As a parent, you play a crucial role in your child's development. This is even more the case when talking about speech and language development. Studies indicate that early childhood intervention, along with parental participation, is essential for achieving communication milestones in children. Research has established that strong parental involvement matters a lot as far as a child's speech and language skills are concerned, producing much better results in the long run in terms of performance in school and in social settings. In this article, we will focus on the crucial role of parental involvement in developing your child's communication skills and offer advice and techniques to aid your child's pediatric speech therapy goals.
The Importance of Parental Involvement in Speech and Language Development
Children are introduced to language at the very first moment of their birth. They learn and develop their speech and language skills from their parents and caregivers. This is why home must be a caring and linguistically rich environment to support your child's communication development. In addition to giving children enough stimulation to enable them to develop their speech and language skills, parental involvement also helps in creating a strong parent-child bond.
As discussed in the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, children with speech disorders have improved communication rapidly when their parents actively participated in the pediatric speech therapy process. What is important to know is that you are the primary and most important teacher of your child, and your participation in speech and language development is key.
Making Your Home a Nurturing Environment
Furthermore, as a parent, you can provide a secure home environment where your child can speak and develop language skills quickly and confidently. Here are some practical tips to help you create an environment that supports your child's progress:
1. Talk, Talk, Talk
The best form of speech and language stimulation (i.e. pediatric speech therapy for your child), is through talking with them. Talk about everything and anything to your child, from what you are doing to what you see around you. This makes your child learn new words as well as encouraging them to communicate.
2. Read Together
Among the many components to facilitate growth in the language of your infants, reading is considered one of the best. Develop the practice of reading with your child daily, even a few minutes, if possible. Show pictures and ask your child questions, forcing them to voice their ideas and expressions.
3. Use Positive Reinforcement
Children thrive on positive reinforcement. Praise your child when she or he tries to communicate, even if the communication is imperfect. This will increase their confidence and push them to persevere with any communication struggles they encounter.
4. Be Patient and Listen
Children's speech and language development requires patience. Remember that young children grow at their own rates. A good practice would be to listen carefully whenever your child is speaking and to encourage them to step outside of their comfort zone and practice new words and sentences.
5. Explore Your Child’s Interests
Discuss with your child what sparks their interest; observe their reactions, and show excitement and enthusiasm. Areas that pique your child’s interest are natural avenues of conversation that give your child a chance to express themselves and your validation encourages that passion and gives your child the push required to speak more.
6. Provide a Language-Rich Environment
By providing a language-rich environment that is available to your child twenty-four hours a day, you give your child unlimited opportunities to improve their speech and language skills. Organize your child’s environment so that it contains words and phrases that are used regularly and which will give them ample opportunity to practice. For example, label various objects around the house, narrate your day with your child (and have them do the same) and print passages of great books or movies around the home so your child can expand their vocabulary.
7. Promote Play-Based Learning
Children learn effectively from playing and applying play. Pediatric speech therapy activities can help children to have fun while accelerating their learning and assimilating content much faster, resulting in a more positive outlook after the session has been completed.Foster pretend play with your child and encourage him/her to take on different characters, play with puppets, or create stories. Not only does this increase their creativity, but also it stimulates language development as well.
Play-Based Pediatric Speech Therapy Activities to Enhance Communication Skills
Pediatric speech therapy does not need to be confined to a clinic. As a parent, you can observe, encourage, and even incorporate play-based activities at home that enhance the child's communication. Here are some examples:
1. Sensory Play for Early Childhood Intervention
Sensory play, like sand, water, or playdough, helps improve a child's language. This category of play engages the senses of the individual and also enhances language expression by involving the senses of touch, taste, sound, and sight.
2. Board Games for Early Childhood Intervention
Language skills can be enhanced effectively through board games. Encourage your child to speak out as she or he plays. In addition to this, turn taking and other social skills will be enhanced.
3. Make-Believe Play for Early Childhood Intervention
Playing pretend is certainly one of the favorite activities of children. Encourage them to verbalize the role plays and the characters involved.
4. Music and Movement for Early Childhood Intervention
Music and movement sessions also help the language development of a child by offering them new ways to express themselves. Children with speech delays benefit specifically from repetitive lyrics and the movement of their hands associated with the songs.
5. Simon Says for Early Childhood Intervention
Simon Says is a classic game that might become your child's favorite while they are learning things like following directions, imitating sounds, and using words that are different from each other. Specific speech sound targets can also be incorporated into the game (e.g. touch your nose, touch your toes, etc.).
6. Acting out Stories for Early Childhood Intervention
Pick a beloved book and get your child to act the story out using hand signs, facial expressions, and body language. This activity is aimed at better cognitive functions concerning language learning and also positively influences social interactions.
7. Picture Cards for Early Childhood Intervention
Employ picture cards that contain objects and actions and let your child identify and name the items. This activity is beneficial for building vocabulary and aiding with word retrieval.
8. Puppets for Early Childhood Intervention
Children are fascinated by puppets and enjoy interactive play. With puppets, a child may try to imitate a cat, a dog, or an old man and perform different voices, articulation, and storytelling.
Pediatric Speech Therapy Progress—Tips and Wisdom for Early Childhood Intervention
1. Be Consistent to Enhance Early Childhood Intervention
One critical element of a pediatric speech therapy program is consistency. It’s essential that the exercises that are practiced in pediatric speech therapy are incorporated into daily activities and made routine.
2. Collaborate With a Therapist to Enhance Early Childhood Intervention
Developing good communication with your child's pediatric speech therapy provider is vital. Ensure that your concerns and questions are communicated and you both find a plan that works ideally for your child. Maintain positive communication and cooperate with them to identify a strategy which works well for your child.
3. Encourage Self-Expression to Enhance Early Childhood Intervention
To enhance communication skills, it is important that you let your child speak without any disturbance, even if he or she is wrong. Motivate your child to talk and use words despite the fact that he/she makes mistakes. Let them say what they want as they might be afraid to speak up or be nervous about expressing themselves.
4. Celebrate Small Victories to Enhance Early Childhood Intervention
Every single step, however minor, is worthy of celebration. Always remember to appreciate your child for their accomplishments, which should enhance their self-belief and feelings of accomplishment. The entire journey of pediatric speech therapy with your child should be marked with every little step or success! Using positive reinforcement in this way inspires confidence in your child, comforting them and pushing them forward towards their ultimate development.
As a parent, you fight for what you believe is best for your child in early childhood intervention. There is no telling what difference your involvement and support might mean in the promotion of their communication development. With the establishment of a nurturing home environment, play-based activities, and interaction with your child's speech language pathologist and pediatric speech therapy curriculum, you can take your child to their highest level of abilities. Make sure that you are patient and persistent and that you appreciate every small victory. Your child will grow not only physically but also emotionally; with love and support from you, your child will become a successful communicator as a result of early childhood intervention.
When you’re ready to take the first step in your journey, we encourage you to reach out to our team at PenguinSmart. There is a short window of opportunity in a child’s life where early childhood intervention can have the greatest impact and change the trajectory of a child’s life. With the help of our digital parent-centered training program, we will ensure that this time is used wisely and your child sees the kind of growth and development you are hoping for. Click here to learn more.
About PenguinSmart
Digital solutions for parent-centered speech and language intervention.
Founded by Harvard & MIT alumni, PenguinSmart combines the latest data sciences with expert insights to empower parents to become a key part of their children's developmental journey. By helping families effectively integrate communication techniques into daily life, we see children show faster improvement compared to relying on weekly clinical sessions alone (in some cases 2-3x faster). We have already served English & Mandarin-speaking families from over 35 cities around the world. PenguinSmart is an Alchemist Accelerator-backed company and was nominated for the IFAH Global "Top 100 Healthcare Visionaries" award.
Our Core Service
Customized Parent Coaching - a comprehensive, online family coaching program to help parents engage their child at home and stimulate communication development with customized training plans, caregiver training, 1:1 consultations with an SLP and coaching team, on-demand online assistant support, and access to a personal learning platform. Each module is 12-16 weeks long.