texas home but studied Speech and Hearing Sciences at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and gained her Master’s in Speech-language pathology from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She has worked in pediatric outpatient clinics, schools, early intervention, and home health. Leanne is currently the President and Founder of Expressable, an online speech therapy company that envisions a modern and affordable way for anyone who needs speech therapy to access these vital services. You can check out her blog here.
