Better Hearing and Speech Month

Games to Try During Better Hearing and Speech Month
Games to Try During Better Hearing and Speech Month 1080 1080 PTN Chicago

May is Better Hearing and Speech Month (BHSM), which brings awareness to those living with communication disorders and some of the challenges they face throughout their daily lives. Each year, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) chooses a theme. In 2023, the theme is “Building a Strong Foundation”. One way you can help your child build a strong foundation is by incorporating speech therapy skills into your day-to-day activities. It does not have to be difficult. In fact, it can be fun.  

This year, in honor of BHSM, we wanted to share some games that you can try with your little one. Not only are these games interactive for your family, but they will allow you to incorporate speech therapy techniques while playing with your child. It’s a winning combination!

Guess the Chalk Drawing

Grab some chalk and get ready to use your imagination! Go outside and start by drawing an object using the chalk. Now, have your child use their speech to try and guess what you’re drawing. Once your little one has correctly guessed the object, switch roles and have them use their fine motor skills to draw an object. If your little one gets stuck while guessing, they can ask questions to help them figure out what you drew.  

Matching Opposites

This game is the perfect way for your child to work on their speech while also learning about opposites. Take a piece of paper and write down 10 pairs of words that are opposites (for example,  cat and dog, up and down, hot and cold, etc.). Now, cut out each word and have your child use their fine motor skills to draw a picture on the back of each paper to match the word on the front. Once they’re done drawing, have your little one match the opposites, and use their speech to say what the opposites are. 

20 Questions

This is another game you’ve probably heard of and maybe even played. First, start by thinking of a person, place, or thing. Now, your child will have to try to guess what you’re thinking about by using their speech to ask questions. If your child cannot correctly guess within 20 questions, the game is over! Once your child’s turn is complete, switch roles and have your little one think of something for you to guess.

What Animal Am I?

For this final game, write down 10 different animals on separate pieces of paper, crumple them up, and place them into a bowl. One at a time, ask your child to choose an animal from the bowl and have them use their speech skills to describe the animal to you. Once you have guessed all of the animals, place the paper back into the bowl, and prepare for the next round! In this round, your child will have to use their gross motor skills to act out which animal they are and use their speech to make the noise of that animal.

Follow us on our social media (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest) throughout May for great tips, resources, and activities dedicated to BHSM.  Should you have questions about speech therapy or any of our other services, do not hesitate to contact us to discuss if your child would benefit from pediatric therapy. Our team is here to support you and your child in any way we can.

Easy Activities That Allow Your Child to Work on Their Speech Therapy
Easy Activities That Allow Your Child to Work on Their Speech Therapy 1080 1080 PTN Chicago

One time of the year that is very near and dear to our hearts is Better Hearing and Speech Month (BHSM). BHSM is celebrated each May, and helps bring awareness to common communication disorders, as well as the challenges that people with these disorders face daily. Spreading the word about BHSM is crucial as it can help families recognize that their child is struggling with their speech and language development. Once they realize this, they can better understand what their child is going through and get their little one the help they need.

If your child is experiencing challenges with communication and you want to help work on their skills at home, we have some easy speech and language activities to share with you. These activities are simple and a whole lot of fun for your little one to partake in:

Alphabet Search: Now that the weather is warming up, it’s time to bring your child’s speech therapy outside! Head out to your backyard or go on a walk with your little one. Now, look around and try to find objects that start with each letter of the alphabet. For example, maybe you see an apple tree for “A”, a bus for “B”, a cat for “C”, etc. Work together and try to find objects for as many letters of the alphabet as possible!

Feed Your Monster Friend: Get ready to be creative for this next activity! First, gather some paper, kid-friendly scissors, and a box of crayons. Next, have your child draw a silly monster friend on one sheet of paper, and 5 of their favorite foods on another sheet of paper. Once they’re done coloring, your little one can carefully cut out each food item, and feed them one at a time to their new friend. Be sure to ask your child to describe the color and shape of each food, and then have them explain what they enjoy about that specific food item.

Find the Match: The last speech activity to try at home is to create your own matching game. Cut a piece of paper into 12 squares, and work with your child to draw 6 pairs of matching animals on the squares. While drawing, have your child describe what the animal looks like, and even ask them to make the sound of that animal. Flip all of the squares over so that you can’t see the animals, and mix the pieces of paper up. Finally, have your child flip two squares over at a time until they match each animal pair.

Happy Better Hearing and Speech Month! If you want to do your part and help spread the word, be sure to use #BHSM in your social media posts all May long, and share the materials found on the ASHA website. Keep an eye on our social media (Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest) as we continue to share activities, useful tips, resources, and so much more! As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us at any time to discuss if your child would benefit from pediatric therapy.

Celebrating Better Hearing and Speech Month with These Age-Appropriate Speech Tips
Celebrating Better Hearing and Speech Month with These Age-Appropriate Speech Tips 1080 1080 PTN Chicago

May is Better Hearing and Speech Month (BHSM) and our team is ready to kick off the celebration. BHSM helps to raise awareness of communication disorders for those who have difficulties speaking, hearing, and understanding. It’s crucial to spread awareness so that other people have a deeper understanding of common communication disorders and can assist those who are struggling.

Speech disorders affect all types of people and typically start at an early age. If you’re concerned that your child may be falling behind in their speech and language development, or are simply looking for some ways to help them work on their communication skills, we can help! Read on for some age-appropriate tips that you can use with your little ones:

Children 0-2 Years Old:

  • Try and get your child to mimic gestures. Start with simple ones such as clapping, waving, and nodding.
  • Say, “mama” or “dada” to your child and work towards getting them to repeat the sounds back to you.
  • Make facial expressions when your child makes sounds or says words.
  • Read your child a simple board book nightly and point out/ label various objects to them . Describe to them what’s happening on each page and get expressive as you’re reading.
  • Make animal sounds such as “moo” or “baa” and have them try and repeat the sounds. While doing this, you can also teach your child which animal makes each sound.

Children 2-4 Years Old:

  • Help your child pronounce their words more clearly by repeating what they said the correct way.
  • Encourage your child to ask for things that they want rather than pointing to them.
  • Ask your child simple questions such as, “what is your name?” or “what is your favorite toy?” and proceed to let them answer.
  • Point to objects around the room and teach your child what they are.
  • Sing simple songs and nursery rhymes with your child.

Children 4-6 Years Old:

  • Pause after speaking to your child so that they have time to process what you said and respond.
  • Watch television with your child and ask them questions about the show such as, “who is your favorite character?” or “what was your favorite part of the show?”.
  • Ask your child questions about what activities they did during the day and what type of foods they ate.
  • Let your child help you cook simple meals and give them step-by-step directions that they’ll need to follow, such as, “pour the sugar in the bowl, now, mix the batter.”
  • Read books with your child and have them describe what’s going on in each scene or ask them to summarize the story at the end. 

Happy Better Hearing and Speech Month! Follow us on our social media (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest) all month long for more tips, resources, and activities. If you find that your child is falling behind in their speech and language development, please don’t hesitate to contact our team to discuss if your little one could benefit from pediatric therapy. We are happy to help support your child and family in any way that we can.

Better Speech and Hearing Month
All the Ways We Can Celebrate Better Speech and Hearing Month Together
All the Ways We Can Celebrate Better Speech and Hearing Month Together 1000 1000 PTN Chicago

May is Better Speech and Hearing Month, and we all can do our part to help raise awareness.

Many people don’t know just how common speech, language, and hearing disorders are among children. There also tends to be a misconception that if someone has difficulty speaking or if they are deaf, they must have other physical or mental impairments, which simply isn’t true. By spreading the word about BSHM and sharing both facts and personal stories of how speech, language, and hearing disorders have affected your friends or family, you can help make the world a more informed, understanding, and accepting place.

Here are a few stats that we found interesting courtesy of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Feel free to share these on social media!

  • Almost 8% of children between the ages of 3 and 17 have had a voice, speech, language, or swallowing disorder in the past 12 months.
  • Among children who currently have a speech, language, voice, or swallowing disorder, about 34% of children aged 3-10 have multiple speech or language disorders. That number drops to 25% for children aged 11-17.
  • The prevalence of speech and language disorders is highest from the ages of 3 to 6 – during those formative years when most children are learning to speak with fluency (almost always with bumps along the road).

And here are some interesting stats about hearing:

  • 15% of children between the ages of 6 and 19 have some degree of hearing loss.
  • Between two and three of every 1,000 children in the United States are born with detectable hearing loss in one or both ears.
  • More than 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents.

In addition to outreach on social media, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) has put together a great list of ways that you can celebrate Better Speech and Hearing Month.

Personally, we love teaching children about communication through – you guessed it! – play. Here are a few simple games that you can enjoy with your children to help them understand what communication is and why it’s so important.

Simon Says – This classic game is wonderful because it can be played virtually anywhere. Driving in the car, in the park, around the dinner table… you name it. By having your children listen carefully and follow instructions, they can practice some of the fundamental elements of strong communication.

The I Love You Game – Ok, I just made this game up, but I think it’s going to catch on. The game is simple – work with your child to come up with all the different ways that you can express love to one another. You might start by saying “I love you” out loud. Then you could give each other hugs. Or maybe kisses on the cheek. Maybe you could express love with a dance or by doing something nice for each other. See how many fun ways you and your little one can come up with to communicate your love for each other. And when you get tired of being lovey-dovey (if that ever happens), try playing the game with other concepts or emotions like happiness, sadness, and surprise.

children and autism
Better Speech and Hearing Month: How Our Therapists Support Children with Autism
Better Speech and Hearing Month: How Our Therapists Support Children with Autism 1000 667 PTN Chicago

May is Better Speech and Hearing Month (BSHM), and that feels like the perfect time to discuss how our therapists support children with speech and language disorders, particularly children on the autism spectrum.

At Pediatric Therapy Network, our team specializes in occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech and language therapy. Children with autism often benefit from each of these therapies, but speech therapy can often be the most transformative for families. When a child is able to clearly express their thoughts, feelings, and wishes to their parents for the first time, that is a truly magical moment.

Since 1927, our nation has celebrated Better Speech and Hearing Month (BSHM) to raise public awareness that over fourteen million Americans struggle with a hearing, speech, language, voice, and/or swallowing disorder, and many of those affected are children. Over fifty pairs of muscles in our mouths and throats must work together so that we can chew, swallow, and speak. It’s very easy to take those processes for granted. Recognizing what a gift clear communication is and helping as many people as possible enjoy the benefits of better speech and hearing are what this month is all about.

Better Speech for Children with Autism

Our physical, occupational and speech therapists in Chicago work with all sorts of children to help them communicate more clearly. With children on the autism spectrum in particular, speech therapy can take many different forms, depending upon the severity of the child’s condition.

For example, some children with autism are able to speak clearly and actually enjoy speaking with a variety of people. But these same children sometimes have difficulty recognizing and understanding social cues and body language. They may need help understanding when it’s ok to touch other people, how to be gentle, and what sorts of things are appropriate to say in certain situations. This sort of behavioral therapy can involve speech therapy, occupational therapy, and sensory integration therapy in combination with one another.

At the other end of the spectrum, some children with autism are unable to speak at all. In these cases, a speech therapist can work with the child and their caregivers to create a system of communication that will help the child be understood. An appropriate system might include a combination of sign language and picture boards, known as a picture exchange communication system, that the child can point to in order to indicate wants and needs.  Research has shown that using these types of systems can actually help a child learn to communicate verbally.

One of the most important things to remember when working with a child with autism is that they are a unique individual, just like each of us. Therefore, every child with autism – and indeed, every child with a speech, language, or hearing disorder – should be met on their own terms using therapies that are customized to their specific needs, wishes, and interests.

To learn more about Better Speech and Hearing Month, or to schedule a consultation with our Chicago speech therapists and/or occupational therapists, contact our team today!

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