Looking for ways to become more involved in your child’s therapy? Look no further! There is no “wrong” way to become involved. Just by trying you will make a difference. Here are some ways to get you going;
1. Try some therapy on the go.
a. It can be overwhelming to think about working on goals when it feels like you have a million things to do, but in reality, that is the perfect time to practice. Why? Because your child does not live in the therapy room! When you work on goals in the real world, it helps them take the skills they learned in therapy and apply them to real life.
i. Example: Working on following directions? Bring your child to the grocery store when you need to pick up a few things. Try prompting them with directions such as “Pick up the Oreos and hand them to me”, or “Grab the pack of napkins, then the plastic forks, and put them in the cart”. Practice makes perfect, plus the kids will feel like they are helping you.
ii. Example: Working on using longer sentences? Bring your child to go holiday shopping with you. If they see something they like, have them tell you about it when they get home. Bonus: You can go back later and get something that caught their eye, takes some of the guesswork out of gifts.
iii. Example: Working on taking turns? When you are driving with your child in the car, take turns pointing out different road signs or colors you see while you drive.
2. Build therapy into day-to-day routines.
a. Brainstorm ways you can incorporate therapy into your daily routines. The structure of a routine is a great platform for therapy, and once you work on goals within a routine a few times, it will become an expected part of the routine itself.
i. Example: Working on reading comprehension? When you read a bedtime story to your child, ask questions throughout. Talk about the beginning, the middle, and the end. Have the child answer wh-questions or predict what is going to happen next. This is activity that has a lot of room for working on a lot of goals.
ii. Example: Working on asking questions? Play a “conversation starter” game at dinner. Take turns asking each other questions. Don’t give too much information though, give your child space to ask follow-up questions such as “why?” or “what is that?” or “who is ___?”. This is a structured way to practice natural conversation, and it’s fun too.
3. Keep the SLP in the loop.
a. A great way to get involved with your child’s therapy is to keep track of their communication throughout the week. If you hear something that is interesting, write it down! The more information the speech-language pathologists (SLPs) have, the better we can tailor their therapy.
b. Let us know about exciting activities that are coming up or that have happened. This gives the SLP conversation starters for the child that allow us to work on a variety of goals such as giving details, descriptions, recall, and more.
c. What are your communication concerns? If something comes up, tell the SLP about it. It is always helpful to have a lot of information so we can make sure therapy goals stay relevant to your child.
These are just a few ways you can become involved in your child’s therapy. Find what works for you and stick with it! No matter what you do, consistency is key.
Kara Cotter
I hope you and your child enjoyed the activities from Part 1! Here are some more ideas of games and activities you can do together to work on your child’s speech and language skills. Have fun!
Home
Cook a dish
Articulation
Target sounds:Ask your child to practice saying different ingredients and directions that contain target sounds
Language
Following/Giving directions:Help your child practice following directions by following an instruction read to them. He/She can practice giving directions by instructing how to do each step
Sequencing:Help your child practice his/her sequencing skills by performing each step in order
Expanding utterances:Ask your child to describe each step in the directions, what the item/food looks like, what the item/food tastes like, etc.
Social skills - You and you child can role-play being at a restaurant. You both can take turns being the customer and waiter.
Greetings:As the waiter, your child can practice initiating greetings to the customer (you). If your child is the customer, he/she can practice responding and asking reciprocal questions back to the waiter (you).
Asking/Answering questions:As the waiter, your child can practice asking questions when taking your order (e.g., “What would you like to eat/drink?”, “Would you like anything else?”). As the customer, your child can practice making choices and answering questions
Turn taking: As both the waiter and customer, encourage your child to take turns with you during the communicative exchange.
Literacy
Reading: Ask your child to read the cooking instructions out loud to you.
Spelling: Ask your child to spell some of the words that you read to them
Car
Play a car game
I Spy- Each player takes turns giving a clue about an item he/she sees. The other players must guess what it is.
ABC imaginary traveler- Each player takes turns imagining where they might go and what item they will bring. Begin with the letter “a” and continue through the alphabet (e.g., I’m going to Antarctica and I’m taking my art supplies.”)
Articulation
Target sounds:Ask your child to practice saying the words that contain target sounds
Language
Expanding utterances:Help your child expand their utterances with each of their responses.
Describing
I Spy: Ask your child to describe and give salient clues of their chosen item.
Interpreting Verbal Information
I Spy: Your child will practice interpreting verbal information by listening to your clues, putting them together, and guessing the item
Recalling information:
ABC: Ask your child to recall what the previous answers were before each round.
Following/Giving directions: Help your child practice following directions by following the rules of the game. You can help your child practice giving directions by having them tell you and others what to do.
Social Skills
Turn taking: Encourage your child to invite other players to take their turn
Grocery Store
Shopping for groceries
Articulation
Target sounds:Encourage your child to name different items in the shopping cart or on the shelves using their target sounds
Language
Categorizing:Help your child practice categorizing the items in the cart (e.g., fruit, breakfast items, condiments.
Locatives:Ask your child to describe where an item is located on the shelf using locatives (e.g., on, in, under)
Describing:Ask your child to describe and give salient clues of a desired item to you so you can guess which item your child is talking about. This can be revered, so you give your child the clues of the next item to look for and the child must guess
Social Skills
Asking questions:Encourage your child to ask a worker where a particular item is locates in the store.
Greetings: Ask your child to initiate greetings with the cashier
Literacy
Spelling:Keep a shopping list on the refrigerator. Ask your child to write an item on the list when they want something from the grocery store
References
Kristi, Jenae, Thea, Jenae, Venkatesh, Jennyanreyne, . . . Alexandra. (2014, July 23). Activities for When Kids Have to Wait. Retrieved July 30, 2019, from https://www.icanteachmychild.com/activities-for-when-kids-have-to-wait/
Guest Blogger: Rachel Hemphill
Everybody knows the saying “practice makes perfect”. If your child plays a sport or musical instrument, he/she is likely required to commit a certain amount of time practicing their skills during the week. In academic settings, practice comes in the form of homework. Teachers want their students to put in extra work outside of the classroom to sharpen the skills they learned in the classroom.
The same is true for speech and language skills. No matter how much formal speech and language therapy your child receives a week, it is still a relatively small amount of time to devote to such a critical life skill as learning to communicate effectively. For a child to make substantial progress in his speech and language skills, he/she must practice those skills outside the therapy room.
That’s where you, the parent or caregiver, come in.
You are your child’s number one communication partner. Because you are one of the people who communicates consistently with your child throughout the week, you have a unique opportunity to significantly impact your child’s communicative progress. You can do this by helping your child reinforce the speech and language skills he/she is learning in therapy by practicing those skills with them at home or while you’re out running errands.
Not only will working on your child’s speech and language skills give him/her more repetitive practice, it will also help with what is called the “generalization” of skills. This is the main goal of your child’s speech-language therapist. Generalization is the process of taking a skill learned in one setting (e.g., therapy) and applying it in other settings (e.g., home, school) (Fouse & Wheeler, 1997). By practicing the speech and language skills with your child when you’re at home or in the community, your child will become better equipped at using these skills in a variety of settings.
If you’re thinking that this sounds like a tedious and burdensome task for you and your child, don’t worry! There are many creative games and activities you can do with your child to make this a fun and enjoyable activity for both of you to do together.
Here are some ideas of fun and functional activities you can do with your child to practice their speech and language skills outside the therapy room. These can be done when you’re at home or while you’re driving in a car together:
Home
1) Read a book together – consider taking turns reading pages
Articulation
Target sounds: Help your child practice saying words that contain target sounds.
Language
Comprehension questions:Ask your child comprehension questions as you read the story together.
Making Predictions: Ask your child what they believe will happen next in the story.
Expanding vocabulary:Ask your child if they can figure out what an unfamiliar word means based on the story. Try to use that new word throughout the week.
Identify the main idea:Can your child tell you the main concept of the story without recounting the minor details?
Describing/locatives: As you read the story together, ask your child to describe where an object appears in the picture using locatives (“in”, “on”, “under”, etc.).
Social Skills
Taking other’s perspectives: To help your child practice learning to take other’s perspectives, ask your what he/she thinks the characters are thinking and feeling as you read together.
Literacy
Reading: Your child can practice their reading skills while reading the story to you.
2) Play a game
Articulation
Target sounds:Your child can practice saying different words that contain target sounds. This can be done with words in the game or you can ask your child to practice saying a few words before each turn.
Language
Following/Giving directions:Help your child practice following directions by following the rules of the game. You can help your child practice giving directions by having them tell you and others what to do.
Expanding utterances:By asking your child to describe what’s going on during the game you will help your child practice expanding their utterances.
Social Skills
Turn taking:Encourage your child to invite other players to take their turn.
Losing: Don’t purposely let your child win every game. Instead, model and encourage good gamesmanship.
I hope you and your child have a great time doing these together. For more activities and games, look for Part 2 next week!
-Rachel
References
Fouse, B., and Wheeler, M. (1997). A treasure chest of behavioral strategies for individuals with autism. Arlington, TX: Future Horizons.
Manager. (2019, July 08). 10 Ways To Practice Speech At Home This Summer. Retrieved from https://therapytravelers.com/10-ways-to-practice-speech-at-home-this-summer/
This is a guest post from one of our summer speech language pathology interns>
Summer is such an exciting and busy time for everyone. Children are ready to play - and parents are too. So, what happens to those social skills you and your child have been working so hardon over the school year? Don’t fret! There is no need to focus on “work” during summer vacation. Here are some fun social activities that focus on “play”.
Make a Summer Treat
● Working in the kitchen with your child is such a great place to share perspectives, talk about your days, and enjoy each other’s company.
● Following recipes helps build skills associated with understanding directions, asking questions, and requesting help
● BONUS: If it’s nice outside - pack up and head out to your favorite park (or even your backyard) and enjoy a picnic.
Long Vacation?
● Summer Postcards
○ A great way to practice a multitude of skills (social skills, language skills, handwriting, etc.) is to have your child write postcards to themselves while on vacation. Throughout the week, help your child to identify their favorite activities of the day or something they want to remember about their trip. Have them write on a postcard, “Dear Me,” and mail it home. Not only is it expanding skills, it’s something to look forward to even though your vacation is over.
● Long Drives
○ Are you dreading how many times you’ll hear the infamous “are we there yet?” from the backseat? Here are some of my all-time favorite car ride games to avoid those questions while still working on language skills:
■ I Spy: Take turns saying “I spy with my little eye something…” and fill in with a characteristic of an object that is visible. This game is a wonderful opportunity to have children use elaborative skills (shapes, colors, uses, etc) without giving away the actual term/object they are referencing.
■ ABC Game:Find words on billboards or road signs that start with each letter of the alphabet. You can’t move onto the next letter until you’ve found a word.
● PS: Good Luck with Q, X and Z!
■ License Plate Game: This game is a great chance for perspective taking. The challenge is to find the license plate from the farthest state. Talk about the different License Plates you see, and how far away that car must have traveled to be where they are now. It’s fun and easy to make guesses about where they are going, and why.
Rainy Day?
● Cuddle up with a movie or a book. Watching movies isn’t the most active way to pass time during the summer months, but it’s a great opportunity for conversations when everyone needs some down time. It’s an awesome way to incorporate their language goals into an activity that they enjoy:
○ Discuss after:
■ Social Language & Perspective Taking: Have everyone identify their favorite parts and explain why they liked them. Comparing those parts can help with perspective taking and increase social language at the same time.
■ Elements of a Story (aka Story Grammar): Have them come up with an alternative ending. Let them use their imaginations to end the movie how they would want.
■ Making Predictions: Occasionally pause the movie or stop reading, and have your child predict what might happen. At the end of the movie or book, ask your child if they think there will be a sequel. If so, what do they think it would be about?
○ Another great way to use movies to practice language skills is to find a movie based off of a book. Read the book and watch the movie together - this sets up the perfect “Compare & Contrast” activity.
Read, Read, Read
● Book Club
○ Does your child love to read? Creating a book club with your child’s friends is a great opportunity to get your child to meet up with friends over summer. You can read the book to the group, or everyone can take turns reading if they are comfortable doing so. Be prepared with some discussion questions to initiate conversations.
These are all great ways to incorporate expansion of social language skills into activities you will most likely already be doing this summer. Get creative!
Katharyn Bannar
The following are excerpts from our notes on a class on executive functions presented by Karole Howland of Boston University:
Developing Executive Functions in Young Students with Language Impairment
· Executive functions: The ability to maintain an appropriate problem solving set for attainment of a future goal.
· Impact of Deficits in EF:
o EF skills in preschool predict academic success
o Children with poor EF skills are at risk for social/behavioral problems
o EF skills are essential to the development of theory of mind
· We cannot afford to wait until middle school to work on EF
· Behavioral intervention often assumes the issues are based on a cognitive choice to misbehave, rather than behavior problems that need to be managed. We need to think of executive functions as skills that need to be developed
· Inhibition:
o Closely related to emotional regulation in preschoolers
o Inhibition is hard work!
o Some types of inhibition:
§ Delay of gratification
§ Emotional self-regulation
§ Resisting distraction
§ Conflicting action
· Cognitive Flexibility:
o The ability to change or adapt plans as circumstances demand
o Requires recognition of the need for change
o Requires the ability to inhibit the original action in favor of a new response
· Planning:
o Requires a future image-what is the goal?
o Requires a high degree of inhibition
o Requires working memory
· Teacher Ratings are more effective than formal testing to diagnose EF
· Spoken Language Characteristics of Children with EF disorders
o Disorganized and Tangential: Leaves out or mis-sequences steps, goes off topic. Vague references lead to confusion.
o Uses verbal mazes as a result of word-finding and planning problems.
o Excessive detail about minor points.
o Insufficient detail about major points
o Overproduction: Talks much but communicates little
o Underproduction: Planning demands are too high, shrugs, gestures, shuts down
These are our notes from the session Facilitating Social Communication in Children with Language Disorders: How to Drink from a Fire Hydrant (Martin Fujiki). The main argument of the session was that language processing, social and emotional learning, and pragmatics can and should be addressed together through therapy tasks, especially through book sharing.
· “Social communication is the use of language in social contexts. It encompasses social interaction, social cognition, pragmatics, and language processing.” (ASHA Practice Portal).
Many children with developmental learning disabilities (DLD) share these social outcomes:
§ Poor friendships
§ Victimized by peers
§ Poor peer acceptance
§ Poor self-esteem
§ High levels of anxiety
§ High levels of depression
§ High levels of social withdrawal
§ High levels of problem behavior
Emotional Intelligence in Children with DLD:
§ Difficulty regulating emotions
§ Difficulty identifying emotion expressed vocally
§ Difficulty identifying emotion on faces
§ Difficulty inferring emotions that individuals feel within a particular context
§ Difficulty hiding emotions for social reasons
The second part of the session was titled Lab: Facilitating Social Communication –When Rubber Meets the Road (Martin Fujiki)
· From the Perspective of a child with DLD:
o Books are hard work
o Language is hard work
o Emotion knowledge is hard work
o Books have mostly been NO FUN!
