Is home practice important?
The short answer is yes.
"Children ... learn to talk by talking to people who talk to them; people who make efforts to understand what they are trying to say." - Raban, (2014, p.1)
Daily conversations with family, friends, and early childhood educators allow children to hear speech sounds, words, and sentences in different situations. Conversations allow children to practise saying words and to develop social interaction skills (such as turn-taking, answering questions, and asking questions).
Sometimes children need a little bit of extra help to develop these communication skills and this is when attending speech pathology may support them but...
"Practice makes perfect"- I know we have all heard this saying and it is a bit cliché- but it's true! A child who is developing communication skills needs practise every day. Who is with the child every day?
The child will more quickly learn skills if they are practised every day- something a single speech pathology session a week just can't provide!
There are lots of ways to build speech and language skills at home and we can work with you to support your skills in doing this. You aren't alone and we are here to help. We can even involve the siblings if they are keen!
Just remember that the more you practise the skills, the quicker a child can gain skills- just like learning to play the piano or learning to ride a bike. Some children will pick up the skill very quickly in one session, but most children need lots of practice to get really good at it!
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Making it easy- add it to tasks you already do!
We know that adding an extra task to your daily life can add extra stress that you don't need- especially when we are all so busy!
That's why we provide resources and tips that you can use to stimulate your child's speech and language in everyday tasks and activities.
Sometimes we teach you how to add speech and language when in the kitchen making lunch for your child, when putting shoes on, cleaning teeth, playing on the trampoline, and during other daily tasks. We acually get involved with you during these tasks to show you how to build communication in the moment, and to help you practise.
Sometimes we ask you to practise the skills that your child is learning by using resources at home (e.g., picture cards)- but you don't have to set aside extra time for this! You can do it during bath time or dinner time or even in the car.
References:
Raban, B. (2014). Talk to think, learn and teach. Journal of Reading Recovery, Spring 2014, 1-11.