Is Your Child Therapized?

Is Your Child Therapized?

By Hallie Bulkin

Has your child ever done or said something followed by you thinking to yourself, “WOW where did they learn THAT?” And then…you realize…they learned it from YOU? One common example is when your child picks up an object or a fake phone, puts it to their ear, and then jargon’s (fake words with adult like intonation) in a way that they sound just like you do on the phone. I always LOVE hearing about these instances.

This happens with some of the kids that I work with over consistent therapy sessions. If your child is receiving or has received speech language therapy then you know that children start to pick up on certain things the therapist does. For example, when I am teaching words and want your child to imitate what I model for him/her I will touch my mouth or bring the toy that I am labeling next to my mouth to draw attention to the word I am producing. Sometimes the child may imitate the signs that I make with my hands and sometimes they continue to make those signs every time they produce that particular speech sound and/or word from that point forward.

Another example of this is when I teach turn-taking, I put my hand on my chest and say “my turn” while I might put my hand on your child’s chest and say, “your turn”.

When the kids start imitating my actions (or YOURS) in their everyday routine…I refer to this as the child being therapized. 😉

It’s very cute to see the kids carrying out what they have learned. However, at some point we want to fade the signs and help your child to master the correct phrase appropriate to the communication scenarios they enter.

Is your child therapized? Comment below!

 

With Love,

Hallie Bulkin