Build connection to boost speech

When a child begins speech and language therapy, the first question I often hear from parents is “What can I do at home to help my child learn to talk?” 

It’s a great question. Time in speech therapy is only a tiny portion of a child’s week. Most of his time is spent communicating with parents and teachers. As a result, there is a lot that can be done at home and school to support language skill acquisition. Taking the right steps outside of therapy can help your child generalize new skills more quickly.

How do you start? 

The answer is – Meet your child where he is and focus on building connectedness. 

While your speech pathologist will be instrumental in providing a specific plan of care for the unique needs of your child, the best way to jumpstart expressive language skills at home is ensure your child enjoys communication interactions. 

This means looking at what gives your child joy and engaging in those moments with him. You should do so without demands. (Avoid constantly prompting him to say the name of the toys that you are playing with). Instead, follow his interest and let him take the lead in play. Make the moment matter by focusing on your connection first. 

Start where your child is

Focus on ensuring both of you are enjoying the interaction by using phrase or sentence complexity that he understands. Narrate play by offering words, not requiring that he repeat them. Your focus should be about increasing the whimsy of the moment and building the bond between the two of you. 

When you start by connecting with a child, language skill development follows organically. Don’t worry about structured practice or drill right now. There will be plenty of time later – and better ways – to embed practice in for specific skills. 

For many parents this approach can require shifting your own mindset and changing your expectations. That’s because we mistakenly associate faster skill acquisition with drill work. But this isn’t the best – or fastest – way to boost language skills. However, that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Make no mistake, even if your interaction feels like play, connection is hard work. Like other work, it requires intentionality, focus and dedicated time. 

Connection now fosters later speech skill development

So, what is the pay-off for that effort? Not only are you building a bond that will be foundational for social-emotional and educational success, you are also giving your child prerequisite skills for language development.

That’s because social connection serves a variety of purposes that matter to later speech and language skill development. You are teaching your child that social interaction is enjoyable and what the foundations of communication look like. This includes skills such as conversational reciprocity (back and forth turn-taking) and how to join ideas.

Demonstrate without demand

Your child doesn’t need to be engaging in conversation to start to understand this lesson. Instead, demonstrate turn-taking by offering a short comment on play and then pause. Even if it is not immediately apparent, he is very likely noticing this pattern. As a result, you are building the foundations of language skills by – and as a direct result of – focusing on connecting with your child.

This moment is much more than play, it is an opportunity to build your relationship with your child while modeling the underpinnings of social interaction.

If you need more support building speech and language skills at home, contact us at Heather@expansespeech.com or at 919.216.6231 for a free consultation.