The Power of Play: How to Enhance Speech Therapy at Home with Toys
Want to make the most of your child’s speech therapy sessions at home? Games and toys are your secret weapons for doing just that! Here at Kids First, we totally get how vital it is to weave fun activities into your child’s everyday life to boost the strides they’re making in speech therapy sessions.
Want to know what to buy, or give as a gift, to a child who goes to speech therapy? Here’s some helpful suggestions from our experienced speech therapists …
1. Cause and Effect Toys
Get into the swing of cause and effect! If your child goes to speech therapy, you’ve probably noticed that their speech pathologist has all sorts of toys that respond to actions, like pop-up games or clever gadgets that get your child engaged. When you play with cause and effect toys at home, you’ll double the effectiveness of therapy sessions and rev your child’s language skills up through exploration and talk.
2. Musical Instruments
Time to rock out! Drums, xylophones, or shakers groove kids’ language development up through songs, rhythm, and imitation. Speech therapists often use making music as a way to build children’s communication skills. When you play around with music at home, you’ll be giving your child lots of valuable practice as they make sounds and enjoy your reactions.
3. Simple arts and crafts
Let those creative juices flow! Drawing, painting, and sculpting aren’t just fun; they’re chat-starters about colours, shapes, and actions. You may have noticed that your child’s speech pathologist sometimes encourages your child to do things with their hands while they are at their therapy session. You can do the same at home, and when the scissors, glue and crayons come out, you can boost your son or daughter’s language skills in a playful way.
4. Board Games
Board games are all about taking turns and chit-chat! Games like “Guess Who?” and “Memory” get the conversation flowing, making speech development a blast. Here at Kids First, we also love the Orchard Toys brand and some of our favourites for building children’s speech skills include ‘Spotty Dogs’ and ‘Dotty Dinosuars’. If you have loving family members who are keen to give your child gifts that are enjoyable and valuable for their learning, board games are a great thing to have on your child’s wish list.
5. Puzzles
for best bang for speech therapy buck, pick puzzles that have pictures and words for speech-boosting fun. They’re not just cool; they’re also mega-helpful in growing language skills. Your child’s speech pathologist will be happy to help you with ideas for puzzles that will help your son or daughter to reach their communication goals.
6. Interactive Books
Get ready to dive into books that pop, flap, and make noise! Interactive books keep children hooked while also giving lots of opportunities to increase their language skills. Not sure which books are the for your child at their age and stage of development? The Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year awards are judged by speech pathologists and celebrate Aussie books that ace the art of aiding kids in language and literacy skills. There’s something for every age – from picture books for the littlest readers to chapter books for older bookworms aged 8 to 10. When you weave these kinds of award-winning interactive books into your child’s reading time, it’s not just about stories; it’s about boosting their speech, language, and reading skills in an exciting way. You can learn more about Speech Pathology Australia’s Book of the Year Awards here
Helping your child at home
Using toys to boost speech therapy at home add more than you realise to your child’s learning experience. Anything you do at home to consolidate, practice or reinforce what your child did in their speech therapy session will exponentially improve your son or daughter’s chances of achieving their communication goals.
But if you ever have any worries about how your child is progressing with their speech and language skills, don’t hesitate to seek guidance. Talking to a speech pathologist or your child’s doctor can provide valuable insights and support. Remember, taking proactive steps early on can truly make a big difference in your child’s journey to better speech and language skills.
Speech Therapy at Kids First
Feel free to reach out to Kids First Children’s Services where our experienced speech pathologists are ready to provide the support your child needs. We’re located in Sydney’s northern beaches and we’re here to help.
