Got 5 Minutes For Better Speech At Home?

Hello Speech Families!

What if I told you that you could change the trajectory of your child’s speech and language skills in as little as 5 minutes a day at home? Don’t think it’s possible? Well, read on for how to get started and some tips to help you along the way.

Small steps each day can really add up. So, if you worked with your child for 5 minutes each day, that would add up to 35 minutes each week and 2 hours and 30 minutes each month. Two hours and 30 minutes each month! That’s incredible. Anything that we do for two hours and thirty minutes each month will see improvement, and speech and language skills are no different in most cases.

MY CHILD IS ALREADY WORKING WITH AN SLP

Let’s say your child is already working with a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP), then your child is already getting dedicated speech and language time each week (typically 30-60 minutes depending on the child and the situation), so you don’t need to spend extra time on speech and a language skills at home, right?

Well, that’s not entirely true.

Of course, research shows that working with an SLP can bring about improvements in speech and language skills and helps your child reach their communication goals. But, YOU are the one who spends the most time with your child. YOU are the one who models communication for your child. YOU are the first person your child sees in the morning and that last person your child sees at night. 

Now, this can be overwhelming to realize you can have such an impact in your child’s life, trust me, I’ve been there! It can also be an incredible opportunity, because automatically it makes anything you do important. If what you do at home is in alignment with the SLP and is matched with your particular child, then you can bring about communication gains for your child.

A child and family who are less frustrated with communication, who doesn’t want that? 

DOUBLE YOUR INVESTMENT

What if I told you that you could double your investment? If it was money, would you take that chance? Most people would say sure! What if it was speech and language skills? 

Well, let’s look at your 5 minutes each day and pair that with the 30 – 60 minutes each week that your child gets with the SLP.  Now you’re looking at 65-95 minutes each week, and 4 ½ hours – 6 ½ hours each month!! That’s almost an entire day working on communication skills each month. 

Just by adding 5 minutes each day of working on your child’s speech and language skills at home, you’ve doubled the time they get to practice and build those skills! Isn’t that amazing?

TIPS TO HELP YOU

So, we’ve already established that to improve communication skills faster, you can use 5 minutes at home to strategically work on your child’s speech and language skills. But, how can you actually make this happen? 

TIP # 1: GET CLEAR

The first step is to get clear on your child’s current communication skills. To do this, I want you to go find that evaluation report from the SLP or that copy of the IEP from your child’s school. Now, understanding the entire report depends on how the report was written and for what purpose, but I’ll get into that in another post. For right now, I want you to flip through until you see the area that says “assessment summary” “ expected outcomes” or “goals”. There will be long term goals and short term goals listed, this is what the SLP will be working on in therapy. Your SLP will choose which goals to work on first, based on a number of factors including the individual child. 

So, once you’ve read through the goals, especially the short term goals, I want you to reach out to your SLP and ask him/her these questions:

  1. Which specific, short term goals are you currently working on with my child?
  2. How can I support the work with this goal at home?
  3. What other activities at home will support progress on this goal?
  4. What can I do for 5 minutes each day at home that will make the most impact for my child to make progress on this goal?

Don’t worry, this does not have to be a long drawn out conversation or meeting, the SLP will be able to answer your questions pretty quickly and will appreciate that you are all working towards a common goal.

MY CHILD DOESN’T HAVE AN EVALUATION YET

Don’t have an evaluation of your child’s speech and language skills yet? If you are here, that tells me you have concerns and are seeking information. You can use the information that you find here to stimulate your child’s communication skills, and maybe that’s all your child needs. However, if you’ve been working with your child at home for 3 – 6 months and you still don’t see improvements, I recommend that you seek out a speech and language evaluation from a certified, licensed Speech- Language Pathologist. 

TIP #2 MANAGE FRUSTRATION

So, now you are clear on the goal, remember that what you are asking your child to do (their speech and language skills) is difficult for them. Whether your child has had a speech and language evaluation or not, you are here because you have some concerns about your child’s communication skills, so that tells me that your child (or the family) has experienced communication challenges of some sort. 

Think about something that is challenging for you – maybe it’s exercising, or learning a new piece of technology, or remembering to drink water each day (not that I’m speaking from personal experience, wink). When you first think about learning new skills, it might seem big and overwhelming to you. That’s completely normal. It’s also completely normal for your child to feel that way, too. 

So, it’s important to honor where you are and where your child is on their communication journey. Only you as the parent or caregiver knows the full extent of that journey. So, first take some time and reflect. Where did your child start with their skills and where is your child is now?

Then, move on and think about what can be done to reduce the amount of frustration that comes with learning something new for you and your child, and how to guarantee success. You might be at a point where you are frustrated yourself and it’s hard to see the bigger picture. That’s okay, you’re human! If you’re not sure how to diffuse the frustration around communication, for your or your child, and keep reading for some suggestions below.

TIP #3: CREATE A ROUTINE

Now, this tip may sound boring, and you may say you hate routines. I have my moments of feeling the same way, but I assure you it works. Why? Because our brain loves routines, and tries to automate as much as possible so it can spend energy on unexpected things that come up during the day. We already have so many routines throughout our day, but we may not be aware of most of them! Some we’ve done them all our life, like brushing our teeth each day, or perhaps it’s not a routine we intentionally chose, like the chaos that happens after school when the kids get home. 

HOW TO CREATE A ROUTINE

Regardless of all that, now you get to choose! Here are some recommendations of how to choose the best time to have 5 minutes of speech time each day with your child:

  1. Then look at your daily routines, things you do each day – eat, sleep, bathe, brush teeth, brush hair, run errands, watch TV, check your phone. This one may take some time if you are not aware of your household routines. 
  2. Once you’ve identified routines that you already are doing, pick two or three during the day that are easiest for you and when you are in the best mood. For example, I know I’m a morning person, so my morning routine is the easiest and I’m in the best mood. For you, it may be different, identify what works for you. 
  3. Next, look at the two to three routine choices and pick the one where your child is in the best mood.
  4. Now, put your daily speech time before, during, or after this routine. In essence, the speech time becomes part of the routine. To determine whether the speech time should be before, during, or after the routine, consult with your SLP. If you don’t have an SLP, I recommend starting with during the routine. I can show you how to do this in other posts.

Now here is the key – once you’ve found your time, write it down on your calendar! It’s an official appointment with you and your child that takes priority. Write it down or put it into your digital calendar, and set an alarm on your phone for the same time each day.

Stick to this new routine for about two weeks and if it doesn’t work for your family, then change it! You’re in charge.

ROUTINE STUMBLING BLOCK

A word of caution, be sure to pick a routine that happens at the same every day – even on weekends. Weekends often follow a different rhythm, but our brain doesn’t care if it’s a weekend or not. All your brain cares about is that it’s a new day and you have a routine. For this season, while you are doing your 5 minutes each day, honor the choice you already made to stick to your new routine. You can do this!

TIP # 4: SET A TIMER

As with anything challenging, it’s important to break down that big skill into smaller chunks. This way you get small, consistent wins and it’s easier to focus, stay positive, and have less frustration. This is the beauty of only working with your child for 5 minutes a day, it will naturally break down that skill into smaller TIME chunks, which reduces frustration overall.

Setting a timer is key for this strategy to work, for you and your child. Set a timer for 5 minutes and stick to it. If your child knows that something is challenging, but they only have to do it for 5 minutes, you’ll see less frustration and more cooperation. 

You may choose to involve your child with the timer or set it just for yourself to stay on track. This will depend in large part on your child, what your goals are, and when you are incorporating your speech time into your schedule.

TIP #5: BE CONSISTENT

Consistency is key for this strategy to work. Of course, life will happen. There will be days that you wake up in the morning, and unexpectedly someone is sick. Or days where you didn’t get to go to the grocery store all day and now you have to go when you would normally be working with your child.

Don’t worry, give yourself grace for that day and start the next day fresh and ready to get back on the routine. Remember, every day adds up, each day is important. Skip when you need to, and keep the ones you can. 

I find it helpful when I’m working on a goal to monitor it with a calendar – so I will just check off the days that I do it. This can be just a simple calendar you can print off or one you can use on your phone. Give yourself a check on the days that your child gets their 5 minutes. If you see a pattern of several days with no checks, it may be time to evaluate your schedule and how you can turn that pattern around.

GOT 5 MINUTES?

So, we’ve talked about what an impact just 5 minutes each day can have in your child’s speech and language skills. Even if your child is already working with an SLP, the impact that YOU can have on your child’s communication skills is powerful. You are the most important person in your child’s life, so you will make the most difference. 

How can you do this with everything else you are balancing in your life? First, take some time to get clear on the communication goals. Work collaboratively with your SLP if you have one and determine if you need to seek out a speech and language evaluation for your child. Take some time to create a 5 minutes a day routine that works for you and your child and connect it with the already established household routines in your home. Make an appointment on your calendar and set alarm reminders. Set a timer for your 5 minute speech time and honor it! Be consistent with your 5 minutes each day by monitoring your progress with a calendar. Finally, give yourself grace for the days which don’t go as planned, give grace to your child who is doing something challenging, and keep moving forward. You can do this!

Resources

Allen, Melissa M. (2013) Intervention Efficacy And Intesity For Children With Speech Sound Disorder. Journal of Speech, Laguage, Hearing Research (56)3, 865-877

Roberts, M.Y, Curtis, P.R., et al. (2019) Association Of Parent Training With Child Language Development: A Systemic Review And Meta-Analysis. Jams pediatrics, 173 (7). 671-680

Roberts, Megan Y., Kaiser, Ann P. (2011) The Effectiveness Of Parent- Implemented Language Interventions: A Meta-Analysis. American Journal Of Speech-Language Pathology, Vol. 20. 180-199

Roepke, E., Greenwell, T., et al. (2019) Service Delivery For Children With Speech Sound Disorders: Evidence For The Quick Articulation! Model. EBP Briefs (14)2, 1-9

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