Today's treatment tip is for parents who struggle to find the time to work on the carryover assignments given by your child's speech-language pathologist. We know that sometimes life is busy and it can be hard to find the time to help your child practice his/her skills. However, we also know that home carryover and practice are essential to progress. Here are some tips and tricks to making home practice a little bit easier!

Image from kids.lovetoknow.com — Image from kids.lovetoknow.com

Set aside the same time every day to sit with your child and work on his/her speech homework. It may be 5 minutes before bedtime, right after dinner or first thing in the morning. Whatever time you choose, stick with it and make it a habit for you and your child!

Involve siblings! Whether they are older or younger, siblings can be a great help at getting your child to work. They can also provide great models for speech and language while practicing your child's target skills.

Use reinforcement. Whether it is a sticker chart or a small treat, use motivating reinforcers to help encourage your child to practice his/her speech skills at home.

Practice skills in the car. Nowadays families are spending a lot of time in the car traveling between soccer practice, dance class and errands. It's ok to utilize that time to squeeze in some therapy practice! If your child is working on expressive language, talk about what you see on your drive and ask your child questions about things in the environment. If your child is working on articulation targets, take 5 minutes while you wait outside dance class to pick up the siblings to review your child's target words.

It's not always easy to find the time to practice your child's speech and language skills, but it is important!

Do you have any other tips/suggestions for busy families about finding time to practice? Comment below with some of your strategies!

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