Summertime is a Great Time for Speech Therapy Activities
Summer offers the perfect window for children and adults alike to make progress on their communication goals. Summertime often means shifting into a lower, slower gear with life becoming less stressful and more relaxing. It’s traditionally a time to recharge and relax, but it also offers a time to support children’s communication skills as they grow older.
Online Speech Therapy for Kids is Less Stressful and More Fun
Scheduling speech therapy activities during the summer can be beneficial for several reasons. During the school year, children may have a lot of academic and extracurricular activities that take up their schedules as well as their attention. Speech therapy appointments can get squeezed in around those activities or canceled when there are scheduling conflicts.
By scheduling speech therapy activities during the summer, children can focus on their speech and language goals without the added pressure of schoolwork or other extracurricular activities. This free time allows students to practice speech exercises, read books, play games and engage in conversation, all of which can help improve communication skills.
Additionally, with virtual services like Great Speech, online speech therapy for kids offers the support of a speech therapist from anywhere – whether at home or on vacation.
Summer Practice Keeps Skills Consistent
Regular practice and repetition are crucial for speech therapy to be effective. Scheduling summer speech therapy activities can help ensure that children have consistent access to therapy services, without the interruptions that can occur during the school year.
Online speech therapy services can help students continue toward their communication goals without the need to leave the house, as a licensed speech therapist can provide services using a laptop or a tablet.
Great Speech’s hybrid plan of synchronous 1:1 sessions with a therapist combined with asynchronous activities for individuals to complete on their own, at their own pace, allows additional opportunities for children to accelerate their speech therapy goals.
Access to More Resources
Speech therapists may offer specialized summer speech therapy activities that provide a fun and supportive themed environment for children to work on their speech therapy goals, such as having the child play with sand or water, or blowing bubbles. There are several ways to integrate speech therapy activities into daily summer life:
- Boom Cards – these interactive, web-based cards provide specific communication tasks that can be self-checked as they are used.
- Teachers Pay Teachers – This online educator marketplace offers a variety of resources for speech therapists to enrich sessions, including specific summer speech therapy activities. Many of these activities are digital and easily downloadable.
- Great Speech Portal Access – As an online speech therapy provider, Great Speech also offers additional practice activities through its portal, which is now accessible as a stand alone via a monthly fee. To learn more, click here to request a free screening.
More Time for Adults, Too!
If you’re interested in online speech therapy for adults, summer is also a great time to work with a speech therapist. Adults often find that their own schedules loosen up during the summer months. This provides a great opportunity to schedule an assessment with an online speech therapist, which will also include a discussion regarding your communication concerns and goals. Your therapist can create a specialized plan that can result in new communication skills that will benefit all areas of your life, from home and personal relationships to work and professional life. To learn more about the online speech therapy services available for adults and children through Great Speech, schedule an introductory call today.
