It’s always a great feeling when your student is ready to work on carryover of their speech sound into everyday conversation. Part of this process is through home practice. Now the big question is: how do you guide parents to support their child’s speech at home for effective carryover? Well, whether you work in schools, private practice, or other settings, there are a few things you can do to empower parents so they feel confident supporting their child’s speech. Let’s take a look at 7 ways parents can support their child’s articulation carryover skills at home.
1. Have the parent(s) attend a session
Ask the parent(s) to attend a session where they can learn how to support their child’s speech at home. At the start of the session, you can let the parent know what you’re going to do during the activity so they know what to watch for in terms of how you’re cueing, providing feedback, and modeling speech sounds. Then, the parent can observe you in action during the activity. Don’t be shy about drawing the parent’s attention at key moments for them to learn specific cues that have been successful during sessions. Then, you can have the parent(s) become the SLP and directly support their child’s speech in the activity. I like to have them do the same activity that I did so it’s easier for them to emulate what they just observed. Lastly, give the parents tips/feedback to ensure correct practice at home.
Getting parents to attend your session is a great way to empower them to feel confident that they are able to support their child’s speech at home. Parents are the experts when it comes to their child. Let’s equip them with the right strategies and tools for speech practice!
2. Modeling
Modeling is important for the student to hear the target sound produced correctly on numerous occasions. When an adult models a speech sound, it brings the student’s attention to that sound without the expectation of them saying it back. It’s an easy way for parents to support carryover at home. Parents can exaggerate the target sound by making it louder, slower and longer e.g. saying “the sssssun us bright” if supporting the /s/ sound. Parents can model the sound throughout the day, or while practicing speech with their child.
3. Incorporating practice into daily routine
Encourage parents to find a set time at home for daily practice. Of course, life gets busy and finding time throughout the day might be challenging. It’s important to find a time that works for the family without adding extra stress. Embedding practice in an activity the family already does in their daily routine is best. For example, if parents already read stories to their child before bed, they can practice the child’s target sound as it comes up while reading the book. This is also a great time to provide modeling. Parents can also sneak in some quality speech practice with short bursts of time. For example, while on the walk to school or before dinner time.
4. Using gestures to not interrupt speech
Using gestures to support the child’s self-monitoring skills is a great strategy for parents. It’s helpful because they can use a gesture to remind the child to use their speech sound in conversation without interrupting what the child is saying. Be sure to establish a gesture in your therapy session and instruct the parents on how and when to use these in a non-intrusive way that does not discourage their child from practicing their speech.
5. Practice for 5 minutes a day in conversation
This can be helpful for busy parents. Encourage them to set aside 5 minutes everyday where the parent and child have a conversation, and the parent corrects the child (perhaps using a gesture as discussed above) each time they don’t produce their target sound correctly. Parents can keep that time of day consistent until the child no longer needs cueing. Then, they can change the time of day at which they have their 5-minute practice to help the child carry skills over to other environments and conversation settings. Remind the parents to not correct the child too often outside of that 5 minute conversation to minimize frustration.
6. Use a carryover calendar to ensure daily practice
A lot of families that I’ve worked with have enjoyed using a daily calendar of speech activities to practice at home. They simply refer to the calendar activity for the day and start practicing with their child! It is a great way for families to practice daily in a quick and easy way.
I designed my own speech calendar for this very reason. Check it out in my R vocalic Home Packet Freebie if you’re curious! It includes some fun activities and can be done anytime! I like to send it with a home packet for home practice during the summer or while the kids are taking a break from speech therapy. The calendar activities take a few minutes to do. I like to have parents place it on the fridge to remind them to practice every day.
7. Use a home program
As I mentioned, I love sending home packets that include basic instructions, a set of activities, including carryover activities and a carryover calendar! I couldn’t find a great comprehensive home packet, and so I ended up designing an entire series of home program packets for every speech sound! I made sure to include vibrant and inclusive pictures to keep kids engaged. It includes editable parent-friendly instructions that walks parents through simple cueing, modeling, and the articulation hierarchy. The home program packet includes a set of varied activities from word level to conversation. These activities are fun, no prep, and easy for parents and kids to use. Each packet also comes with a copy of the carryover calendar I mentioned previously. You can check it out and get the free Vocalic R Home Program Packet!
Those are 7 ways for parents to support articulation carryover at home. We all know home practice is so important in speech therapy. I hope some of what I discussed today can help with home practice for your students working on articulation carryover!
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Hosnia
