Any parent with a child in speech therapy knows it’s not a race—it’s a marathon. Overcoming speech difficulties is a process, and every child has to move at their own pace. However, there are some things parents can do at home to assist, including these activities that help your child with speech therapy.
Pronunciation Exercises
Some children with speech problems have trouble pronouncing words correctly. You can try playing games that require your child to pronounce different words to provide extra opportunities to practice.
The alphabet game is one example: as you’re driving or walking around the neighborhood, have your child look for different letters on signs. When they see a letter, ask them to think of a word that starts with that letter and say it out loud.
Word Finding Activities
Word finding is another part of speech that some children have difficulties with. Word finding is all about learning to choose the right word to describe what you mean. Sometimes a lack of vocabulary can make word finding more difficult.
Journaling is an excellent activity for kids in grade school. You can give them prompts (such as, “What kind of superpower would you want if you could have one?”) or let them write about their day. The point is to encourage them to find the right words and express themselves.
Tongue Exercises
Poor muscle control can make pronunciation and many other aspects of speech difficult. While making different faces or tongue positions won’t directly help articulation, it can help bring better awareness to places in the mouth and face as children work on their sounds. Practice making silly faces and tongue stretches together to help your child learn to control their tongue, lips, and facial muscles. Here are a few ideas to try with your child:
Make a (sad/happy/angry/surprised) face
Touch your tongue to your top teeth, then your bottom teeth
Move your tongue in a circle, then reverse directions
Make a silly face and have your child copy you
No matter what kind of speech disorder your child has, what they need most are your love and support. You can do these activities at home to help your child with speech therapy.
If your child seems to enjoy therapy from home, you might consider enrolling them in Linguabilities’ online speech therapy for kids. With online therapy, your child can meet with a therapist and practice all from the comfort of home. Call or email us today for more information!