Easy At Home Speech Therapy Ideas

Parents can conduct at-home speech therapy techniques with their children with easy, everyday activities.

For a child with any type of speech delay or language problem, professional speech therapy is an invaluable tool. Therapy does not have to be limited to visit to a speech therapists office however. There are many options for parents who are looking for a little help in dealing with their child’s speech disorder. Often, professional speech therapists are expensive, not covered by insurance and sometimes just not a feasible option for families living in rural areas. Additionally, if your child is visiting a speech therapist regularly, there are times (such as Summer vacation) where at home therapy can help keep your child progressing. What are some “at home” options for your child? Do they really work? Many of you are thinking, “I am not a certified speech therapist”, where would I even begin to start?

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7 Ways to Build Confidence in Kids with Speech Disorders

by Chris O Speech Disorders

Help Your Child Develop Self-Esteem in the Face of Communication Challenges

What self confidence and esteem looks like

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Speech disorders and delays can not only effect how children are able to communicate, but also their confidence and self-esteem. When this happens, their behavior, learning, and relationships can be affected to various degrees. In fact, some researchers propose that kids with speech delays can be more at risk for things such as bullying because they can seem more reclusive. There are ways, however, that parents, teachers, and caregivers can help build confidence and ease frustrations.

1. Help them meet other kids with speech disorders.

If your child is the only one in his class with a speech delay, he might already feel the pressure of being different. Introduce him to other kids who face some of the same challenges. When our kids feel like they are not the only ones experiencing a challenge, they feel a sense of belonging. Belonging – having comrades – not only helps to provide comfort, but can be a great resource for support and possible tools for speech therapy techniques. Continue reading →

Reaching Through the Autism Barrier with Music and Speech Therapy

by Chris O Language Development Speech Disorders Speech Therapist Speech Therapy Techniques

How Speech Therapy and Music Can Work Together to Help Those with ASD

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If your child has been diagnosed with ASD – Autism Spectrum Disorder – you already know about some of the hurdles they face. While Autism doesn’t have characteristic physical features, like other brain abnormalities and injuries it is often marked by depressed or delayed communication skills, making interacting with the world so much harder. It sometimes feels as if there is an invisible barrier between your child and the people and experiences that make up your community. New approaches with music in speech therapy have been showing great promise for kids with Autism – from high functioning Autistic children to nonverbal Autistic children. Music therapy in general has been used for decades to treat anything from cognitive to behavioral to social disorders. Now speech-language therapists are finding the benefits of this therapy method to help their Autistic patients. Continue reading →

The Role of Culture in Articulation Disorders

by Chris O Language Development Speech Disorders Speech Therapist

When is Articulation Disorder More than an Accent or Dialect?

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If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then sometimes the speech disorder is in the ear of the listener. If you’ve done any travelling, live in a large city with cultural depth, or have moved from one state to another, you have probably noticed various accents and dialects within the same language. When it comes to articulation disorders, sometimes it is actually more dialectal difference than actual disorder.

Articulation Disorders

Typical articulation disorders that emerge in childhood might include any of the four following:

Adding – new sounds are added to words, such as a child saying /incredibubble/ instead of /incredible/
Deleting – a sound is deleted from the word, such as a child saying /do/ instead of /dog/
Distorting – the sounds are altered, such as a child saying /grampa/ instead of /grandpa/
Substituting – a new sound is substituted for an original, such as a child saying /free/ instead of /three/

In fact, many times very young children are just experimenting with language and these signs of disorders are outgrown by the time the first day of kindergarten has arrived. For some kids, however, these articulation disorders persist and speech therapy is used to help them overcome these communication hurdles. Continue reading →

Is It a He Or a She?!? Speech Therapy Activities for Pronouns!

by Jacky G. Speech Therapy Techniques

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With so many speech therapy activities that emphasize articulation, fluency, and pragmatic language use, pronouns can sometimes get overlooked. Does your youngster mix up his “he’s” and “she’s?” It’s perfectly normal for a young child to occasionally mix up pronouns, and remember that every child’s language development is different. The typical toddler will begin to learn more nouns and pronouns when he reaches 24 to 36 months of age. When your kidlet is 24 months old, he will typically begin to use “I,” “me,” and “you” correctly; however, it’s common to mix up the “I” and “me.” He’ll likely master it by the time he reaches the ripe old age of 36 months. But you can help encourage your child’s language development and correct his pronoun usage with at-home speech therapy techniques. Collaborate with your youngster’s speech-language pathologist (SLP) for age-appropriate techniques, and check out our suggested speech therapy activities below for inspiration.