Sessions with a specialist set the direction, and at home you can support development through play. Here are a few exercises shared by the specialists at the Neuron center.
Speech exhalation
Correct speech relies on correct exhalation. To practice, you can use soap bubbles, a candle, a cotton ball or any other light ball: the child needs to blow hard at the chosen object. Meanwhile, the adult watches the child's cheeks to make sure the air flows right down the middle of the tongue.
Phonemic awareness
Phonemic awareness is the ability to distinguish and perceive speech sounds (phonemes) that change the meaning of a word. For example, "cat" and "hat" differ by one phoneme, and it is phonemic awareness that lets a child hear the difference.
It develops in early childhood and is the foundation for correct speech, reading and writing. Problems with phonemic awareness can lead to difficulties with pronouncing sounds and understanding speech, as well as to dyslexia and dysgraphia.
Reinforcing a sound
Once a sound has been learned, it needs to be reinforced (made automatic): the child is taught to pronounce it correctly in sentences and in free speech. The speech therapist chooses engaging, game-based exercises for this, and parents can continue them at home as the specialist recommends.
"Brain gymnastics"
Interhemispheric interaction is the mechanism that unites the left and right hemispheres of the brain into a single, well-coordinated system. It is shaped by both genetics and environment. Only when the two hemispheres work together in harmony do all mental processes function properly.
If this interaction hasn't developed, information is processed incorrectly and the child has learning difficulties: with writing, spoken language, memory, counting and taking in learning material.
Cross-lateral exercises are best done every day, for at least 5–10 minutes. This is "brain gymnastics," and it's good for children and adults alike, even when interhemispheric interaction is fine.
Sorting with what you have at home
For this exercise you'll need small boxes, shoelaces, jars, fruit, vegetables, figures of different shapes and colors, whatever is at hand. Give the child an instruction: "Put all the fruit together," "Put all the shapes together." This way the child learns to follow instructions and sort objects into groups.
When to see a speech therapist
The center's speech therapists say: the sooner, the better. A good guide is typical speech development, that is, what a child can usually do at each age. Two noticeable signs:
- at age 3, the child doesn't use speech to communicate: this is the very first warning sign;
- at age 4, the child can't pronounce the sounds that typically develop later: this is also a reason to seek help.
Home exercises don't replace sessions with a specialist. But they help the child carry skills over into everyday life, and help parents feel part of the team.