Is your child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) especially uneasy around unfamiliar people, new environments, and situations? Do they express this discomfort in nonverbal ways that you’re having trouble understanding?
If your child is experiencing speech delay along with other signs of autism, you can explore various speech therapy exercises at home to support their speech and language development.
Does assisting your child with their speech seem overwhelming to you and your child, however? If so, we are happy to help. With these simple and effective speech and language therapy techniques, you can help your child make progress in developing their communication skills at home without added stress.
What is Speech-language Pathology?
Communication is vital, no matter whether a child has autism or not. Speech-language pathology is a discipline that focuses on improving a human being’s ability to speak, swallow, and vocalize, and preventing certain language, speech, or swallowing disorders from impacting a child’s overall well-being. The professionals who teach this, called speech-language pathologists (SLPs) or speech-language therapists, are educated in the ways of identifying, diagnosing, and treating these conditions.
Early interventions, such as autism speech therapy activities, can greatly benefit an ASD child in their developmental journey and aid them in improving their ability to communicate. Studies conducted by Vanderbilt University indicate that parents have the ability to enhance their children’s speech and language development at home and not only at a therapy centre.
Why is it Worth Using Speech Therapy Exercises at Home?
Engaging in speech therapy exercises at home with your child accelerates their progress significantly. A study even revealed that children’s results improve when parents work alongside speech pathologists.
Any parent can facilitate speech and language therapy for children with ASD through interactive exercises and activities, all within the comfort of home. By practicing with your child at home, you transform ordinary moments into valuable learning experiences. For example, while making lunch, you may practice consonant sounds, or during a short car ride, try some fun word games.
These informal practice sessions boost your child’s confidence. They will begin to view speech practice as an integral part of their daily routine, rather than just an activity that occurs in a therapy centre.
How to Successfully Use Speech Therapy Techniques at Home
If your child is facing a language or communication disorder, implementing at-home speech therapy techniques can significantly enhance their progress. These strategies become even more effective when paired with the following 15 tips:
- Make speech practice feel organic. Integrate it into your everyday activities. For instance, during breakfast, focus on articulation by naming different foods. Alternatively, transform car journeys into engaging word-finding games.
- Keep practice sessions brief yet enjoyable. A duration of about 10-15 minutes is ideal for most children. If your child starts to feel tired or frustrated, it’s best to stop before it turns into a challenge. A cheerful five-minute session is far more beneficial than a tearful 15-minute one.
- Get the entire family involved. Siblings, grandparents, and other loved ones can contribute to making learning enjoyable. Additionally, your child will recognize that everyone appreciates the importance of clear communication skills!
- Establish a straightforward reward system. This could be a sticker chart or the opportunity to choose a fun activity. The essential part is to acknowledge progress, no matter how minor it may seem.
- Maintain communication with your SLP. Inform them about what strategies are effective and which ones are not. They can assist you in modifying your methods and provide you with fresh ideas.
15 Practical Tips to Use Speech Therapy at Home
As a parent or caregiver, your involvement in your child’s speech therapy can truly make a significant impact. Even engaging in basic word games during car rides can enhance their language abilities!
If your child is facing challenges such as a speech delay related to autism, stuttering, or any other language disorder, here are 15 fun exercises you can try to aid in your child’s development.
1. Give Them Choices
No one understands your child better than you do. This unique bond allows you to anticipate their needs and desires—often even before they can express them.
While this can be a time-saver for busy family members, it may also restrict your child’s opportunities to develop and practice essential language skills.
That’s why offering choices is so powerful. We don’t always want to simply hand a child something. Instead, we aim to motivate them to make requests independently through language. We also want them to acquire the vocabulary necessary to respond to open-ended questions, like “What do you want to play?”
By giving your child a choice between two speech therapy activities, you encourage them to use language to express their preferences. You might ask, “Do you want blocks or bubbles?” Additionally, providing choices can help reduce any frustration that arises when you misinterpret what your child wants.
2. Model Simple Language
Imitation is more than just flattery; it serves as a valuable speech therapy tool that supports children in acquiring new sounds and vocabulary.
Children pick up language by listening to those around them—and who spends more time with your child than you do? By modeling simple language, you assist your child in learning to imitate. Soon enough, they might start using those sounds and words on their own.
When teaching the name of an object, hold it close to your mouth. Kids often concentrate on the toy or item instead of the person naming it. By positioning the item near your mouth (before giving it to them), your child will start to associate the object with the sound of its name.
3. Parallel Talk to Narrate What You’re Doing
Creating a language-rich environment for children is essential. One effective method to achieve this is through a home speech therapy exercise known as parallel talk. This involves describing actions as you perform them.
For instance, if your child is observing you while you cook, you might say, “I’m mixing the batter. Now, I’m pouring it into the pan. Oh, the oven is hot!” Alternatively, while playing with your child, you could say, “Your car is so speedy! Vroom!”
With enough practice, children will begin to associate this language with the actions being described. They may even start to engage in their own parallel talk.
4. Expanding Your Language into Longer Phrases
Doesn’t it feel like every kid’s go-to word is “no?” Well, we can turn that into an opportunity by transforming that word into a longer phrase: “No what?”
If your child responds with a “no,” you might say, “no cookie,” or “no juice.” Alternatively, if they ask for “more,” you can extend that to say, “more bubbles.”
The idea of expansion aims to help your child progress from simple single words to longer phrases consisting of two or three words. You can incorporate longer phrases into your child’s daily routine. Pay attention to what your child expresses and then demonstrate a phrase that is one word longer.
By providing this example, they will regularly hear what you anticipate from them. Consequently, they will start to expand their language and use more intricate expressions.
5. Use Visuals
Everything is fresh and exciting for a preschooler or toddler, and they are rapidly acquiring new language skills. You can discover ways to nurture this language development at every turn. Visual aids are an excellent resource for this. Let’s delve into how to use them.
Some children will struggle to grasp the different transitions or routines that occur throughout the day. Displaying images of daily routines on a board or using a set of flashcards can assist your child in anticipating what their day involves—and reduce any potential adverse reactions. They can even help in selecting which activities they will engage in. For instance, they might pick a play activity that follows snack time and add it to the board.
In a similar manner, a family photo album can benefit your child in learning the names of their siblings, pets, relatives, and friends. Taking the time to point out and label individuals in the pictures will motivate your child to do the same.
6. Try Expectant Waiting
Imagine being on a roller coaster. It’s slowly ascending, climbing that steep incline. Do you remember the thrilling anticipation you feel right at the peak, just before you zoom down the slope?
On a much smaller scale, this is the sensation we want children to experience just before they mimic an action. For example, if you abruptly halt one of your child’s favorite activities, like blowing bubbles, we want them to feel a wave of anticipation and excitement.
While they’re waiting, you might say, “Oh, you want more bubbles? More?” This prompts them to respond with a word or gesture to show their eagerness to continue.
If you’re moving a car back and forth, you could say, “Ready, set…” and then pause. The goal is to wait for your child to shout “Go!” before you push the car. This boosts their language use, heightens their excitement, and enhances their attention skills.
7. Positive Reinforcement
It’s quite simple to tell a child “don’t do that” or “no.” Often, this could be related to their safety. However, it’s equally crucial for children to understand when they’ve accomplished something good.
We may get into the routine of saying “Good job.” But good job at what? Instead, consider saying, “I love how you tidied up your toys all by yourself!” or “Wow, you finished all your broccoli! That’s fantastic!” Being specific and pointing out exactly what your child did right is essential.
Everyone appreciates and reacts positively to encouragement. Your smile, praise, compliments, and high fives can motivate your child to express themselves more throughout the day.
8. A Tiny Bit of Sabotage on Purpose
Sometimes, a bit of frustration can actually be beneficial, particularly if it encourages children to express themselves.
We’ve previously discussed the effectiveness of offering your child two options and allowing them to choose. But what happens if you intentionally provide the incorrect option? This gives your child a chance to point out your errors!
You might also consider placing your child’s toys or a delicious snack just out of their reach. Although they may feel a bit upset at first, this minor act of mischief can swiftly teach children that they need to use words to request assistance.
Referring back to our earlier suggestion, if they do say “help” or “open,” try to expand their request into a two-word phrase, such as “help me” or “open please.”
9. Repetition
Just like your child may repeatedly watch the same ‘Bluey’ video until they can recite it by heart, repetition plays a crucial role in strengthening speech therapy methods and learning.
Although employing all the strategies outlined in this article can sometimes seem monotonous, this repetition allows your little one to acquire new words, broaden their vocabulary, and enhance their communication abilities.
10. Sign Language
When working with young children, many speech therapists will introduce and promote the use of sign language. This can raise concerns for some parents, who may fear that their child will never learn to speak.
However, this is not the case at all. In fact, incorporating sign language is a fantastic method to assist children in transitioning to verbal communication.
For toddlers, it’s often simpler to gesture “all done” than to articulate those words in a way that others can comprehend. We usually begin with basic signs such as help, all done, more, eat, drink, go, and stop. It’s crucial to model the spoken word for your child while teaching them the corresponding sign.
We don’t anticipate that a child will keep using sign language once they begin to verbally express their needs. However, for a frustrated child who struggles to convey their message, signs serve as a valuable communication tool.
11. Sing Songs
The words of a song remain constant, which makes music an excellent way for kids to pick up new vocabulary.
For instance, the song “Wheels on the Bus” is filled with learning opportunities. It teaches children words like “up,” “down,” “open,” and “shut.” Similarly, the song “Heads and Shoulders, Knees and Toes” introduces kids to different body parts. Adding gestures while singing these songs not only boosts a child’s vocabulary but also enhances their ability to mimic sounds and words. It’s a fantastic activity.
Bonus tip: Incorporate incomplete phrases. When you sing a song with your child, leave a phrase unfinished and encourage them to fill it in. For example, “Old McDonald had a farm—”. Be sure to commend them for their effort, even if they don’t complete the lyrics.
12. Use Contingency Technique
Many children find it challenging or are reluctant to follow directions. This can be incredibly frustrating for parents.
In such situations, the contingency technique can be beneficial. This involves linking a task that your child is eager to do with a task they must complete. For example, you might say, “First, we read this book, and then you can play with dinosaurs,” or “Once you finish your lunch, you can go outside to play.”
This reward system encourages your child to adhere to instructions, ensuring that ideally, everyone gets what they desire.
13. Minimize Distractions
Little ones acquire language skills while they play. When engaging in playtime with your child, aim to eliminate any distractions that could detract from the fun and your connection. This could involve switching off the TV or setting your phone aside.
The quality of the moments you share during play is equally as fundamental as the duration. Even a brief 10-minute session of stacking blocks can be beneficial if you apply strategies we’ve talked about, like parallel talk and offering choices. This approach will significantly aid in enhancing their focus and language development.
14. Storytime is a Must
You can assist your child in developing pre-literacy skills even before they start reading or consistently using words. There are few gifts that parents can offer their child that are more impactful than instilling a love for books. Reading children’s literature ignites your child’s imagination and broadens their vocabulary. It enhances their listening and comprehension abilities, aiding their success in school.
A toddler can learn to flip through the pages of a book and point out interesting objects while you name them. Although it might be challenging to do this throughout the day with an energetic little one, reading before a nap or incorporating it into the bedtime routine can yield better outcomes.
At first, the story itself might not hold as much significance as the exploration of the pictures and moving sequentially through the book. However, as your child’s language skills and attention span develop, they will be eager to listen to the story and perhaps even share parts of it with you.
15. Silliness and Fun Time
Kids react positively to unusual speech sounds, silly expressions, and exaggerated speech patterns. Why not try to get down to their level by making animal noises or imitating a car horn? Allow your child to sit in front of a mirror to create funny faces. Be lively during playtime to encourage them to explore their voice. Engage in enjoyable articulation activities like tongue twisters.
The more ridiculous you are, the more engaged and eager they will be to join in. This is the moment when speech and language development really starts.
When is the Best Time to Start Speech Therapy?
Identifying autism in children under the age of three can be quite difficult. That being said, in certain situations, both parents and professionals can spot speech and language delays in kids as early as 18 months old. Certain indicators such as repetitive behaviours, echolalia (the act of repeating vocalizations that are made by another person), difficulty adapting to changes in routines, and challenges in social interactions with peers may also help to confirm an autism diagnosis in younger children.
Once parents receive an official diagnosis from a SLP, psychologist, or pediatrician, they can start implementing speech therapy for autism at home. While ASD is for life, all children with ASD have the potential to enhance and develop social communication skills as they mature.
Effective communication is essential for the development of every child, no matter their diagnosis or life. At Sparkling Seeds, our multidisciplinary team, which includes SLPs and therapists, is dedicated to enhancing both verbal and non-verbal communication skills, broadening vocabulary, improving conversational abilities, and developing social interaction skills.
Book a consultation with us to discover more about how our autism services, speech-language pathology, assessments, and therapies can best support you, your child with ASD, and your family.
