Kids and the new normal
Kids have really had it rough this year. With a few exceptions, they are cooped up at home a lot of the time. School was cut off several months early, and summer vacation has been pretty lousy. And to top it off, Disneyland AND Disneyworld were closed!
It’s definitely for their safety, as well as ours, but it still takes a toll.
And kids continue to face a new normal, especially as it relates to education. This fall schools will be run completely differently than ever before. Some schools may not even open.
For families who rely on schools for speech therapy, this is a big problem to overcome.
There is an answer. It may not always be easy, but it’s possible: you can do speech therapy at home.
Evaluation
Let’s start with the basics: your child needs to be evaluated for services. Speech therapists are professionals with the education and the training to give your child the evaluation he needs. In person would probably be the best way to go, just so that a speech therapist can gather as much information as possible about your child.
Online speech therapy
But perhaps you’re a little “iffy” when it comes to having in person contact. There are a lot of other reasons why you may not want your child to see a speech therapist in person, and that’s okay. That’s the beauty of online speech therapy. Your child can get the speech services he needs from the safety and comfort of home. It’s even possible to get an evaluation done online if you’re really against the idea of going to a clinic.
You can do it too
What if your child can’t do online speech therapy? Maybe your child won’t sit still for treatment on a computer. Or maybe you’re on a waiting list and the clinic won’t be able to see your child for at least six months, maybe even a year or longer. The good news is that many clinics will offer an evaluation even if they can’t give treatment right away.
After the speech therapist has given the evaluation, ask for suggestions on which goals you should work on first. Also ask for tips and strategies the speech therapist would use to help your child, and a list of resources (i.e. toys, children’s books, books written by speech therapists, games, handouts, etc.)that you can use. Hopefully this can help a lot while you continue to wait for services, or even if you decide to just do it all on your own.
Another option
Yes, this blog is definitely about doing speech therapy at home, but if you can, give in-person therapy a second look. Definitely ask about health and safety measures like the sanitation procedures being used, masks, temperature checks, etc. Like many other businesses, speech therapy clinics are doing their part to observe all rules and guidelines provided by the local government and health services.
Any of these options can work for you and your kiddo. But whether you want to handle speech therapy yourself, or trust a speech therapist to do it online or in-person, don’t have any doubts. Do what seems best for your family.