Is your child getting frustrated because his/her speech cannot be understood? Depending on the extent of the speech difficulties, unclear speech can impact on how well a child can interact with their peers and adults. Here are some simple strategies anybody can use to successfully talk to children with unclear speech.
- Ask them to show you/ draw it out
If your child is talking about something in the house, ask them to show you or take you to it. They can also use hand gestures to facilitate interaction.
If you are struggling to understand them and it is not within reach, you could ask them to draw it out for you.
- Provide them with choices
Offering the child choices can make it easier for your child to communicate his/her wants. When they use the word to make the request, they will feel confident that they are able to communicate successfully.
- Give them time to respond
A child who has a speech sound difficulty may need more time to express themselves and be understood. Avoid talking for them or filling in their sentences. Their confidence will grow if we give them time and lots of encouragement to keep trying.
- Don’t correct them
The best thing parents can do for a child with speech sound difficulties is model the word/ sentence correctly. However, don’t insist on the child repeating the word correctly as this may be difficult for them.
For example
Child: “ tee bo tup!”
Mother: “Oh yes, I see the blue cup”
If your child has repeated the word several times and you still cannot understand them, don’t be afraid to say “sorry”, but you are finding hard to understand the word right now.
Just showing your child that you are interested in what they have to say and that you are trying to understand is the most important part. Just try your best!
Written by Tasneem Abdul Samad, Speech Pathologist.
