Tips for Parents of Children with Speech and Language Delays:  Activities to Encourage Progress with Virtual Speech Therapy

As parents, one of the most rewarding experiences is witnessing your child’s developmental milestones, especially when it comes to communication. However, if your child is experiencing speech or language delays, it can be concerning and sometimes frustrating.

The good news is that there are various activities and strategies that can help your child overcome speech and communication challenges and help make significant progress, and virtual speech therapy plays an increasingly important role in this process.

Understanding Speech Delay

Speech delay is relatively common among children. An estimated 5-10% of preschool-aged children experience some form of speech or language delay. It occurs when a child’s speech and language skills develop slower than expected. These delays can manifest in various ways, including difficulty with pronunciation, limited vocabulary or struggles with understanding and using language appropriately. While it’s essential to remember that children develop at their own pace, early intervention and online speech therapy can be highly effective in addressing these delays and helping children develop their communication skills.

While speech delay alone doesn’t always indicate a specific problem, it may be a sign of an underlying challenge that requires evaluation by a healthcare professional. Some conditions associated with speech delay include:

1. Developmental Language Disorder (DLD): DLD is a common childhood disorder where children have difficulty understanding and/or using spoken language to communicate. Also known as specific language impairment (SLI), this is a language disorder that affects the development of language skills without an apparent cause.
2. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Some children with ASD may experience speech and language delays or difficulties, particularly in social communication.
3. Intellectual Disabilities: Children with intellectual disabilities may have delays in speech and language development.
4. Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS): This motor speech disorder makes it challenging for children to coordinate the movements needed for speech.
5. Hearing Loss: Hearing impairment can significantly impact speech development. Children with hearing loss often have delayed speech and language skills.
6. Selective Mutism: Children with selective mutism consistently do not speak in certain social situations or with specific people, leading to speech delays.
7. Cerebral Palsy: This neurological condition can affect muscle control, including those needed for speech.
8. Down Syndrome: Many children with Down syndrome acquire non-verbal skills, such as gesturing and sign, before they develop verbal communication abilities.
9. Tongue-Tie (Ankyloglossia): In some cases, physical conditions like tongue-tie, where the strip of skin beneath the tongue is shorter than usual, can affect speech development.
10. Environmental Factors: Speech delays can also be influenced by environmental factors such as limited exposure to language, lack of stimulation or a non-supportive communication environment.

It’s crucial to remember that early intervention and evaluation by an SLP or healthcare professional are essential if parents or caregivers suspect speech delay in a child. Identifying the underlying cause and providing appropriate interventions, which may include virtual speech therapy, can significantly improve a child’s communication skills and overall development.

Tips for Parents of Children with Speech Delays

If you suspect your child has a speech delay, seeking the guidance of a speech therapist is crucial. SLPs can assess your child’s language skills and design a tailored intervention plan, including virtual speech therapy.

Additionally, surround your child with language-rich experiences. Talk to them about your day, read books together, and encourage conversations. The more they hear and participate in communication, the better their skills will develop, and online speech therapy can supplement these efforts.

Moreover, it’s essential to remain patient and offer positive reinforcement. Celebrate your child’s efforts and accomplishments — even if they make mistakes. Building confidence is important for progress, and one of the goals of speech therapy!

Activities to Encourage Speech and Language Development

There are many fun and effective activities that parents can incorporate into their daily routines to support their child’s speech and language development, along with how online speech therapy can enhance these activities.

• Read Aloud: Reading to your child is one of the most powerful activities for language development. Choose age-appropriate books with colorful pictures and engage your child by asking questions about the story or pictures. Virtual speech therapy can provide additional reading resources and guidance for parents.
• Sing Songs: Music is a fantastic tool for language development. Singing songs together can help your child learn new words and improve their memory. Choose songs with repetitive lyrics and gestures, such as “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” or “Wheels on the Bus.” SLPs may also incorporate musical activities into their online speech therapy sessions.
• Narrate Daily Activities: Describe what you are doing throughout the day. Whether you’re cooking, cleaning or going for a walk, communicate your actions and encourage your child to join in. For example, “I’m washing the dishes. Can you hand me the soap?” This can help your child connect words to actions.
• Play Pretend: Imaginative play is an excellent way to promote language skills. Play with dolls, action figures, or stuffed animals, and encourage your child to create stories and dialogue. This fosters creativity and language development, which can be discussed during online speech therapy sessions.
• Use Flashcards: Create simple picture flashcards with common objects or animals. Show the card to your child and ask them to say the word. You can also play games like “I Spy” with flashcards to improve vocabulary. An SLP may be able to provide digital flashcard resources.
• Expand on Their Language: When your child speaks, expand on their sentences. For example, if they say, “Dog,” you can respond with, “Yes, that’s a big, brown dog!” This can help strengthen correct sentence structure and introduce new words, and online speech therapy can reinforce these concepts.
• Practice Articulation: If your child struggles with pronunciation, practice specific sounds with them. Use fun tongue-twisters or play games like “Simon Says” to work on articulation. An SLP can provide targeted exercises to practice with your child.

Virtual Speech Therapy Supports Speech and Language Delays

With Great Speech’s nationwide network of 200+ licensed speech therapists, patients are paired with the most qualified speech-language pathologist (SLP) for their condition, regardless of their location. This vast network enables us to provide personalized and effective sessions that foster rapid progress in communication skills.

Speech and language delays can be challenging, but with patience, encouragement and the right activities, you can help your child make significant strides in their language development.

Your support and dedication as a parent, along with the addition of virtual speech therapy, are invaluable on your child’s journey to improved speech and language skills.

Get started by scheduling an introductory call today.