When thinking about this fall, let’s not forget some basic principles that promote an environment most conducive to learning to listen and the development of spoken language! Below are some tips and tricks!

1. Keep within a close proximity of the child. This means that I need to sit either behind or beside the child, and near the microphone of the equipment.

2. Reinforce what they are doing that you like. This means giving the child positive feedback for being engaged and listening, but also providing wait-time and additional models while encouraging verbal output. Use reinforcements as a means of shaping their behavior and responses.

3. Provide models! Sometimes the child may just not understand what it is that you want them to do. The clinician can serve as a model, but so can other facilitators, such as the parents. Don’t assume the child will understand the first time, and provide models accordingly.

4. Stay organized. Visual distractions can take away from the structure you want to promote during therapy. By being in control of your materials, you are better able to focus the client’s attention to the verbal model you are providing. For example, if I had all the farm animals out and I wanted to model, “Cow eating”, much of that model will be lost if the child is playing with the cow and the horse and making them run into each other.

If you're looking for some more ideas to assist your child, please don't hesitate to call us at 253.237.3405. We would love to help!

#hearing #Hearingloss #pediatricphysicaltherapy #pediatricspeechtherapy #pediatricoccupationaltherapy