TOP WAYS FAMILIES CAN MAXIMIZE SPEECH THERAPY IN THE HOME ENVIRONMENT

Top Ways Families Can Maximize

Speech Therapy in the Home Environment

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By Rosemarie Griffin, MA, CCC/SLP BCBA

PARENT QUESTION: WHAT CAN I DO TO MAXIMIZE MY CHILD’S SPEECH THERAPY WHEN AT HOME?

This is a really, really good question. If you’re new to me, my name is Rose Griffin, and I am a speech-language pathologist, a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst, and the founder of ABA Speech. I divide my time between a public school and my private practice called ABA Speech.

1The number one most important thing to do is have an ongoing dialogue or communication with your child’s speech therapist. That may look different in a public school setting versus a private setting. In a public school setting here in Ohio, we have progress reports sent home every nine weeks. We have to give parents very specific information about how their child is doing in speech therapy. But, for some parents, they might want to know more frequently how their child is doing, or they might want to know specifically how they can help a child generalize what

As a private therapist, I write out a note each week for parents. If it’s a student who has autism, the notes might have suggestions for parents to work on joint attention and information about activities to work on to help supplement and support what we’re doing in our direct sessions.

you’re working on in therapy into the home environment. Something I’ve done for parents who might have a student with more complex needs (or a student with parents who are there to support and want to work on communication in a more intense way in the home environment) is I have started a shared Google document with parents. That may seem very simplistic, but it’s a very powerful resource when used correctly. Each week when I see the student (if that frequency makes sense) or every other week, I will put on the shared Google document items, words, and concepts the parents can work on in the home environment. Usually, those in a public school are going to be tied to a goal we’re working on from an IEP (Individualized Education Program). That’s a really nice way, especially if you have an autistic student; sometimes you may have home help (where there are people coming in, and they are helping the child with schoolwork or activities of daily living), and they might be able to also supplement what they’re doing by working on these communication skills and giving your child more practice in the home environment. This is important because that’s where communication really takes place. So, if your child is getting speech therapy in a public school, that is my number one.

2If your child is seeing a private therapist, I would ask to potentially sit in on some of the sessions so you can see what the therapy looks like. This is something you can also request in a public school; it might be a little bit harder because there might be more restrictions because there are other students in the room, COVID, and things like that, but it’s definitely something you can request and something I’ve had parents do. I think it’s really great that parents are in the loop, and they know exactly what’s going on in therapy. While sitting in on a session, if you’re able to, try to have an ongoing dialogue with the private therapist.

As a private therapist, I write out a note each week for parents. If it’s a student who has autism, the notes might have suggestions for parents to work on joint attention and information about activities to work on to help supplement and support what we’re doing in our direct sessions. Since they’re with the child so much, it’s essential to know what is going on in therapy. It’s important for you to feel empowered and support when the child is not in therapy. I think that ongoing dialogue, and then having an embedded way to communicate whatever setting you’re talking about, public or private—having ongoing communication with the speech therapist, having a way, a system, set in place with a certain frequency that you’re going to be getting information about what your child is doing in therapy, and how you can generalize those into the home environment—I think that’s definitely the most important thing.

At ABA Speech, we have a lot of different resources that help parents understand how to embed communication within their students’ day—so if you visit me on abaspeech.org, we have activities for if your child is younger and you’re working on cooking, and you want your child to be able to participate with you. Or, if you’re reading a book with your child, what does that look like? How can you do that in a way that’s going to support communication? We have answers for that too. And then if you have older students in there helping out with laundry, which is a really great life skill, and one that I’m doing all the time, we have ideas for how you can embed communication, following directions, and increasing independence with those activities of daily living which are going to be very important for your students.

I hope that’s great information. If you want to hear more about autism and communication, make sure you visit me at abaspeech.org. I’ll include links to the freebies I mentioned, and I also have a podcast called Autism Outreach. With Autism Outreach, we talk about autism in communication from a variety of viewpoints. A new episode drops every Tuesday, and we have talks with speech therapists, BCBAs, autism moms, autistic individuals, OTs (occupational therapists), you name it. We’ve talked to everybody on the autism journey, and so every single week, we have a free new episode. It’s really fun to connect with people. A couple of our new episodes coming out are about AAC devices for apraxia, so really great information. If you have any questions, visit me at abaspeech.org.

RESOURCES

Cooking activity: https://abaspeech.org/2020/05/speech-therapyideas-for-students-with-autism-communication-at-home-cooking/ Reading activity: https://abaspeech.org/2020/06/speech-therapyideas-for-students-with-autism-communication-at-home-literacy/ Laundry activity: https://abaspeech.org/2020/06/speech-therapyideas-for-students-with-autism-communication-at-home-laundry/

Rosemarie Griffin, MA, CCC/SLP BCBA, is an ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist and Board-Certified Behavior Analyst. She divides her time between a public school and her private practice, ABA Speech. She is the founder of ABA Speech, which offers therapy services, courses, consultations, and products geared towards helping autistic students find their voice. Rose is also the host of the Autism Outreach Podcast, a weekly show all about autism and communication. She is a sought-after speaker who enjoys connecting with audiences at the local, state, and national levels. Rose is passionate about the mission of ABA Speech, which is to help all students become more independent communicators.

Website: https://abaspeech.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abaspeech/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abaspeechbyrose/ Autism Outreach Podcast: https://abaspeech.org/autismoutreach-podcast/

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