Hi All, I’m Melanie and mother of 5 kids at home, 3 of whom have attended speech therapy. I LOVE all the speech therapists who have worked with, taught and cared for my kids. We’ve had both private practice SLPs and school based SLPs. You are all wonderful! Thank you for your work. Improving their articulation has meant much more than correcting pronunciation, it has enhanced and created relationships between family members and friends. Your work decreases frustration of not being understood and increases self-confidence and self-worth. Thank you! Thank YOU!
A vital part of seeing progress for speech students is often the work they do at home. Let’s face it, you only see them once or twice a week, for a short stint, sometimes in a group. We get it. There’s only so much you can do. That means you have to rely on us, as parents, to work with our kids. Yeah, we’re the ones who taught our kids to talk … unsuccessfully. So, how can we make this partnership work? How can we have a little bit of speech therapy at home?
1. Train us – We know the 15 minutes conferences we get to discuss mandatory paperwork, IEPs, etc isn’t much time. But when we meet, always have one or two tips ready for us on how we can help our kids. I know it’s nothing compared to the hours you’ve spent studying, preparing and the experience you’ve gained, but it gives us the confidence and ability to work with our kid toward the next milestone.
2. Homework Habit – We understand that there’s times when you don’t want us working on a skill at home because they aren’t consistent enough in therapy to do it correctly. Last thing we want is to ingrain a bad habit by repeating it at home. However, please give us something SMALL to keep in the homework habit. Choose a question our child has to answer each day: What was the funniest thing that happened at school? What did you eat for breakfast? How did you feel at lunchtime? … Or have us work and reinforce a past skill. Or a tongue twister. Or play a game. Just give us something. Why? Because we are creatures of habit. When you skip homework for a week or two and then restart, it takes us 1-2 weeks to get back into the habit of looking at the speech notebook, finding time and doing it. Hey – and we love when we can blame someone else for making my kids answer a question about their day. Even small, simple things help us carryover speech therapy at home!
3. Self-directed speech therapy at home – Whenever possible, give homework that the kids can start, explain and do on their own. I’m not just being lazy, I promise. I’ll help my kids and work with them. But they are so much more excited and motivated when they can show me what they are doing – When they can get out their speech notebook and get started on their own. Plus, it’s a great life skill to be self-motivated. It can also give them a sense of accomplishment before they even start.
So, how does that work with a non-reader? One thing I’ve noticed is that SLPs love their games and flashcards, right? Why don’t you make a copy of some of the images and send it home for homework? Have them describe what’s in the picture, or make sentences or name each of the images, or put the images in order. Make it simple. Whatever skill you are working with, give one simple direction that they may remember and tell their parents about (Please also put the directions on top of the page too, just in case we have to jog their little brains).
As an added reward, you can play the game the next time they come in if they’ve been doing their homework.
We know that as we continue to work together, our kids will grow, develop and reach their full potential. Keep giving us your tips and tricks, consistent homework and work they can start by themselves. You are giving them a priceless gift that they will use throughout their lives – the gift of expression and communication. Keep up the great work!
Melanie LeSueur
Founder and designer of Shout Out Games
Melanie@RiseandShoutShop.com
{thanks for reading}
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