If you’re the parent of a speech-delayed child, you know this question – and the look that often accompanies it – all too well.
Since one out of five children develops speech at a slower pace than their peers, you are very likely to run into a speech-delayed child at some point in your career.
One thing to keep in mind is that children who are delayed in their speech are not always delayed in understanding speech.
My six year old son, Zeppelin, for example, has very strong receptive language skills; he can read, write, and understand ideas and formulas, but he has had a hard time vocalizing everything in a way that others can understand as English.
Throughout our journey we’ve tested out a few strategies to help Zeppelin communicate in a way others can understand, and I’ll be sharing my favorites with you today.
I hope these strategies help you and your class engage in meaningful ways with your speech-delayed students.
Sign Language
- Set up literacy centers and encourage all students to learn sign language
- Puzzles – match sign to picture or word
- Sort signs according to category, I.e. weather (rain, snow, sun)
- Small groups
- Mirror – one student signs, the other copies, both say what it means
- Time students to see how fast they can sign the alphabet, winner gets a prize
- Hang ASL posters
- Create a sign language word wall
- My favorite signs to use regularly are – more, all done, thirsty, bathroom, please, and thank you
Interest-Led
- Zeppelin loves to read so we utilize books a lot
- Use character cut outs to sequence and re-tell the story
- Choose books with repetitive style – Robert Munsch is great for this
- Use their favorite characters or animals to create mazes and other games like “find the picture” to encourage speech
PECS
- PECS stands for Picture Exchange Communication System
- a means to communicate using pictures, symbols, written words, or photographs
- Use digital clip art or real photographs of items around your classroom
- Create a velcro booklet or attach laminated cards to a lanyard for students to wear
- There are apps available for electronic use on tablets
Do you want to learn more strategies for teaching your speech-delayed students?
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