Early Intervention Speech Therapy Activities
Speech and language development take place as the child grows. Any impediments in speech can be noticed between the ages of 18 months to 36 months. Early intervention speech therapy activities at home or with the help of a therapist can help a child recover from any speech problems.
Early Intervention Speech Therapy Activities: Pre-speech activities are genuinely designed to improve parent-child interaction there by, improving conversational skills in a child.
A child would not normally know the proper syntaxes while speaking, it is important that they are taught to use-
- sentences and not phrases
- verbs and nouns while speaking
- of the correct word in place of the mispronounced word
Pre-Speech Activities: The norms of a conversation are to be taught to a child at a very early stage because the child is unaware as to where to start and where to stop.
- This can be done during the child’s play time. For instance, sit with the child while playing something like ball. When the child gestures for the ball, give it to him/her.
- Ask for the ball back using the same gesture as the child did along with the question, “can I have the ball?”. Keep repeating this during the play.
Hearing Issues: Speech develops through proper listening and seeing. Children who face problems with listening cannot make out what is spoken. Instead, they would only be able to recognise a loud noise. This can create serious issues with both language and speech.
So, it is important that parents pick up the affected child and tell him/her (when there is something positive to say) in a loud and clear manner, so that the child understands.
Mispronounced Words: Normally a child pronounces in a wrong fashion, although the message may be conveyed. It is important that parents correct the child by repeating the correct sentence. Substituting the appropriate sentence would allow the child’s brain to compare the two sentences.
Full Sentences: A child would only speak in phrases, because he/she does not know grammar still. Upon using phrases, it is the parent’s duty to complete the sentence.
Nouns: Teaching the names of objects that are used daily (like toys, furniture et.) is very important. Substitute the words “this” and “that” in a sentence with the appropriate noun.
Responses: Responding to situations can be taught to a child during daily activities. Tell the child in a perfect sentence what you are doing. For instance, if you are pressing clothes, say, “I’m pressing clothes”.
Early intervention speech therapy activities can help a child rectify any language or speech issues effectively. Rectifying these issues at a young age is much easier than doing after the child grows older.