The Importance of Parent Participation in Speech and Language Services
When a child is diagnosed with a speech or language disorder, parents embark on a new and unfamiliar journey. The evaluation process, the development of treatment plans and goals, home therapy exercises… It can easily become overwhelming.
The process can raise many thoughts and questions for the parents, including, “What is my role in my child’s therapy?” Some parents and caregivers are active participants in the therapy process from day one. These caregivers ask questions and work hard to carry over the new skills that are being taught. The extra practice and support given by the caregivers can make a significant difference in the rate of progress and even the feelings surrounding therapy. Other times, caregivers take a more passive role in the therapy process. The point of view there is often that the speech therapist is tasked with “fixing the issues” with minimal help or practice outside of the therapy room. This can often slow down progress significantly. Our bottom line is: Parent participation is an important factor in your child’s progress and overall outcomes (and I would say most, if not all, speech-language pathologists agree!)
It may be tempting for parents to rely on the therapist to “fix” the problem. However, when parents are active participants in the therapy process, there are benefits for all the child, the parents, and the therapists.
Parents and other family members who are actively involved in therapy are more likely to be comfortable asking questions and offer valuable feedback to the therapist. This information can help the therapist develop an updated treatment plan that supports the success of the child. It may help the therapist identify what is most helpful to the child and what strategies are not working.
Being involved in your speech and language therapy means more practice (and practice makes “perfect”, right?). Your child will only be working with the therapist for a short period of time during the week. Which means continued practice and opportunities for the child to work on their speech and language skills at home are key to their progress and success!
Parents, you know your child best! Although your speech therapist will spend time getting to know your child (e.g., their favorite toys, activities, preferred learning activities, strengths, challenges, etc.), building a partnership with the parent just means that the therapist can better tailor the treatment plan to your child, your home, and your routine. Your therapist will be able to help you more seamlessly embed practice without it feeling like practice or something extra to do. Also, using toys and household items from the child's environment are also found to be effective for increasing family participation in the use of intervention strategies.
You can take an active role in helping encourage your child’s speech and language development by adding a few easy steps into your daily routine. According to the Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA), incorporating treatment strategies into the routines of each family leads to easier practice and implementation (the child is already familiar with this routine!). Here are a few tips for incorporating speech and language skills, depending on the age of your child.
Birth through Two Years Old
Imitate your baby’s actions and facial expressions.
Teach your child to imitate your actions such as blowing kisses, clapping hands, and playing peek-a-boo.
Narrate your day. Talk about the activities that you are doing such as taking a walk, playing with a toy,or taking a bath. Commenting on something in the environment like animals or children at the park are also helpful.
Identify colors, alphabet letters or numbers when you see them.
Demonstrate animal sounds that are fun to imitate like “moo-moo” and “baa-baa.”
Two through Four Years Old
Use simple statements rather than complex sentences.
Ask questions that offer the opportunity for conversation or expanded answers such as “who did you play with at school today?” or “What snack do you want?”
Teach fill-in songs and nursery rhymes that are predictable and demonstrate patterns of speech such as, “Wheels on the Bus” or “Happy and You Know It.”
Use pictures of familiar people, items, and places to practice answering questions and describing.
Four through Six Years Old:
Expand on your child’s speech by repeating a word or phrase in a complete sentence. For example, if your child is saying “dog,” you can respond with “yes, that is a big brown dog outside!”
Ask your child about their day in a way that offers language opportunities. Instead of saying, “How was school today?” You can ask your child, ”Tell me three things you did at school today!”
Practice being an active listener. The more you can show your child you are interested in what they are saying, the more often you’ll find them talking to you.
Be patient. Your child’s language system is changing and expanding and there is so much happening in their world! Give them time to organize their thoughts and language to tell you all about it.
For most children, seeing a speech language pathologist once per week isn’t enough time to develop improved language skills; it’s hard to learn a new skill if it’s only practiced for one hour or less per week. Working together with your child’s speech language pathologist will help you learn ways to communicate with them and will come up with goals and activities that will make a huge difference to your child’s language learning.
Do you have concerns about your child’s speech and language skills? We’re here for you! Contact us today for more information.