Although many of us have intentions of relaxing more and doing less every summer, it still tends to get crazy: graduations, weddings, family reunions, and vacations. Despite our busy schedules, summer can still be a great time for children to receive speech, language, reading, and feeding therapies. This is especially true with ChitChat Therapies since we come to you! Here’s a countdown of why therapy in the summer makes sense:
5). School’s Out! Summer is the perfect opportunity for children to boost their skills. Whether your child just needs to work on a few speech sounds, has dyslexia or another learning disability, or is a “problem feeder” and just eats a handful of foods, summertime can give parents the chance to focus on challenges that they haven’t had time to address. Also, since school is out, it’s an ideal time for children with apraxia to receive the multiple intensive therapy sessions that they need. 4). Benefiting from Home-, Daycare-, or Summer Camp-based Services ChitChat Therapies goes to families’ homes, daycares, and summer camps to work with children, as well as offers online therapy services. One huge benefit is that children learn skills within their natural environments, making it easier to generalize skills into their everyday lives. Also, you won’t miss shuttling your kids across town for an appointment! 3). Learning to Explore and Enjoy Fresh Foods Like many kids, I didn’t enjoy most vegetables. This is something I eventually grew out of, but did you know that many picky eaters never grow out of their restrictive eating habits? Children who are very picky eaters (commonly referred to as “problem feeders” in our field) often refuse to eat foods in entire categories, including vegetables. With all of the fresh produce and meats available in the summer, it can be a wonderful opportunity for children to explore new and delicious foods. Families can take their children to farmers’ markets to see, smell, touch, and taste different fruits and vegetables. (If you live in the Denver/Boulder areas, two of the best are the Boulder Farmers' Market and the South Pearl Street Farmers' Market). Children can also get more involved with preparing snacks and meals, a strategy that has been proven to help “problem feeders” learn and discover new foods. If your family is struggling with picky eating and/or your mealtimes are constant stressful battles, contact ChitChat Therapies. Seriously, the stress alone is reason to get professional help! 2). Playing & Moving Outside Some of my other Colorado transplant friends have said, “You move to Colorado for the winter (sports), but you stay for the summer.” This has definitely been true for me! Lots of ChitChat Therapies’ summer sessions are held outside in yards, playgrounds, and even pools, working on skills that kids need to work on while also having fun. For example, if I’m working with a toddler who is just using a few words, I’ll ask the parent to gather some of the kid’s favorite toys (e.g., car, ball, bubbles). We’ll bring them outside and possibly work on the child requesting toys by modeling signs and simple words. Playing outside also involves movement and gross motor skills. Many therapists know that when young children are moving, they can be more likely to vocalize and talk! 1). Boost Skills before the Next School Year One of the reasons I started ChitChat Therapies is to help address the gap of kids who need speech, language, reading, and feeding therapies but don’t qualify for school-based services. There are so many kids out there who don’t test at or below the 7th percentile, but whose skills are below average and need speech therapy. Summer is a wonderful time for children to work on speaking more clearly, developing reading skills, and learning to become a more adventurous eater. The bottom line is that summer offers an abundance of opportunities, settings, and foods for children and families. If your child needs help with their speech, language, and/or picky eating, contact ChitChat Therapies today and take advantage of summer!
8 Comments
10/4/2018 09:01:26 pm
My nephew is having a hard time speaking and his parents are getting worried. It was explained here that it will be best to try break season speech therapy because school is out. Moreover, it's recommended to go to professionals for quality speech therapy.
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Angie Wuelling
12/6/2018 09:55:15 pm
Thanks for your comment, Sariah! The most important time, regardless of time of year, for a child with a delay or disorder is now. But summer can be a great time for families to begin or resume therapy. Parents should seek a certified speech-language pathologist who has at least a Master's degree in speech-language pathology.
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11/5/2018 08:49:38 am
I agree that it's a great idea to use speech therapy during the summer because it can allow your kids to focus on that without any other distractions, like you said. It won't be as overwhelming to deal with on top of school. You can actually focus on the challenges they might have too, like you mentioned.
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Angie Wuelling
12/6/2018 09:58:46 pm
Thank you for your comment, Gary! The summer can be a lot more relaxed than the hectic school year. We can also have sessions outside, which is fun for everyone.
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6/18/2019 06:20:05 am
My daughter has a small speech impediment and I wondered what I could do to help. I didn't think how beneficial it would be to have lessons during the summer, but if children can learn better in their natural environment, I think that would help my daughter a lot. When I look around for some help, I'll make sure to ask how free their schedule is in the summer and if they could do lessons at my house.
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1/25/2021 08:14:19 pm
You made a good point when you shared that children can work on their skills during the summer as it is the most ideal time for parents to focus on their kids. My friend just mentioned the other day that she is worried about her son who has trouble talking compared to the other kids around his age and it got her worried if he will have a problem in the future. I will suggest to her looking for reliable speech therapy to help with the son's condition during the summer.
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5/13/2021 07:32:51 am
Thanks for the advice to use the Summer as a time to help my son boost his speech skills. He struggled last year but did well enough to pass his grade. I'll see what I can do about getting a speech therapist to help him out over the Summer.
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5/19/2021 12:04:58 pm
My brother has been thinking about getting some therapy for his speech. He would really like to get some help from a professional in order to be safer. I liked what you said how he can boost his skills before the next school year in order to be more effective.
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AuthorHi! I'm Angie Wuelling, MA, CCC-SLP, bilingual speech-language pathologist and owner of ChitChat Therapies. I started this blog because I'm passionate about sharing information about speech, language, reading, and feeding development with fellow parents, speech-language pathologists, teachers, and other professionals. There's a lot of misinformation out there, and this blog is my small way of helping empower and educate others. Archives
July 2018
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