Speech Therapy – Back to Basics
As some of you may know, I’m not just a Female Voice Over Artist, I’m a mum as well. Like all parents, nothing affects me as much as one of my children in difficulty so when my three-year-old son was referred for speech therapy, I felt quite upset and worried. Fortunately, we received some excellent support and my son’s communication is back on track.
When my son started nursery at 3, the teachers picked up that his speech wasn’t developing as quickly as it should. All the other areas of his development were normal; he’s always been very sociable and can comprehend a normal range of words for someone of his age. The only problem lay with his speech, which was hard to understand and well behind that of his classmates. As a voice-over artist, I could hardly believe the irony of my son having delayed speech development…but I quickly put that thought aside and got on with correcting the problem.
My husband and I had actually had some concerns about our son’s speech when he was just two, partly because I was suspected of having hearing problems when I was little. We had him referred, but it took over six months to get an initial appointment. After that, it took a year to have six classes with a speech group, and most of what we learnt in the classes was what we’d already tried. We ended up paying for private care and it was worth every penny. After the initial consultation, the speech therapist gave us a full report on exactly the words and sounds he would struggle with as well as the placement of issues. In just two or three sessions our son’s speech had developed considerably – we were all delighted with his progress.
Seeing a speech therapist was a great relief – now we had access to expert help and we were going to get my son’s speech up to the expected level for his age. We were given lots of great ideas to try at home, and we started to see (and hear!) the results sooner than I’d expected. The suggestions divide up into general talking strategies, oral motor games to help the face muscles develop and how to get the most from reading books together. Here are some of the ones that worked for us:
General:
- Get down to your child’s level and make eye contact.
- Simplify your own sentences, e.g. “teddy is on the train,” rather than, “teddy is riding on the wooden train…I wonder where he’s going?”
- Play imaginative “role play” games, like shops or schools.
- Ask “choice” questions e.g. “do you want an apple or a banana?
- Record words on your phone or dictaphone with your child and let him then hear it back.
Oral motor games:
- Look in the mirror together. Poke your tongue out in different directions and ask your child to copy you.
- Suck up drinks with a straw, or use the straw to blow bubbles in the bath
- Have fun with sounds: “p,p,p” to blow out candles or pretend to be cold and go “brrrrrr!”
Books:
- Make sure your child can see your face while you’re reading.
- Talk about the pictures as well as the written words
- Books with repetition, or ones written in rhyme, are easier for children to remember. If they want to join in, let them!
There are loads more ideas, tips and suggestions for parents of children who need help with their speech. Talking Point is run by the children’s communication charity, I CAN, and has some excellent resources.
Another great way to help your child develop their communication skills is to go along to sessions like Sing and Sign. If your child does have issues with the words or speech later then the frustration can be less for them as they can communicate with signing. In fact, I’m just off now to do a class with my baby daughter! I admire anyone who learns sign language and it’s a great string to your bow. If you think Sing and Sign could help your family, click here to read more about it:
http://www.british-sign.co.uk/
And here are some classes for your little ones who use BSL accredited trainers.
Helping my son improve his speech has been an interesting experience. I’ve learnt a lot about speaking which I’d always just taken for granted and borrowed some of the techniques for my own vocal warm up too! Best of all, my son’s speech is really improving and he’ll never be held back by it, whether he wants to use his voice and follow in my footsteps or not.
