Top Tip for Kids with Speech Challenges | Communication Specialist

Simple Yet Powerful Advice from a Speech and Language Therapist

After almost 10 years as a speech and language therapist, the best advice I give to parents, student therapists, and other professionals often seems deceptively simple.

When do I have the most fun engaging with my child?

Understandably, adults often focus on getting children to complete tasks and finish activities with the good intention of supporting their development. These pressures can be even more intense for parents of children with speech, language, or literacy difficulties. The worries seem to mount up:

How will he be able to cope in the playground if he can't be understood by his friends?

How will she keep up with the class if she finds it hard to learn basic vocabulary?

No wonder, then, that as adults we often become more directive and dyadic in our interactions with children with speech and language difficulties. We tend to question rather than comment, test rather than explore, and teach rather than engage in playful interaction. None of these approaches supports our child in learning the essential truths that underpin communication, nor do they help us teach our most important task—that being together, sharing, and connecting is fun.

The way out: put aside what we 'should be doing'

Happily, this well-intentioned trap has a remarkably easy way out. The best way to cut through this habit is to go back to what we, as adults, parents, teachers, and therapists, enjoy when interacting with the children we’re with. Put aside the goals, strategies, and frameworks you have in mind for now (we'll definitely come back to them in the future, and I bet they’ll be significantly more effective).

The pressure of what we "should be doing" can loom large over us. Instead, find the activity or game that makes you laugh and love being in the moment with your child. Only then, when we are calm, flexible, open-minded, and curious, can we support our child in learning these skills too. And then, do it again. And again. Add something new, extend, explore, and there you have it—you'll have built a strong foundation of attention, engagement, and interaction on which to develop your child's communication, language, and speech skills.