Menu

Speech Therapy Treatment

A mother talking with her daughter with her speech.

5 Ways You Can Help Your Child’s Language Development at Home

, 0

Your child’s language is constantly developing. Language development involves many different skills, and you can help these skills grow by using the steps shared here. It may seem overwhelming at first when trying to learn the best ways to support language development, but we’ll talk you through the process. 

Language is broadly thought of in two ways, receptive and expressive. These terms are beginning to change as newer research comes out, but they help us think about the skills children use. 

When you talk to your child, they use these skills to understand what you mean and then respond. The ways they understand what you say and express what they mean can be very different! 

Receptive Language Development 

Receptive language refers to the language we understand. We can listen to words, feel brail, read words, interpret symbols and more. These are all different ways we know what happens in the world around us. Children do this all the time. When they hear us speak, they process the words and those words have meaning.

Children can receive language by:

  • Listening to what others say
  • Reading books
  • Looking at symbols (AAC)
  • Seeing signs (ASL)
  • Feeling brail 

How Children Use Receptive Skills

Understanding what others say is critical for language development. Children use these skills in almost every aspect of their lives. When we speak to children we may think they are only listening to our speech sounds, but there is much more happening.  
 
Language means syntax. Children process language in many different ways and for a wide variety of skills. When you ask your child a question, they need to understand that you are asking a question. When you ask a child to clean up their room, they need to know the noun, verb and object in the sentence you said. We may expect a child to know complex sentences, but they may need to know simple words and phrases first. 
 
Children’s use these skills to:
 
  • Listen when you ask them to do something
  • Understand when you explain something 
  • Follow-directions, such as when doing homework
  • Sequence steps, such as when you use the words, ‘first’ and ‘next’
  • Learn new vocabulary words 
5 Ways You Can Help Your Child’s Language Development at Home

Expressive Language Development 

Expressive language refers to the language we use. We can say words, type sentences, press icons on an augmentative and alternative communication device (AAC) and sign. These are all different ways we express ourselves when communicating with others. It is critical that children get the chance to express themselves in a way that works best for them.

How Do I know the Way My Child Communicates Best? 

By learning how your child best communicates, you get the chance to support their language development when it matters the most. We should never ignore language for speech. These are completely different skills. To help a child grow their language skills, we first learn how they best communicate. A speech-language pathologist (SLP), can tell you exactly how your child best expresses their self. 
 

A licensed SLP can tell you which of these ways your child uses language to express their wants and needs:

  • Speech
  • AAC
  • Written language
  • Sign language 
If your child is an early communicator they might also use:
 
  • AAC
  • Gestures
  • Vocalizations

How Children Use Expressive Skills

Expressing our wants and needs is critical. Children use language in every aspect of their lives. While a child’s speech may be impaired or they may use an AAC device, they are still developing language. No matter how severe a child’s speech may be, they always need a way to express themselves and to grow their language skills. 
 
We may expect children to use long complex sentences, but we only help by meeting them where they are. We also help them by anticipating that they will use long complex sentences. Speech therapists call this ‘Communicative Competence.’ Children’s language development happens in a variety of ways. The more opportunities kids get to express themselves in different ways, the stronger their expressive skills will be. 
 
Children’s use these skills to:
 
  • Put words together to make phrases and sentences
  • Make comments socially 
  • Ask questions of others
  • Describe the world around them
  • Tell stories and explain events
These are only a few examples of how children use language. A speech therapist determines the areas of strength and need your child has and helps them build stronger skills in weaker areas. 

1. Model Language in Play

Modelling language in play is a powerful tool for supporting your child’s language development at home. Many speech therapists suggest this strategy to parents. It helps empower you and your child during those important years that skills develop. 

When you give a model, you use your child’s best method of communicating to describe what they are doing. You also describe your own actions in play. This gives your child rich language models. They get to learn how to put together words and phrases. 

Only 10% of what you say to your child during a play activity should include a question. Giving a rich narrative support the use of nouns, articles, verbs, objects, pronouns and more. 

Use these tips to boost language during playtime:

  • Speak at a slightly slower rate of speech
  • Use nouns, verbs, objects, pronouns, adjectives and prepositions
  • Describe events that include a variety of actions (different verbs)
  • Remember to include articles (i.e., ‘a,’ ‘an,’ and ‘the’)
  • Emphasize important phrases (e.g., “Up the stairs” and “In the kitchen”)

2. Communicate in the Same Way

When a child uses a different mode of communication, we need to also use that method. While it is important to use a variety of ways to share language with a child, using what they use helps support their skills. For example, if your child uses an AAC device, share activities by modeling what you want to say on their talker. You can also verbally say the words at the same time.

If your child understands sign language, then use signs during their everyday activities. For a child that does best expressing themselves in multiple ways, you might use signs, speech, gestures and more to speak with them. By being aware of how your child best shares their wants and needs, you get the chance to meet them where they are and interact together. 

5 Ways You Can Help Your Child’s Language Development at Home

3. Help Language Development with New Words

While we many words around children every day, by focusing on a few words each week, they get the chance to build better language. Pick out 1-5 words each week and use the other steps in our list to help your child learn them. This gives you a way to keep track of new words your child learns and know how well they learn them. It also gives you the chance to make your language models even better. 

What Words to Use for Language Development

When thinking of what words to use with your child to help language development, think of the parts of a sentence. Some of the most important words do not include nouns. We call these core words. Core words include the words that kids use to form most of their sentences. They are a small list of words that make up a large number of potential sentences. With these words, your child gets the chance to express their wants and needs in a variety of ways.

  • Verbs
  • Prepositions
  • Pronouns
  • Article
You can also use nouns though core words should be given the most focus. Nouns that you may choose may be about or from:

  • the season (fall, winter, spring, summer)
  • favorite activities
  • a specific event or occasion (e.g., birthday, visit to the aquarium)

4. Expand on What Your Child Says 

Another great tool is to expand on what your child says. For example, if your child said, “I go park,” you might repeat what they said by saying, “I go to the park.” Or, if your child said, “dog woof,” you might say, “Yes, the dog barked at the bird” (if that is what happened). By saying your child’s words back to them with correct grammar and extra words, you given them a rich language model. 

This tool lets you help your child make better sentences in play and in everyday activities. You also get a way of learning more of what your child says. By sharing examples of your child’s sentences with their speech therapist, the SLP learns even more about how to best support them. 

When you expand on your child’s phrases and sentences, try to include plenty of adjectives as well. Adjectives provide description and will give your child ways of thinking of the words they already know. For example, if your child says, “dog play,” you might say, “The brown dog is playing in the soft grass.” These words expand on sentences and also describe the world. 

When you expand on your child’s words with adjectives, consider using words from these groups:

  • Size 
  • Shape 
  • Color
  • Texture
  • Scent or taste
  • Emotion (e.g., silly, excited)

5. Participate in New Activities 

While language means putting words together, vocabulary helps increase the what a child can say. Talking to your child and using new vocabulary words is helpful but using those words in context is key. By using new words around your child when participating in activities, your child gets the chance to connect those words to what they actually mean. 

By participating in new activities your child enjoys, they learn new words and build off of words they already know. Language development happens naturally but is enriched through experience. When a child visits a zoo for the first time, they get to hear all the words used there. For example, they might hear: fish, lion, bird, water and trees. They also get to hear you put words together. For example, you might describe what you see and say, “I see a lion getting ready to roar” or “The penguins are jumping into the cold water.” 

When you visit a new place, think about how you can make it a language rich experience for your child. Use the other ways to build these skills as well. 

Get Your Child Started with Expert Speech Therapy

While we shared the 5 ways to help your child’s language development at home, it is critical that they also receive speech therapy. These steps supplement ongoing treatment with a licensed SLP. If your child struggles to understand what you say or express their wants and needs, contact a speech therapist today to get them the support they need. 

Services are provided to all PA residents at this time.
Get Your Free Consultation
A speech pathologist helps a child complete schoolwork.

How a Speech Pathologist Can Help Kids with Cognitive Challenges

0

We talk about how a speech pathologist can help kids participate in everyday life skills, perform better in school and build a foundation for the future. Cognitive challenges in kids may mean struggling to follow directions, remember crucial information and maintain friendships. While many people may know that SLPs treat speech and language difficulties, parents may not know they support kids’ thinking skills too. We call these specific thinking abilities ‘Executive functioning’ skills. 

Speech Pathologists Specialize in Thinking Skills

Speech pathologists specialize in giving kids the opportunity to build stronger thinking skills. These critical skills have wide-ranging effects on all other aspects of a child’s life. 

For example, a child who has these difficulties may struggle to:

  • Follow directions
  • Recall important information 
  • Stay organized 
  • Make plans with friends
  • Complete everyday activities 
  • Make and achieve goals 

How These Skills Impact Success at School 

Behind every academic task, thinking skills provide critical support. We may take these skills for granted. While we may organize ourselves, multi-task, and plan for the future, children may greatly struggle to do the same. Once parents recognize that their kids struggle with everyday tasks or in school, they can take steps to get the them the support they need. 

When a teacher asks a child to remember something, follow directions or prepare for a test, the child uses these important skills. In the case that children need to organize and do their homework, plan to spend time with friends or get ready for a job interview, they also use these skills. 

We share examples of school tasks that require executive functioning skills:

  • Preparing for tests
  • Studying and recalling facts
  • Following written and spoken directions
  • Organizing and completing homework
  • Attending to the teacher 

How These Skills Impact Success at Home

Parents may wonder or share concerns that their child struggles to do everyday activities at home. Speech pathologist can help by learning the strengths and needs of the child and giving unique and personalized therapy. 

These activities may involve chores around the house, listening to and following the directions of a parent and performing life skills, such as brushing their teeth and getting dressed. 

A child who may need support for these thinking skills at home may struggle to:

  • Brush their teeth on their own
  • Do chores around the house
  • Get dressed on their own
  • Maintain friendships 
  • Make meals on their own 

A Speech Pathologist Treats These Skills in a Meaningful Way 

A licensed speech therapist treats these skills by focusing on each one in an effective and meaningful way. When a speech therapist supports these skills, she or he makes sure that the therapy involves activities important to the child’s life. 

These skills include:

  • Memory 
  • Attention
  • Organization
  • Planning 

If a child needs support in one of these areas, an SLP provides therapy in a meaningful way, related to the child’s interests. This means providing therapy that includes everyday tasks, schoolwork and job-related activities. When a parent gets therapy for their child, she or he should make sure that goals include these important parts of their life. 

Getting Started with Effective Speech Therapy

Once a parent decides to get their child the support they need, they may contact a speech therapist. If the child struggles to follow directions, make plans and stay organized, they might tell a therapist and ask for suggestions. Parents first get started by scheduling an evaluation to learn if the child needs therapy. 

By parents finding out exactly what their child needs, they give them the opportunity to build critical skills they will use for the rest of their life. Importantly, these skills support other skills. Through research-based speech therapy, kids get the means to participate in life and perform better at school. 

Services are provided to all PA residents at this time. 

Get Your Free Consultation
A girl participates in speech therapy treatment using an iPAD.

What Speech Therapy Treatment for Kids Looks Like

0

When you look for speech therapy treatment, you may wonder what the therapy process looks like. To begin, a wide range of factors make up what therapy looks like for kids, and it is always customized to your child’s needs. Because speech therapy treatment is customized to your child, the therapy process may appear different than for other kids. However, therapy involves some of the same important pieces, and we’ll talk about those here. 

How Does Speech Therapy Treatment Start?

Speech therapy treatment for kids usually starts with an evaluation, unless one was recently completed and provided to the therapist. Following the evaluation, the sessions usually begin with rapport building. This means that your speech therapist takes time out of the session to get to know your child and make sure that therapy is fun! Therapists ask your child some of their favorite activities and try to include those in future sessions. It is important that your child feels happy and comfortable before therapy begins!
 

Why Do Therapists Use Games?

We talk about this in our post, “Why Speech Therapists Use Play.” Through play, therapists provide speech therapy treatment that is effective and fun. Games and toys also include many opportunities to learn new language skills. Activities and games make for a great way to use speech models and language strategies. 
 
Always remember that online speech therapy should be a positive experience! While sometimes therapy and learning skills may be challenging, the overall quality of the sessions should be positive for your child. Learning happens when your child is having fun and is engaged in the activities. This helps build strong motivation to participate and learn more, resulting in greater progress in speech goals. 
 

How Do Kids Make Progress in Online Speech Therapy?

Kids make progress by participating and interacting with their therapist. Their language therapist will show or say to them different stimuli (visual, verbal, gestural, etc.), and by responding they gain skills over time. Your child makes progress by producing sounds, words, sentences, and more with the direct support of a pediatric speech-language pathologist. 
 
Importantly, know that even if your child appears to be ‘just playing,’ in therapy, they are actually practicing their skills. Progress varies by child and no speech therapist can ethically provide a timeline of how long services will take. 
 

Speech Therapy Treatment Differences

Because speech therapy treatment varies from child to child, every session may vary. Sessions depend on your child’s needs and what they work on in therapy. For example, if your child has challenges with social communication, they may focus on metaphors, social situations and turn-taking. A child who needs support with making speech sounds would focus on learning how to make those sounds correctly. 
 
Based on your child’s speech goals, the activities, and techniques used, the session may vary greatly between therapists. In the early stage, it may help to have your child see one therapist consistently, and then once skills begin to establish, have them see multiple therapists.
 

What Happens If My Child Can’t Answer Questions?

A common concern of parents occurs when they see their child having difficulty answering questions or participating in therapy. However, the challenge they face in responding essentially is the therapy. Importantly, never give away answers when your child participates in therapy unless requested to do so by a therapist. The challenge of therapy means learning. 
 
Your pediatric speech language pathologist knows how to support your child during these challenges. The therapist provides exactly timed support to ensure they effectively learn new skills. Importantly, the goal is that your child will eventually complete the task without help across all settings. We call this generalization. 
 

How Do I Get Started with Speech Therapy Treatment?

If you are concerned about your child’s communication, reach out to a licensed speech therapist to learn more about what steps to take next. Firstly, if concern exists and a therapist finds it valid, they begin by providing an evaluation. The evaluation helps them understand your child’s needs and how to best support them in therapy.
 
Once your therapist completes the evaluation and determines a need for speech therapy services, treatment begins!
 
We provide services to all PA residents at this time.
 
Get Your Free Consultation
A child plays with blocks during speech therapy.

Why Speech Therapy Uses Play

, , 0

Many parents may wonder why their children participate in play therapy during their online speech therapy sessions. Just like in in-person therapy, children benefit greatly from services that use play. Play provides a wonderful opportunity for children to feel motivated and have a positive experience while learning the skills they need. Play also gives licensed speech therapists a powerful means of practicing these skills with kids. 

 

What Is Play Therapy? 

Play therapy is a means in which many evidence-based practices are used to effectively teach children the speech and language skills they need. Children’s speech therapy needs to be engaging and fun for kids to learn. It should also be a positive experience. Play therapy does both of these things. When kids are having fun, they are more motivated and that motivation strongly supports success in therapy. 
 

How Online Speech Therapy for Kids Uses Play Therapy

When children participate in virtual speech therapy, they also play games and bring their own toys to the sessions. By playing games, kids stay engaged but it also give them opportunity to learn skills in context. For example, when kids play a game in therapy, that game may include many different skills they need to make progress. 
 
For example, when children play an app with characters in a house, they get to talk about what the character is doing, where its going and why. They get to describe events and use their communication skills to request, comment and share what they see. 
 

Rewards and Effective Speech Therapy Programs

Games and toys provide plenty of opportunities for kids to learn the skills they need in a way that they understand and in a way they remember. Sometimes therapists use games and toys as rewards. When a child does well participating or participates for the full time to complete an activity, they might play a game as a reward. 
 
There are also many evidence-based programs that focus on play in speech therapy for kids. These programs include evidence to treat many different speech and language needs. Play therapy is an especially powerful tool for helping younger kids who may not otherwise be motivated to participate in therapy. 
 

Play in Speech Therapy Services Explained

Some parents may wonder why their child is playing in when they go for therapy. However, because play is a powerful tool, there are always two levels to therapy. There is the level that kids see, which is playing games and having fun. Then there is the level that speech therapists see, which is providing vital treatment to kids through play. 
 
If you look and listen to what you pediatric speech language pathologist says during play, you’ll find that everything is focused on your child’s skills. You can learn what these skills are by checking their treatment plan and the goals they have. Goals outline what your child works on in speech. Every time your child plays in therapy, they also learn and make progress in their goals. 
 

What Does Play Therapy Look Like?

In play therapy, many different games, toys and apps help to give context to the skills your child learns. For example, if your child plays with a doll house, they will have the chance to practice a wide variety of words, phrases and sentences with their therapist. These words and phrases may include verbs, adjectives, pronouns, prepositions and more. 
 
For early learners, play therapy might focus mainly on joint attention and turn-taking. Joint attention is when your child is aware of their therapist and aware that their therapist is attending to the same object they are. It may also mean they are aware of and attending their speech therapist. Turn-taking means that your child takes turns with others in play or other activities, an important skill for social communication. 
 

Is Play Only Used In Children’s Speech Therapy?

Children participate in play in many places, especially at home. You can use play at home with your child to help support their skills. By using language strategies or giving strong speech models, you given them the chance to hear how speech and language are made. 
 
Importantly, play at home only supplements speech therapy services for kids, so your child should also be seeing a licensed professional. However, by practicing strategies with your child during playtime, you support their development and learn more about how their therapist may help them. 
 

What Words Do I Use in Play?

Enrich your child’s playtime experience by talking about what you do in play and what they do in play. Importantly, focus on talking about what’s happening rather than asking questions. Questions you ask should only account for 10% of playtime. 
 
Learn more about core words and practice using them during playtime with your child. Core words include common words that children use to make many different sentences. These words include verbs, pronouns, prepositions and adjectives. 
 
By using these words in phrases and sentences, such as ‘you go,’ ‘go up,’ ‘we walk,’ ‘down slide,’ and ‘I get food,’ you help your child’s language skills. Think about the play activities and which of core words you may best use. 
 

Why Speech Therapists Use Play

In this post, we talked about why play is used in children’s speech therapy services. Play provides a powerful opportunity for children to learn new skills. Evidence-based programs exist around play and parents use play at home to support their child’s communication. 
 
By using play, pediatric speech language pathologists provide both rewarding and effective treatment. Speak to your licensed language therapist today to learn more about how to help your child’s communication in play today. 
 
We provide services to all PA residents at this time. 
 
Get Your Free Consultation

Load More