Speech Therapy

National Speech Therapy Month
4 Fun Speech-Based Games to Try as a Family
4 Fun Speech-Based Games to Try as a Family 1080 1080 PTN Chicago

May is National Speech-Language-Hearing Month, and we’re ready to get the celebration started! This month is the perfect opportunity to work on your child’s speech and language skills, and we think that one of the best ways to do that is by playing games together. Fortunately, there are so many games out there that not only promote speech development but also allow you to create lasting family memories.

Ready to embark on a journey of playful learning? Let’s get started! From the “Favorites” Game to The Category Game and more, here are 4 delightful suggested activities for your family to enjoy during this special month and beyond.

1. Name the Opposite: This game is fantastic for helping your child learn about opposite words. To begin, write down words on small pieces of paper and place them into a bowl. Next, have your child choose one piece of paper at a time, read the word, and then ask them to try and come up with the opposite of that word. Once you have gone through all of the pieces of paper in the bowl, have your child try to come up with more opposite word pairs on their own!

2. “Favorites” Game: This game is a wonderful way to get to know a little bit more about your child’s favorite things. To begin, sit down and take turns asking each other questions such as, “What’s your favorite color?”, “What’s your favorite animal?” or “What’s your favorite type of ice cream?”. After each question, write down your child’s answers on a piece of paper, and have them draw pictures of their favorite things!

3. Guess Who? Animal Friends: The next game puts a fun twist on the classic board game, Guess Who? To begin, you and your child will each secretly choose an animal. Next, you will need to take turns asking questions to try and figure out what the other person’s mystery animal is. Keep going until you each guess the correct animal, and then play again! This is an excellent way to help your child work on their speech, and you can both get a little silly by making the noises of each animal. 

4. The Category Game: Our final game is fun for the whole family and will allow you and your little ones to be creative. Start by thinking of a category that you and your kiddos know a lot about. For example, you could choose animals, colors, fruits, etc. Now, go around and take turns naming different things in that category. Once you can’t think of anything else that fits into that specific category, move on to the next one!

Happy National Speech-Language-Hearing Month! Follow us on our social media (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest) all month long for tips, resources, toys we love, and more! Further, please don’t hesitate to contact us to talk about if your child could benefit from pediatric therapy. Our team is here to support you and your family in any way that we can.

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.

New Year’s Resolutions – Ways to Work On Your Child’s Development Without the Pressure
New Year’s Resolutions – Ways to Work On Your Child’s Development Without the Pressure 1080 1080 PTN Chicago

Happy New Year from all of us at Pediatric Therapy Network! The new year is the perfect time to reflect on the past year while also setting goals and resolutions for the year ahead. The most common New Year’s resolutions that we typically hear from our PTN parents is that they would like to make more time to work on their child’s therapeutic goals in order to support their development, but struggle to find the time during their busy day to day lives.

2020 brought a new and unique challenge to this equation as work and school moved to virtual platforms and everyone was at home together.  Working from home while also helping your child with their virtual learning and therapy can be overwhelming – trust us, we get it! Parents have a lot on their plates, which is why the therapy team at PTN tries to provide therapeutic strategies that can be easily incorporated into families busy schedules. Believe it or not, many physical, occupational, and speech therapy activities can be incorporated into your daily routines, allowing you to work on your child’s development without the pressure. 

With that said, here are some of our favorite ways to work on your child’s development without becoming overwhelmed or stressed out:

Get Your Child Involved in Cooking Meals

There are so many opportunities for your child to get involved while you’re cooking!  Cooking together is a great way to help support your child’s development and they’ll love being your sous chef. Some ways to get your child involved include asking them questions about the food that you’re cooking such as, “what item is this?” or “what color is this?”, allowing them to help mix and measure ingredients, or having your little one grab the ingredients that you need – the possibilities are endless!

Burn Off Some Energy

During your next workout, get your kiddo involved and have them do their own “mini workout” in the process. One way to do this is to set up an obstacle course for them with items around the house such as buckets, pillows, and hula hoops, and have them try to beat their best time over and over again until your workout is complete.

Another option would be to turn on a fun music playlist or video that features fun songs for kids, and have a dance party together! The best part about this activity is that it will allow your child to burn off some of their energy in the process. 

Clean Up Around the House

We’ve found that little kids love to help with chores. It gives them the chance to feel grown up and they love the fact that they get to work alongside their mom/dad. Some easy tasks you can give them that include sweeping, wiping down the table, sorting silverware, feeding the family pet, vacuuming, or cleaning up their toys. Our favorite part about this activity is that it will take some stress off of you now that you’ll have an extra pair of hands to help.

Times are tough for many families right now, and the last thing you want to do is put more stress on your shoulders. After all, you truly are doing a wonderful job! 

Follow us on our social media (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest) all month long for more suggestions on ways to work on your child’s development without the pressure, or feel free to contact us at any time. Our team of pediatric therapists are here to support both you and your child in any way that we can.

Activities That Can Make Speech Therapy More Fun While At Home
Activities That Can Make Speech Therapy More Fun While At Home 1080 1080 PTN Chicago

Happy May! This month, the PTN team and people across the country are celebrating Better Hearing and Speech Month (BHSM). During BHSM, we’re provided with, “an opportunity to raise awareness about communication disorders and the role of ASHA members in providing life-altering treatment,” says the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.  

At PTN, we believe this is a great time to recognize potential hearing and speech problems and also guide parents so they can take appropriate action. Unfortunately, due to the current situation happening around the world, it may be hard to get access to a speech therapist for your child, leading to you (the parents) taking over that all-important role. 

However, just because you may have to lead speech therapy at home doesn’t mean it can’t be fun for both you and your child! There are many ways in which you can incorporate speech therapy and language learning through engaging activities, games, movement, and more. 

If you feel like you’ve tried everything under the sun but your child doesn’t seem to be interested in working on their speech development, we get it.  We also understand how stressful this can be for not only parents but for children. For this reason, we have come up with a few simple ideas that can make speech therapy a time that you and your child look forward to. Take a look:

1. Take a Bike Ride to a Pretend Place

If your child is old enough to ride a bike, you can take a bike ride to a pretend place together. To start this activity put on your helmets and get ready to ride! Ask your child to come up with a pretend place that you two will ride to – a castle, an ice cream parlor, the ocean, etc. While you’re riding, ask your child questions about the location you’ll be visiting. For example, if your child said that you’ll be visiting a castle, you could ask them questions such as, “What does the castle look like?” or “What type of animals live at the castle?”. Once the bike ride is over, you can go inside and have your child create a drawing of the imaginary place you visited, or go on another adventure!

2. Play, Guess What I’m Sculpting

Believe it or not, playdough is a great speech therapy tool. For this activity, you only need one tub of playdough to share between you and your child. You’ll each take turns sculpting something while the other person guesses what the sculpture is. You can even go the extra mile during this activity by having your child/you give clues on what they’re creating while they’re the sculptor. 

3. Go on a Picture Scavenger Hunt

Picture scavenger hunts are a fun way to get some of your child’s energy out while working on those all-important speaking skills. You’ll need to print out some pictures of common objects that are around your house (bed, television, window, etc.). Hand your child one picture card at a time and have them describe what the object looks like. Ask them questions like what color the object is, what room of the house that object is in, and finally, what the object is. Once they correctly describe or name the object, have your child run to that object and place the card down. Repeat until all the cards are placed in their correct location!

4. Get Creative With Sidewalk Chalk Art

Who doesn’t love playing with sidewalk chalk? We know we sure do! All you’ll need for this activity is some sidewalk chalk and your imagination. Sit with your child on your driveway or sidewalk and decide on a picture or object you’re going to create together. Next, take turns saying what you’ll add to the drawing.

For example, you and your child decide that you want to draw a dog. You could start by saying that you’re going to draw a circle for a face. Then, your child might say, “I’m going to draw the nose”, you might then say, “I’m going to draw an ear.” and so on. Continue switching off being the artist until you have a fully completed masterpiece!

During these trying times, it’s important to stay on top of your child’s speech therapy/speech development. If you are concerned that your child may be falling behind, don’t be afraid to contact a speech therapist to find out how you can help your child. 

You can learn more about Better Hearing and Speech Month by going to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association website.

Back to School for Special Needs
Speech, Occupational, and Physical Therapy Prep for Back-to-School
Speech, Occupational, and Physical Therapy Prep for Back-to-School 1000 1000 PTN Chicago

Back to school is upon us once again, and this can be both an exciting and stressful time of year for the children we work with – and their parents! Whether your little ones are looking forward to learning new things or feeling anxious about fitting in, there are several things that you can do to help them feel more prepared for the school year to come. Let’s take a look at several simple areas of focus within speech therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy that you can practice with your child leading up to that first day of school.

Speech Therapy Back to School Prep

Role Playing – If your child is nervous about meeting new children, you can help them feel more at ease by playing a simple role-playing game. Pretend to be another child that they’re meeting for the first time and have a conversation with them. Help your child think of appropriate ice-breakers and things they can talk about comfortably with new friends.

Curiosity Prep – Children have a tendency to ask questions that can come across as rude and hurtful when they are confronted with something they aren’t familiar with – like another child’s speech impediment. Before school begins, it can sometimes be helpful to gently warn your child that they might get questioned about the way that they speak by other children. Then you can work with your child to find simple answers to the questions they might be asked in order to help their new friends understand them better. (This is an area where a speech therapist can offer a lot of helpful advice!)

Occupational Therapy Back to School Prep

School-Specific OT Challenges – Going back to school – or going to school for the first time – can mean being confronted with new occupational challenges. For example, your child probably doesn’t open a lunch box very often at home. Work with your OT to think of the various occupational skills your child might find useful to practice before school begins.

Waiting Games – A lot of school is sitting quietly and waiting for your turn. If your child has trouble sitting still or gets easily distracted, it might be helpful to practice some mental games that can keep your child focused or occupy their mind while they wait in line. For example, your child can quietly try to find objects that are every color of the rainbow.

Physical Therapy Back to School Prep

Classroom Tour – If possible, try to arrange a tour of your child’s classroom before school begins with their new teacher. That way you can identify any areas that might be difficult for your child to maneuver or unsafe for your child for whatever reason. Having some advance warning will allow both your child and their teacher time to adjust. This is also a useful thing to do if your child has physical impairments.

Explore Outdoors – After your classroom tour, why not explore your school’s outdoor areas? You can walk through the halls of the school and then make your way outside. Let your child practice on the school playground or on the stairs leading up to the school entrance over the summer so they are familiar with these areas prior to school starting. It can be fun for them to see what’s waiting for them both inside and out.

Happy Anniversary PTN
6 Favorite Fun Therapy Ideas to Ring in Our Anniversary!
6 Favorite Fun Therapy Ideas to Ring in Our Anniversary! 1000 1000 PTN Chicago

This month we are absolutely thrilled to be celebrating our ninth anniversary. The actual anniversary is June 22, and we can’t believe how fast the time has gone. It has been an absolute pleasure working with such wonderful and diverse children and their fantastic families, and we can’t wait to keep it up for another nine years – and well beyond!

To celebrate our anniversary, we wanted to share some of our favorite occupational, speech, and physical therapy activities that parents and children can enjoy together at home. These play therapies are simple and don’t require a trip to the store, but they can offer hours of entertainment while also helping your child develop skills that will last a lifetime.

For sensory development…

Nothing beats a good old-fashioned sensory bin. The great thing about sensory bins is that they can be regularly updated and adjusted with new objects that your child likes. To make your own sensory bin, first you’ll need a plastic storage tub with a lid. You probably have one under your bed or hidden away in your kitchen or closet right now. Next, fill the bin about half way with a base material that your child can safely sift through. That material might be popcorn kernels, packing peanuts, or dry rice. The final step is hiding fun sensory objects in the bin for your child to discover and enjoy. Try to find things that will engage a variety of senses. For example, puffy poms are great to touch, tea bags are fun to smell, and oversize beads are beautiful to look at!

For gross motor skills…

One of our favorite activities that helps develop gross motor skills is playing pretend! This activity is wonderful, because it can be whatever you want, and it lets both you and your child stretch your imaginations. Maybe you can take turns pretending to be different animals. Or you can pretend that the floor is lava and jump between cushions and pillows laid out on the floor. You can stomp around like dinosaurs, or practice climbing (with supervision!) like monkeys.

For fine motor skills…

A great game for developing fine motor skills and getting some occupational therapy in at the same time is Restaurant! Play this make-believe game in your kitchen with actual pots, pans, and safe utensils like spatulas. You can even break out some real food like dry pasta or those baby carrots you’ve been trying to get your child to eat to make the game even more fun. Moving the game into the kitchen helps your child gain comfort in a different environment while practicing skills like stirring, scooping, and following directions, all while being creative.

For a DIY toy…

The simplest of simple do-it-yourself toys is the cardboard roll at the center of your paper towels. When you finish a roll, hand the cardboard over to your little one and tell her that it’s a telescope, or maybe a magic wand, or tape two together and make binoculars. A cardboard roll can become a log for dolls to sit on or a tunnel for small cars or Legos to slide through.

For speech therapy…

Try playing “I Spy” around your house – or anywhere, for that matter! But home is a great place to start with this game, as your child will be able to name more of the things in their environment. This game helps with building vocabulary, especially adjectives and nouns, and also builds critical thinking skills.

For balance…

Make a gym in your living room – or any room that has soft carpet – by grabbing a stack of your child’s books and lining them up on the ground to make a balance beam. Your child will have fun standing on their books and practicing walking across them without falling off. (And if you’re worried about books being mistreated, don’t be! The more that books feel like toys and rewards, the more your child will want to look inside.)

We hope you enjoy all of these play activities this summer. Give us a call anytime for more recommendations tailored to your child!

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.

therapeutic skills
Simple Ways to Keep Your Parenting Resolutions This Year
Simple Ways to Keep Your Parenting Resolutions This Year 1000 667 PTN Chicago

With a new year upon us, you might be thinking about New Year’s resolutions. One common resolution that we hear from the parents we work with is that they’d like to create more time in their busy schedules to work on home program activities. It’s a goal that is easier said than done, because there is only so much time in the day, and often the urgent outweighs the important.

Whether your child benefits from occupational, physical, or speech therapy, finding time to work on those skills with your child on a regular basis is a great goal that will benefit your child immensely. One easy way to get started with as little stress and time-commitment as possible is to incorporate therapeutic strategies into the things that you already do with your child.
Here are some simple examples of ways that you can incorporate therapy into activities that you likely already do every day.

Sing songs in the car.

When driving your child to school or daycare, turn off your radio and ask your child what song they’d like to sing. If they’re too young or not verbal enough to choose, pick a few songs that you like and sing them for your child. Even just listening to songs stimulates a variety of areas in the brain and improves language development. By choosing interactive songs like “If You’re Happy and You Know It…” you can also help your child develop their listening and imitation skills.

Take a back seat during bedtime.

At bedtime, it’s easy for us parents to go into autopilot – putting our kids in jammies, brushing their teeth, and choosing the books we’ll read for them. Whenever time allows, try to take a step back and give your child a bit more control over bedtime. Let them choose their jammies and give them the opportunity, if possible, to try to undress and redress themselves. Likewise, show them how to brush their own teeth and let them have a say in what books you read. Going about bedtime this way will take a bit more time, but it will help your child enjoy the routine more and improve their self-help skills.

Invite your child into the kitchen.

Whenever possible, let your child work with you in the kitchen to prepare meals. Their help might be as simple as pouring pre-measured ingredients into a bowl or even pressing the appropriate buttons on the microwave. Your child may also enjoy playing with pretend food or with unused pots and pans on the kitchen floor while you cook. You can talk about what you’re making and practice skills like counting and following directions.

But most of all, remember to enjoy the time you have with your little one. Don’t worry about carving out a ton of time each day. A little one on one time goes a long way!

For more suggestions, feel free to reach out any time. Our occupational therapists, speech therapists, and physical therapists are here to support both you and your child in any way that we can.

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