I realize that this is a very short post, but sometimes short and sweet is a good way to get a few simple points across. Perhaps this will help you remember them more easily…..
So, you have been told that your child has a speech-language delay. Perhaps you have heard no meaningful words at all and are very upset about this.. You CAN help your son or daughter, even if outside and not in the structured confines of a formal speech therapy session. In fact, it is extremely important that you do this because YOU as a parent are your child’s first teacher, not me.
As a parent myself, I realize this is a hard job and maybe not the easiest to carry out if things have to get done quickly. The principle is what I want to get across to you. It can be used across different settings and in different activities. Let’s start with an everyday activity in which you are sure to be involved, especially if you live in an urban setting.
You are going to take a bus ride:
DESCRIBE THE OBJECT: “blue/big bus”, point out the advertisements on the bus if there are pictures – comment about them. if there are words maybe your child is learning to read and you can point out individual ones and spell words.
COUNT: the number of wheels on the bus, the number of people getting on the bus, the number of people getting off the bus. how many men and women (by three your child will typically differentiate between gender), then count the number of boys or girls and the number of babies.
***by the age of three your child starts to understand the difference between gender so you can figure out how many men vs. ladies are on the bus. you may want to count the number of children and/or babies are on the bus.
How many of us have sung “The Wheels on the Bus” as children growing up. You may want to go to your local book store and buy an “old-fashioned” book – i love them, or load one on your e-reader and show it to your child. This is a PERFECT bus activity and as you read the book you can point out all the things on the bus and where they are as you sing. If you carry an electronic device, I have learned that you can type in almost any topic and up pops something. I just typed into u-tube “the wheels on the bus”. On the first page of my i phone pop up twenty-three different versions. Just try them out! I learned this from a parent recently. …the idea of just scrolling thru on any particular topic and it is terrific!.
Try these ideas and send me a comment about any other activities that you may enjoy with your child while on the bus and perhaps we can share the idea with others. I would love to hear from you. Thanks!
robinslp 