There are many strategies that educators and parents use to help their children improve their speech and language skills. Some have used board games, activity toys, interlocking blocks, role-playing games, art, and even music lessons to help children expand these skills. All of these have shown some degree of improvement, but there are things that teachers and parents need to do to make sure that the speech development toys and the method you use will make an impact in building your kid’s vocabulary.
Speak Slowly
Most parents understand the importance of engaging the child with speech development delays. What they do not know is that the usual pace of speaking may not assist with therapy. Slowly speaking enables the child to understand and imitate you with ease. Look at the child’s face when talking and repeat the words you are learning until they are correctly uttered.
Let the Child Know What You Are Doing
Putting real-life situations in the activity is very helpful in making children understand the context. For example, your child needs to hear the words cook, serve, and eat if they play with kitchen toys. The same words should be repeated when cooking in real life. Ideally, it would be best if you used simple language to inform the child of different activities taking place during play and your day-to-day lives.
Use Gestures and Songs
Using gestures and words at the same time is essential. It is equally beneficial for you to use basic rhythms when engaging in activities meant for speech therapy. You will be surprised at how kids tend to remember songs and gestures. These are the two principal elements that could assist them greatly in quickly building their vocabulary as they have a good time playing with their toys.
Combine Images and Sounds
You can create pictures and show them to children while saying the words. Point-and-say approaches may seem ordinary, but it is vital in early speech development so children could understand that words are associated with the objects they find in real life. Aside from giving them the context, you could try this approach so that they could be familiar with many other things in the real world.
Always Use Model Speech
It is best to speak with children using “model speech,” which means using correct pronunciation and terminologies, avoiding the predilection of many parents to use baby talk. Make sure to use the correct term for objects, feelings, and anything they will see or experience in life. If children are having difficulty in pronouncing certain words, do not show disappointment. There is a stage in childhood when children still need to develop their speaking skills, and encouragement is the best way to make them learn.
It pays to avoid toys that could limit the imagination of your child who has speech development delays. The best toys for language enhancement should allow the kid to play, move, and make sounds at a go. Shop around and look into various available options before choosing what to buy.
