As a parent, it can be challenging to see your child struggle with communication. Fortunately, there are many speech therapy exercises that you can do at home with your child.

These exercises are designed to be fun, engaging, and effective. What’s more, these evidence-based activities can be used by concerned parents to help their child with speech delays.

Why are speech-language activities important?

Speech therapy activities are crucial in helping children learn to express themselves. Speech therapists are trained to design interventions that help resolve language issues in non-verbal autism, normal speech delays and teach the child strategies to calm themselves down before they attempt to communicate again.

These exercises can also equip parents with simple activities at home that can help their child with speech and language skills.

Speech therapy activities to use at home

Here are some speech therapy activities that parents can use at home to help their child with speech and language skills:

1. Play: Play is an important tool for learning and development. Parents need guidance on integrating language into play. Children’s psychologists encourage parents to use interactive, turn-taking play such as singing songs, reciting nursery rhymes, or energetic, physical activity. It is essential to ensure that you do all that at eye level with the child.
2. Provide appropriate reinforcement: Strengthen your child’s communication skills by reinforcing it every time he/she may repeat some actions you did, make sounds, use gestures to communicate and or make eye contact. Remember to use your child’s favorite item as a reward (stickers, other toys), and ensure that the item is not too big.
3. Oral-motor activities: Oral-motor activities such as brushing teeth, eating, blowing activities with straws or bubbles can help enhance communication skills.
4. Sing songs with motions: Singing songs with motions can help involve the child’s body and aid in understanding speech through singing.
5. Read short stories: Reading short stories can enhance communication skills. Use books in the genre of poetry that has strong rhyming, sing-song cadence, and has lots of photos, pictures, and 3D pop-out characters.
6. Encourage writing: Begin with something as simple as drawing lines, shapes, and then alphabets to introduce letters and sounds. Writing can be one way to communicate for a child who may have non-verbal autism.
7. Parallel talk: Parallel talk can benefit your child’s speech by providing a language-rich environment. You can, for instance, narrate your actions as they see you do them.
8. Flash cards: Flash cards can help kids in speech therapy to focus on the sounds that they have difficulty with. You can make it more entertaining by providing an activity for kids to do along with them or a reward when done correctly.
9. Mirror exercises: Many kids with articulation problems don’t understand how to move their mouths to make sounds correctly. Speaking in front of a mirror can help a child to see how their mouth moves when they make particular sounds.
10. Frog hop: This is a simple game to help get your child to repeat the same word six times. Choose six words that you want to practice. Slide each word into a clear plastic paper protector, aka “lily pads.” Spread the plastic lily pads all over the room. Have your child hop to each lily pad, each time saying the word.

Why is it important for parents to use these exercises at home?

Practicing speech therapy exercises at home can be just as effective as attending therapy sessions with a professional.

Regular practice at home can help reinforce the skills learned during therapy sessions and accelerate progress.

It also provides an opportunity for parents to be more involved in their child’s development and communication skills.

Moreover, home-based speech therapy exercises can help reduce the cost and time associated with visiting a therapist. While professional therapy is still necessary in some cases, these exercises can be a useful complement to traditional therapy and help children progress faster.

In conclusion, speech therapy exercises are essential for children with speech delays or language disorders.

As a parent, it is crucial to provide a supportive and language-rich environment for your child to grow and learn.

The exercises outlined in this article are fun, engaging, and effective ways for parents in Canada to help their child improve their speech and language skills at home.

FAQs (frequently asked questions)

1. What are speech therapy activities and why are they important for children with communication difficulties?

Speech therapy activities are exercises and interventions designed to help children who struggle with communication to improve their speech and language skills. These activities provide opportunities for kids to practice and develop speaking and vocabulary, express themselves effectively, and interact with others.

2. How can speech therapy activities at home benefit my child’s speech and language skills?

Doing basic speech therapy activities at home can reinforce the skills learned during therapy sessions and accelerate progress. Regular practice helps children improve in various areas and also encourages parents to be actively involved in the development of their child’s communication skills.

3. What are some examples of speech therapy activities that I can do with my child at home?

Speech therapy activities that can be done at home include incorporating language into play, providing appropriate reinforcement for communication attempts, engaging in oral-motor activities, singing songs with motions, reading short stories, encouraging writing, practicing parallel talk, using flash cards, doing mirror exercises, and playing games like “Frog hop” to practice word repetition.

4. Can practicing speech therapy exercises at home replace professional therapy sessions?

The short answer is no: you need to do both. Practicing speech therapy exercises at home can definitely be beneficial, but they generally should be used in addition to professional therapy sessions, rather than replacing them. Professional sessions conducted by trained speech therapists provide specialized guidance, evaluation, and expertise that may be necessary for addressing specific speech and language disorders. Home-based exercises, however, can enhance progress and reinforce skills learned during the therapist’s sessions.

5. How can speech therapy activities help me be more involved in my child’s development and communication skills?

Speech therapy activities provide an opportunity for parents to actively participate in their child’s development and communication skills. By engaging in these activities at home, you can create a supportive and language-rich environment, reinforce skills learned during therapy, and foster better communication with their child. Being actively involved in speech therapy activities can strengthen the parent-child bond and help you better understand your child’s strengths, challenges, and see first-hand what progress they are making in speech and language development.

Have any questions? Please write us an email at support@maplekidscare.com and our team will be in touch with you to answer all your queries. You can also schedule a visit to our center by filling out our contact form.