Is your child exhibiting indications of delayed speech? Are they constantly mispronouncing words? Do you observe stuttering or a delay in your child’s speech-language development?
Several children demonstrate speech and language problems at a young age. You have every right and cause to be concerned as a parent. You may be concerned about their standard of living, education, and employment opportunities. However, fretting will not get you anywhere.
You must take action. To begin, you must determine the sort of speech impairment that your child has. You should consult a speech-language pathologist (SLP) or a speech therapist. They have the essential training, expertise, experience, and diagnostic instruments.
Following that, you can begin doing speech therapy exercises with your child at home. There are ways to improve the overall effectiveness of speech treatment when parents engage with therapists online, help their children practice specific exercises, or use cutting-edge speech therapy apps like Stamurai.
Here are 18 parenting tips from our speech therapists.
1. Make Your Speech a Model
When speaking to your youngster, never employ telegraphic speech. It is applicable to all parents, regardless of their child’s age. Always use grammatically accurate sentences when speaking. It is one of the most important parts of any home speech therapy strategy for parents.
Speak slowly, emphasizing the correct words and pronouncing each one correctly. Do not say “wabbit” instead of “rabbit” because it sounds nice or because it is how a youngster says it. Serve as a “source of correct speech learning” for your youngster.
2. Extend What They’ve Said
Try to add to your child’s speech if he or she is old enough to pronounce two-word sentences. For example, they might say, “Mommy, go.” You can say, “Yes, let’s go,” depending on the situation. Or “Do you want to go, baby? Do you want to watch television?”
3. Practice Name Recognition
Once you’ve decided on a name for your child, use it at least once every time you see them. Use their nicknames at other times. Your child should be able to glance in the direction of the person calling their name once they are around six months old. They should also respond with gibberish.
Also, point to them and tell them about your child. Point and say “Uncle Sean” or “Grandpa,” for example.
4. Concurrent Conversation
Begin by utilizing child-friendly vocabulary to master Parallel speaking. Then, describe your child’s actions. What are they seeing, feeling, hearing, eating, or smelling?
For example, if they are playing with a toy, describe it to them in simple terms. Use phrases like “Oh! You’re having fun with the car. It’s a red car. The car goes vroom. Ooh. “Wow, that’s a fasr car”
