Handy Handout #12: Super Ideas for Speech & Language Skills

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Super Ideas for Speech & Language Skills (Grades 1-6)

by Robyn A. Merkel-Piccini M.A., CCC-SLP

Children attend speech and language therapy for many reasons, including articulation, language, stuttering, and social skills. Good speech therapy attendance, positive reinforcement, and home practice are the common denominators for success in therapy. Parental support and supervision of speech therapy homework is essential for reaching the child’s goals and objectives and carrying over the skills learned during speech therapy to other settings.

Here are some helpful hints to work with your child at home:

Use a mirror to help your child with articulation homework. Your child learns where to position the tongue, lips, and teeth in therapy. Using a mirror can help the child learn to produce sounds correctly.
Model good speech and language for your child. Children learn speech and language through imitation. Being aware of your own speech and language, including grammar, helps your child improve his or her own skills.
Provide an “auditory-enriched environment.” Surrounding your child with various sound stimulation opens up the ears for learning. Try audiobooks, various types of music, and environmental sound tapes or CDs.
Have fun conversations! Use dinner time or other dedicated family time as a time to practice speech and language. Discussing everything from the day’s events to future plans to household objects can help a child with vocabulary, sequencing, and grammar. Dinner time is a great opportunity to work on conversation skills, such as staying on topic and turn-taking.
Enrich vocabulary with language-based games such as: "Scrabble^™," "Wheel of Fortune^™," "Scattegories^™" and "Outburst^™" . These games all help vocabulary skills. Crossword puzzles and word search games are excellent forms of written vocabulary games.
Know your child’s learning strengths and weaknesses. Your child may have many talents, including physical, musical, artistic, linguistic, and social strengths. Incorporate your child’s strengths into speech and language practice. For example, if your child enjoys singing, have your child sing a song while practicing his or her articulation. If your child enjoys art, work on language goals by having your child draw a picture, and then use complete sentences and correct grammar to tell you about the picture.

Practicing speech and language skills at home can be easy and fun!

References:

How to make speech in the gym work. Looks Like Language. Accessed 5/19/2023 from https://lookslikelanguage.com/2015/09/how-to-make-speech-in-the-gym-work.html

Making music a meaningful part of speech therapy. Speech Buddies. Accessed 5/19/2023 from https://www.speechbuddy.com/blog/speech-therapy-techniques/making-music-a-meaningful-part-of-speech-therapy/

Science experiments as speech therapy activities. Pediatric Therapeutic Services. Accessed 5/19/2023 from https://mypts.com/blog/speech-and-language/science-as-speech-and-language-therapy/

Northern Illinois University Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. (2020). Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. In Instructional guide for university faculty and teaching assistants. Retrieved from https://www.niu.edu/citl/resources/guides/instructional-guide