What does a toddler do in speech therapy?
If you’re considering speech therapy for your toddler, or they’re about to begin sessions, you likely have some questions. A big one is probably, “What does a toddler do in speech therapy?” Let’s take a look at what you can expect.
Your child’s first session will be a speech and language evaluation. Your speech therapist will then write up a report and create goals for your child based on their findings. These goals guide what will be targeted in speech therapy and are a big piece of the evaluation. Basically, the goals are the roadmap for getting your child where they need to be.
The great thing about speech therapy for toddlers is that all these goals can be targeted through play. That means therapy sessions will usually be play-based. It may look like the speech therapist is “just playing” with your child, but there’s so much more happening beneath the surface.
The truth is that toddlers learn language skills through play-based activities. While we often think of play as taking a break from work, it’s quite the opposite for kids. Play is how children learn and explore the world around them.
Your speech therapist will find ways to “hide” therapy tasks in play activities. Let’s say your child is practicing the /m/ sound, and during therapy, they’re putting together a puzzle. The therapist could have your child imitate “mmmmm” while they say the word “more,” to have the child request more pieces of the puzzle.
If you’re doing online speech therapy, your therapist may use a parent-coaching model. That means they’ll guide you on how to expand your toddler’s speech and language growth during play. These can be through tasks like
Offering a choice of two toys and having your child pick
Waiting to take a turn until your child says “go”
Rolling a ball back and forth to mimic a conversational exchange
Using toys for their intended purpose, like making food with a toy kitchen or talking on a pretend phone
Practicing identification questions, like “where is the dog” or “show me the red block”
Or modeling words to see if your child will imitate
What makes the parent coaching method so rewarding is that the parent is eliciting language from their child, not the therapist. The speech therapist is there to introduce new ideas, explain techniques, and provide support throughout the session. We know that toddlers won’t sit in front of a screen for 30 minutes and follow a therapist’s directions. That’s why it’s so important for the caregiver to be involved!
Parent involvement is also important because when you practice speech and language with your child at home, it helps their new skills “stick.” For example, your child may be able to demonstrate a new skill during therapy, but they also need to be able to “generalize,” or use these skills in their everyday life. After all, that’s the entire point of therapy! When you know how to practice and reinforce these skills at home, your child will make faster progress. And best of all, this can happen during one of your toddler’s favorite activities–playing with you.
