The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders reports that, “Nearly 1 in 12 (7.7 percent) U.S. children ages 3-17 has had a disorder related to voice, speech, language, or swallowing in the past 12 months.” Left untreated, this can lead to major impacts on speech-language development and, later, performance at Boise Schools.
This is where speech therapy with a licensed speech-language pathologist (SLP) comes in. Speech therapy can greatly benefit children with voice, speech, language or swallowing disorders. This post reviews how to get the most out of your child’s speech therapy.
Attend All Sessions
The number one thing you can do to ensure your child’s success in speech therapy is to attend all sessions – or as many as you can. Sometimes life happens and you’ll have to cancel, but this shouldn’t happen regularly.
In addition, rather than just dropping your child off, you should attend with them and get involved to see what type of feedback the SLP gives your child and mirror it at home.
Ask Questions
Not only should you sit in on sessions, you should also feel free to ask questions. These questions can relate to why the SLP is doing certain exercises, what the benefits are, how they can be implemented at home and how you can help your child during practice.
Share What You Know
No one knows your child better than you do. During sessions, be sure to share what’s going on at home, where the child is still struggling and where they’re making strides.
Be Positive
Your child’s attitude toward speech therapy will reflect your own. While attending sessions and when practicing at home, be sure to keep interactions positive and fun.
Also, instead of trying to correct all your child’s skills at once, choose a few words or skills to target each week.
Practice
After each session, your child’s SLP will assign homework. Practice all the exercises every day so that your child can improve quickly and steadily. Most exercises can be done during daily activities, like driving in the car.
To learn more or to schedule an appointment, call Southwest Idaho ENT today.