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My piano instructor said “practice makes perfect.” This statement still resonates with me today, many years later. The same is true with practice in speech therapy, the more you practice the more you get out of it. Whether you are working on articulation, early language, social communication, AAC or fluency, consistent home practice helps children refine and develop the skills we are targeting outside the clinical
setting and helps generalize skills to other
settings such as school and home.
Consistent home practice can help kids take more ownership over the therapy process as they experience success and increasing ease of use of speech and language skills. Supporting children’s home practice helps them understand that we value what they are learning and emphasizes the importance of good communication skills.
Here are a few things to think about when planning for home practice:
Create a consistent routine and practice every day
Make it fun, ask your SLP about home speech games, add humor and silly elements
Choose times to practice when your child is not tired or hungry
Break practice down into small increments of 2 or 3 five-minute segments
Give positive incentives and encourage your child’s practice and progress, however small it may appear, these incremental steps lead to reaching their goals
Try practicing in different environments such as at the park, in the car, or in the backyard to keep things new and interesting
Reduce possible distractions such as television screens or fidget toys