Your child has been working incredibly hard during speech therapy sessions to learn how to correctly produce new sounds. His efforts have paid off and he is pronouncing new sounds inside the speech therapy room. Yay! We know you’re just as thrilled as we are. The hard part is over, right? Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Many times, when children learn how to correctly produce certain sounds through speech therapy, they have trouble generalizing this skill outside of the speech therapy room and into everyday life.
We often hear parents say that they struggle thinking of ways to practice speech sounds in conversation without feeling like they are nagging their child. Our ultimate goal is for you and your child to feel comfortable and successful. Below are three simple tips for practicing carry over of speech sounds during your everyday routines. Investing five minutes a day to work on speech sounds in daily conversation can make a tremendous impact.
1. In the car: The car is one of the best places to practice speech sounds. In the car, your child is stationary. He is not distracted by the fact that he’d much rather be playing outside than practicing his speech and talking is an excellent way to help the time pass during a car ride. Encourage your child to talk about his day, discuss things that are happening outside, or play I Spy — all while ensuring he is using good speech sounds
2. During bedtime and mealtime: Bedtime and mealtime routines can be a terrific time to practice speech sounds in conversation. Have your child talk to you about his day during breakfast or dinner. Discuss the different foods you are eating, and which ones you like and don’t like. During bedtime routines, talk about what you are both doing while preparing for bed. Chatting about things in your bathroom can be a great way to practice the /th/ sound, as your bathroom is full of /th/ words (i.e., baTHroom, tooTHbrush, tooTHpaste, baTH, etc.). If your child knows how to read, have him read the bedtime story to you while using good speech sounds. If he is not yet reading, have him describe the pictures to you, talk about what is happening in the story, and what he thinks will happen next.
3. Playtime: Playtime is my favorite time to practice speech sounds, because you can make it fun. Sing songs and nursery rhymes while using good speech sounds. Count blocks or Legos while building. Play structured conversation games where your child must use their good speech sounds, such as seeing who can name the most objects in a category (like food or toys) in one minute or play a guessing game (such as Headbands), where your child gives you clues using his good sound. Don’t forget to use your good speech sounds while playing a board game by talking about the different things on the board.
Practicing good speech skills doesn’t have to be daunting or stressful. We hope the tips above help you and your little one practice without feeling like it’s an extra chore.