It can be frustrating and worrying for parents if their child isn’t reaching their speech milestones. The good news is that there are simple, everyday strategies you can start using right away to support your child’s speech development at home.
My name is Jessica Abawag, and I’m the owner and Speech-Language Pathologist of Fluens Children’s Therapy in Tacoma, Washington, and Columbia, Tennessee. Today, we’re going to talk about how parents can help a child with a speech delay.
Many Parents Ask How Their Child Developed a Speech Delay
One of the most commonly asked questions we get from parents, especially on the first meeting, is how their child developed a speech delay. I totally understand where they’re coming from and why they want these answers.
Unfortunately, the research isn’t great right now in terms of pinpointing what causes a speech delay, unless there’s some known incident, such as an injury to the brain, or another diagnosis such as autism.
While we aren’t able to give parents a clear answer on why their child developed a speech delay, we can provide some tools and resources that parents can use at home and in their daily routines to help support their child with the speech delay.
How to Help Toddlers Who Aren’t Talking Yet at Home
We encourage parents to use lots of gestures when they’re talking. For instance, if they are wanting to draw their child’s attention to a plane or a bird, we tell them to point. When they’re going to pick their child up from the ground or a play pen, we encourage parents to lift their hands to show them that they’re going to pick them up. We encourage them when they’re singing or dancing to use gestures in that regard, too.
Another thing that we encourage parents to do is to repeat themselves. Kids, especially younger kids or kids with a speech delay, need a lot of repetition in order to understand what others are saying. This also helps them learn to produce or imitate the word, phrase, or sound that we’re wanting them to make.
So, if you have a similar routine, use similar phrases or words such as, “It’s time to take a bath. First, we turn on the water, then we get in the bathtub, then we play with the toys.” If the same words and phrases are used in the same order, kids can start to predict and better understand what others are trying to say. This repetition from their parents will also help them more easily imitate or produce those words.
Sign Language Can Be a Great Tool for Children Who Are Nonverbal
Another tool that we encourage parents to use is sign language. The goal isn’t to make your child fluent in sign language, but to use it as a bridge for kids as they develop their speech skills. With sign language, you’re not just relying on the spoken word, but also seeing a visual. You can use that sign to help them both understand the words that are being spoken, as well as to give them an opportunity to copy the sign without having to say the word.
You can teach them the signs for anything the child will commonly encounter in their daily lives, like:
- More
- All done
- Please
- Thank you
- Drink
- Milk
Again, repetition is key. The more that the kids are exposed to the sign from the parent, the more likely they are to imitate and to understand what is being said. And there are a lot of great resources online to find simple signs you can use with your child. Remember, the goal is not to make the kids fluent in sign language, but to just latch onto some key words that will get them something they want right away.
Reach Out to Fluens for an Evaluation
Those are some general guidelines or tips that we encourage parents to use at home with their kids when their kid has a speech delay, but oftentimes additional support is needed from a speech therapist.
If this is something that you are facing with your child, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’ll be happy to set up an evaluation to assess your child’s needs and determine how we can help.
About Jessica
Jessica Abawag graduated from San Jose State University in 2012 with a Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology. She is certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and has a teaching credential in Special Education. Jessica has served hundreds of children and their families since 2016 when she founded Fluens Children’s Therapy. When she’s not working, she enjoys spending time with her family and traveling to new places