04/09/2026
âď¸ 5 Speech Therapy StrategiesâŚAnd all I said was ONE sentence!
The best speech strategies fit into your everyday routinesâbecause if theyâre not easy to use, theyâre not truly functional. Theyâre usually simple, but they do require a shift in how we naturally talk to our kids⌠and thatâs often the hardest part.
Hereâs a quick breakdown:
1. WAIT TIME
Kids need extra time to process, think, and coordinate what they want to say. Giving them spaceâwithout talking or directingâis what allows their ideas to come through.
2. CONFIRMING YOU UNDERSTOOD
Everyone wants to feel understood. A simple acknowledgment (without adding pressure or questions) lets your child know youâre engaged while still letting them take the lead.
3. RECASTING
Repeat back what your child said with clear, correct pronunciation. This reinforces their message and models the correct way to say it so that the correct pronunciation is the last thing they hear.
4. EXTENSION
Take what your child said and add one more element (a descriptive word, an object name, etc).
Child: âShe has the star oneâ
Me: âShe has the star EGGâ
Small additions like this can create big boosts in vocabulary.
5. TALK ABOUT THE PICTURES
Books are powerful language learning tools, but you donât have to stick to reading the words. Talk about what you see, follow your childâs interests, and make it a shared conversation. If they are already talking about what they see, try just sitting and listening for a few moments to see what they will come up with on their own.
