[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Does your toddler struggle to say things that your pediatrician says they should be able to say at this age? If so, they may suffer from a speech delay. Sometimes, simply working with your child can help them catch up to some degree, but that is often not enough. Most toddlers who struggle with speech delays need a bit of assistance through speech therapy to get caught up. Here are a few things to know about how to help toddlers who struggle with speech delays.
How You Can Help Your Toddler with Their Speech
There are quite a few things that both parents and caregivers can do to help encourage speech by toddlers that struggle with speech delays. The more these figures speak with a toddler, the more he or she is likely to respond. Make sure you have one-on-one time each day to try and speak with them directly, and to allow them to take the time they need to respond back.
Another thing that you can do is to make sure to enunciate your words clearly. If you tend to speak quickly or in slang terms, try and curb these behaviors. Speak slowly and clearly so the toddler is best able to understand what you are saying, plus, it helps them know how to say the same words back to you.
You can also repeat what your child says to you, while offering expanded response options so they can see what a typical response should be. For example, if your child says, “we go”, you can respond with options like “we go where?”, “we go to the store”, or “we go home” so they can see how to add words into their early sentences.
Speech Therapy is Another Great Option to Help Toddlers with Speech Delays
If your child is not responding to your attempts, or needs a bit more direction to help their speech than you can provide, consider signing them up for speech therapy. This allows your toddler to work on different activities that are designed to be played like games. This makes learning to speak up, use bigger words, and use words appropriately for their ages. If you want help getting your toddler started in speech therapy, give the professionals at Speech & Occupational of North Texas a call today. Let them help you and your toddler learn to communicate more effectively.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
