Fluency
Ideas to facilitate fluency development at home are as follows:
Ideas to facilitate fluency development at home are as follows:
All Ages:
- Model calm, moderately paced speech. Don’t speak too quickly, but don’t go unusually slow, either.
- Allow time for formulating sentences and expressing complete thoughts without making the child feel rushed.
- Build an awareness of different “speech helpers” - body parts (brain, lungs, voice box, jaw, lips, tongue) that play a role in speech and language production. Talk about whether these body parts feel relaxed and calm or tense and tight when speaking.
Practice mindfulness and breathing. Try taking a slow, big breath, then letting a little bit of air out before you start speaking, smoothly. This technique is called “easy onset.” Using a visual cue, such as a picture of a mountain, a slide, or a rainbow may help. Move your finger up one side of the picture as you inhale, then down the other side as you exhale and speak.
