Summer speech therapist tips 1 and 2

Tip #1 — watch pronunciation

Holidays are a time when a child takes a break from lessons, but speech skills may begin to fade. To prevent this, the Neuro-Clinic speech therapist recommends:

• correct mistakes calmly. If a child says something incorrectly, gently correct them by saying the word correctly. Do not demand that they repeat it immediately — just draw their attention to it;
• use speech material from speech therapy workbooks. They contain many exercises for reinforcing sounds. You can also choose special speech therapy books;
• learn tongue twisters. Have a competition: who can say them better and faster.

The main thing is to do this through play, without pressure. Then the sounds will stay in place, and summer will not be spoiled by boring lessons.

Tip #2 — play speech games

Summer is made for fun, and this is a great opportunity to boost your child's speech without tedious exercises. Here is a selection of game techniques from the specialists at Neuro-Clinic.

What do I see? What do I hear?
Describe surrounding objects together with your child, adding details (for example, not just "a bush," but "a bush with small white flowers"). Then listen to the sounds: let them recognize the chirping of a grasshopper or the noise of a passing car.

Association game
Say a concept (for example, "river") and ask the child to quickly list the images that come to mind: deep, cold, sparkling.

Word chain
Participants take turns saying words so that each next term starts with the last letter of the previous one (for example: summer — river — rain).

Find and name
While walking or shopping, look for objects with a given sound or united by one theme (types of transport, vegetables, clothing).

Ball games
While throwing a ball, say words from a chosen group (living — non-living, sweet — salty) or with a specific syllable.

Regularly spend time on such activities — and your child's speech will develop easily and with pleasure.