Speech Therapy for 2 Year Old at Home | Tips From a Speech Therapist

►► Start teaching your child at home. Download my FREE home therapy checklist→ https://www.agentsofspeech.com/checklist

Join over 3,000 parents on our FB group:   / speechdelaysupport  

Need more help at home? Join our micro-course for parents - short and to the point video lessons: https://www.agentsofspeech.com/micro

Speech therapy for 2-year-olds is all about communication intention, building routines, and following the child's lead. This is because they have a low attention span and probably can only concentrate around 5-10 minutes with you at a time.

Does your child have speech problems? Relax, it’s normal for 2-year-olds to have speech errors. Check out what your child should be able to do at 2: https://www.asha.org/public/speech/de...

Because you cannot sit your 2 years old down to drill speech sounds. You should try doing these:

Build phonological awareness - speak slower and articulate sounds clearer. Sing songs and clap out syllables to your child.

Bombard your child with the sounds that she hasn’t learned yet. Emphasize it when you come across a word that has those sounds.

You can wait a bit until you start speech goals, focus on developing his language first!

Communication temptation:
Show the child something s/he wants. Remember, if you don’t start off with something that he likes, you’re not giving a reason for him to talk to you.

Tempt her to communicate with you. You might play with the desired toy, eat her favorite snack, it doesn't matter. Make her want it - sell it hard!

Teach a gesture, a sound, or a word and then give the desired item. You’re building the link between communicating and getting something desirable. Do this many times and it’ll become automatic. Because now he knows the power of speech/gestures.

Build a routine
As simple as pushing a car, a ball, push on the swing. Find a routine that you can engage your child with. Try everything!
It must be something you can do over and over again. It’s not boring if it works and he keeps coming back for it!
When he can anticipate, you can tempt communication.

Following the child’s lead (language facilitation)
Let the child choose the toys - many times we decide what’s best for the child. By giving her the freedom to choose, we also allow ourselves to observe what she likes.

Allow the child to show you how he plays - we learn from our child so that we can use it later to teach what we want. Without this information, it’s very difficult to chime in and become a playmate.

Follow the way he plays, copy what he does, and go with the flow. Be selfless, put the focus on the child. I know you want him to talk but that’s a selfish thought. Meet him where he’s at and have fun!

The main point for this is to build communication intention, the single most important thing at this age!