Tips for practicing speech at home

Mattie Marks, M.Ed., CCC-SLP

For kids in speech therapy, practicing at home is a critical component of success. It not only complements the work done during therapy sessions, but also accelerates progress. 

A child in speech therapy may be working on speech and/or language. Speech refers to the way we say sounds and words. Language refers to the words or symbols we use to communicate (e.g., vocabulary, grammar, signs, AAC, gestures, and more). Today’s post will focus on practicing speech. Here's a look at the tips and benefits for practicing speech at home.

Benefits of Practicing Speech at Home

Reinforcement of Skills: Practicing at home helps reinforce the skills learned during therapy sessions.

Generalization of skills: Practicing in different environments helps kids to generalize skills learned in one environment to other environments and contexts.

Progress: Practicing at home can increase the rate of progress.

Tips for Effective Speech Practice at Home

Consistency is Key: Set aside a regular time each day for practice. It’s a good idea to pair it with another routine already in place in your day (e.g., practice each day before brushing teeth or before story time).

Time: I often suggest aiming for one or two five minute sessions of practice per day. Shorter, frequent practice can allow for more focused practice and it is easier to fit into a busy schedule than one or two longer practice sessions.

Make it Fun: Use games and activities to keep the practice engaging. You could play “I Spy” in the car searching for words that have a certain sound, play a game and say a practice word before each turn, put a star on a piece of paper every time they say a sound and see how many stars they can get!

Keep it positive and successful: Home speech practice should reinforce skills that the child is already successful with. A general rule is that the child should be at least 80% accurate with skills they are practicing at home. If practice is more difficult than this, ask your speech therapist for something easier to practice at home next time. A child may not be ready to practice sounds at home yet. In these cases, practice may involve having the child listen to their parents saying target sounds or words.

Increase awareness: Home speech practice can also involve increasing a child’s awareness of certain sounds. Pointing out words that have a child’s target sound in speech, pictures, and written words can help increase the child’s understanding of when their sound occurs in daily speech.

Home speech practice should be easy and fun for both kids and parents. Remember, every little bit of practice adds up, so keep up the good work!