Speech at Home Tips

From Clare Roth, SLT: Back to school tips when communicating with your child! After school each day we want to know what happened in our kids' lives. We are eager to hear what they learned! But, are we allowing them to properly process our questions before formulating an answer? Processing time is the time we give a listener to properly process information. This time may look different for each child, but waiting at least 10-15 seconds is recommended. As adults we want fast answers! But it’s important to remember to slow down and allow the child to adequately process the question before responding. Second, all behaviors are a communicative function. So if your child isn’t wanting to engage in conversation, that’s okay. Try at a later time or in a different setting to see if the child is ready to engage. We are so excited for this school year and can’t wait to watch your child succeed!