30 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • NOVEMBER 2020
TIPS ON RESUMING SPEECH THERAPY AMID COVID-19
While the teacher may not be able to
wholly accommodate your child, at
least you have raised the issue with
them and made them aware of this
back-to-school challenge. Additionally,
here we may want to note the reduced
ability to successfully communicate
with masks. A lot of our little ones
are demonstrating frustration when
they are not interpreted with this
barrier. Additionally, for our lower
muscle-tone kids, with increased
drooling, we are finding that masks
are needed to be frequently changed,
causing additional challenges.
As many schools will also be remote,
any tips on balancing both? Managing
expectations goes a long way
towards striking a balance between
in-class learning and telelearning, so
sticking to a schedule and frequently
going over that schedule or calendar
with your child will prepare them
for what’s expected. Children thrive
with routines and schedules. Using
child-friendly pictures to signify
schedule changes are a favorite. Additionally,
using magnetic boards and/or
dry erase boards will allow a child to
signify when an activity is completed
and allows a child to make predictions
about what will happen next.
At the same time, chart where your
child is having challenges with each
scenario (in class and at home), and
bring those issues up with your speech
therapist so they can focus on exercises
that will mitigate the situation.
Find out from your child’s teachers
what’s working in class and try to
emphasize those skills at home so they
carry over to the virtual classroom
setting.
For parents who have now found
their child has developed stuttering
or seen the return of stuttering, what
can a parent do to help? First of all,
get in touch with a speech-language
pathologist who specializes in stuttering
and get a proper diagnosis of the
condition. They can set up a proper
treatment.
Avoid showing displeasure with your
child’s relapsed behavior, and instead
remind yourself of the skills you
practiced when your child first had a
stutter. Slow down your own cadence,
ask fewer questions, and let the child
speak on his or her own terms. Be
sure to maintain eye contact with
your child, do not try to finish his/her
sentences and do not use language
like “spit it out or hurry up.” Start
rebuilding using the techniques you
employed before and if your child is
slightly older, remind him/her of the
tools in his /her toolbelt to reduce the
bumps.
Understand that given the pandemic
and the way it’s disrupted all our routines,
developing a stutter or seeing a
return are not unusual reactions. Empathy
first, and then start the search
for solutions and mitigation.
Kids who are nonverbal, such as kids
with autism, have been some of the
hardest hit during this pandemic. Is
there such a thing as catching up? It’s
not so much a case of catching up as it
is re-establishing a sense of normalcy.
Sticking with a predictable routine
will help your child with autism find
comfort during a time when disruptions
have become a daily occurrence,
where you can stick to routines, like
bedtimes, meal times, hygiene times,
etc.
What can parents do to help their
nonverbal children where speech
therapy is so vital? One thing that’s
very helpful is to lead by example by
demonstrating to your nonverbal child
how people can communicate with
body language and expression. Game
playing is especially useful for nonverbal
children. Games that promote
listening skills and mirroring actions,
like Simon Says or Charades, can help
re-enforce communication by body
language.
The idea is to express the importance
of effectively communicating with
others around you, even when that
communication is accomplished without
speech.
PRESS HEALTH
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