As a speech-language pathologist, I often have parents ask me for ways to keep their kids busy and engaged in speech-language practice outside of the therapy room. The following is an activity list for fun things to do at home with your children that can help facilitate communication and learning.
Speech therapy is a form of treatment that helps a person with speech or language problems to improve communication. Speech therapy may involve exercises to strengthen the tongue, lips, and jaw muscles. The goal of speech therapy is to correct or improve communication skills so the individual can participate in everyday activities.
Home speech therapy activities help supplement the speech therapy your child receives at school. Speech therapists recommend that parents read with their children, sing songs, and play games to facilitate language development.
Speech therapy can be helpful for children who struggle with articulation, voice, fluency, or other areas of speech and language development. Speech therapists have a lot of tools in their toolbox for helping kids strengthen their speech skills.
While many kids find that working with a speech therapist is fun (and it is!), there are some activities that are just too structured to be enjoyable. That’s where home practice can be beneficial, since your child will get to practice new skills in an unstructured environment.
A speech-language pathologist (SLP), also known as a speech therapist, is a healthcare professional who works with individuals of all ages to assess, diagnose, and treat communication and swallowing disorders. Speech therapy helps patients improve their articulation, fluency, voice and resonance. A speech therapist may also help with cognitive communication disorders associated with stroke, traumatic brain injury, dementia or Parkinson’s disease.
Speech-language pathologists work in a variety of settings including schools, hospitals, private practices, nursing homes and rehabilitation centers. They can help people with speech or language impairments due to illness, injury or developmental disabilities.
Speech-language pathologists are trained to recognize and diagnose communication disorders. If you have concerns about your child’s communication skills or suspect they may have a speech disorder or language delay, talk with your pediatrician as soon as possible. Early diagnosis and treatment can help prevent the issue from becoming more severe later in life. Your pediatrician can make a referral to an SLP if needed.
Home speech therapy activities are a vital part of any speech therapy program. They allow children with communication disorders to practice their skills in the home environment. These activities can be done as soon as your child is able to participate or have a parent or caregiver assist them.
They’re also important for home health care providers, who may provide speech therapy services to children in their own homes. In some cases, they can also be done by parents or other family members of the child who has a communication disorder.
Home speech therapy activities can help your child improve their communication skills in ways that are fun and engaging, and they can also be a great way to give you a break from the stress of “formal” speech therapy. And the best part is that you don’t need any prior knowledge of speech therapy or special equipment—just a willingness to get creative.
The next activity involves having the child say one word at a time while pointing to each item on a list of objects that have been placed in front of him/her. This helps children learn how to pronounce sounds correctly and will build their confidence when communicating with others later in life.
The last exercise involves using bubbles as an interactive tool. The child should blow into the bubble solution and then pop it with his/her mouth while saying different words like “pop”, “toot”, etc. This will help teach young children how sounds are made through their mouths instead of just listening to them come out from speakers or headphones (which is what most kids do). Speech therapy activities can be done at home, with no special materials required. If you have access to the internet, you can find hundreds of resources for speech therapy at home. These resources may include online games, online lessons and online practice.