Four reasons parent coaching works for children’s speech therapy
Because speech and language delays are so common, lots of parents end up working with professionals to support their children’s development. But even though childhood speech therapy is common, it’s not always easy to know what kind of support is best for your family—or even what your options might be. At Babbly, we connect with lots of parents in this situation, and many are already familiar with more traditional one-on-one therapy models. With this approach, parents are more hands-off, and therapy mostly happens between the speech therapist and child during sessions. But, there are other ways to support children with speech delays, and the key to progress is finding the right fit.
Children with speech delays who get therapy tend to see 34% more improvement than children who don’t. Speech therapy from an expert is the best action you can take if your little one has a delay or disorder, but some approaches may be better than others. One option to consider? Parent-led intervention, or parent coaching. With this approach, parents get coaching from a speech therapist and learn different techniques and strategies to use with their children throughout the day during regular routines. Lots of parents are surprised to learn just how effective the coaching model can be. Here’s what the research tells us.
Parent coaching is a proven approach
Lots of studies show that parent coaching is a major difference-maker in children’s outcomes—and parents who participate use more language models than parents who don’t get coaching. When you work with a speech therapist in this way, you learn a number of strategies and understand which exercises are best for your child.
In studies where parents lead therapy, there are significant positive effects on receptive and expressive language skills, receptive and expressive vocabulary, ability to create sentences and rate of communication. And, the results from parent coaching were even more significant than a therapist-led control group.
Children benefit when they learn at home with people they know
It helps when speech therapy happens at home—and when it comes from you. That’s because your child is in their natural environment, working with someone they’re used to communicating with. In fact, this setup is so beneficial that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act calls out the importance of parent-child interactions and mandates that therapy for young children with disabilities happen in the context of typical and authentic experiences. So, while you might picture therapy happening in a professional office removed from your day-to-day life, it actually works well when it’s incorporated into your regular environment and routine.
Parents learn skills that make a difference
When you start parent coaching, you’ll learn to use systematic language intervention strategies. While that might sound daunting, it’s just a matter of focusing on some common skills including:
Responding to communication
Adjusting the way you take turns with your child when you communicate
Modelling how to speak in scenarios relevant to your child
Using strategies that are build on your child’s interests
And when parents use these skills, the results can be profound, with children showing increases in their immediate skills development.
You can use what you learn across everyday routines
Parent coaching leverages the communication you have with your child every day. You learn to use specific tactics at home during your daily routines—and focus on what you say and how much you say to your little one. Depending on your child’s situation, you might only need coaching once a week to help them make progress.
Parent coaching is not only effective, it’s often easier to fit into your schedule. At Babbly, parent coaching is our focus—and we offer flexible sessions that can lead to real progress for your little one. If you’re interested in learning more, sign up for a consultation with an accredited speech therapist.
References
Kashinath, S., Woods, J., & Goldstein, H. (2006). Enhancing generalized teaching strategy use in daily routines by parents of children with autism. In Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, (Vol. 49, pp. 466–485).
Robertsa, M.,Kaisera, A. (2011) The Effectiveness of Parent-Implemented Language Interventions: A Meta-Analysis.