Written by: Ali VanSlembrouck M.A., CCC-SLP, Speech Therapist

At CWJR, we believe in education as a core pillar of our treatment plans. While our patients receive individualized speech therapy care from their therapist during sessions, there are many ways to keep the progress going outside of the clinic! 

When it comes to speech therapy, play can be a powerful tool to engage children and help them practice their language skills in a fun and natural way. Keep reading for some tips to help you incorporate speech therapy techniques into your child’s playtime at home.

1. Narrate everything you and your child are doing within play.
2. Use key words and phrases when modeling language for your child. 
3. Follow your child’s interests: Choose toys, games, and activities that your child enjoys and build upon those. This will make the experience more enjoyable for your child and more effective for practicing language skills.
4. Incorporate expectant pause during speech therapy. This technique involves waiting a few seconds after you ask a question, in order to give your child time to respond. It can encourage them to use their language skills to communicate with you! Some examples could be:
   1. Ready… set… __!
   2. 1… 2… ___!
5. Interactive books, such as pop-up books or books with flaps to lift, can be a great way to keep your child engaged and practicing their language skills. Some examples could be books containing:
   1. Pop ups
   2. Open the flaps
   3. Musicals
6. Give your child options of toys that they can play with, and have them choose an option by pointing or labeling. For example:
   1. “Do you… Want doll or want ball?”
   2. “Should we… Eat apple or eat banana?”
7. Add music and singing during speech therapy to keep your child’s attention! Some fun children’s songs could include:
   1. The Wheels on the Bus
   2. The Itsy Bitsy Spider 
   3. Old MacDonald 
8. Add gestures to songs your child enjoys. For example:
   1. The Wheels on the Bus: beep the horn, wheels go around, doors go open and shut, people go up and down
   2. The Itsy Bitsy Spider: spider goes up the web, rain falls down, rain washes away
9. Use social routines during speech therapy. Incorporate social routines into play, such as waving hello and goodbye, high fives, and playing peekaboo. These can help your child practice important social and language skills.
10. Use gestures to help reinforce language concepts. Some examples include:
    1. Waving hi and bye
    2. Knocking 
    3. Eating 
    4. Sleeping 
    5. Clapping
    6. Talking on the phone

Do you think your child could benefit from speech therapy at Crawl Walk Jump Run? Set up a consultation with our expert team to get started!