In one of my session's yesterday, I was reminded of the importance of following the child's energy levels. My client and I were working on the R sound and they were starting to yawn, which isn't really what we want in speech therapy. I suggested we switch activities and we took out my Don't Break the Ice game so they could hit something and wake up a little bit. Within a couple minutes they were smiling and re-engaged in practicing their R sounds. Especially when children are working hard, it can be important to find activities that keep them engaged. Sometimes it's a delicate balance in speech therapy, we want the children to enjoy themselves but we also need them to be focused. I like to include around 3-4 games in my sessions to keep it fun and motivating. Some children need to move during sessions, I allow kids to stand, or we move around if needed. Some children need to be sitting to help them focus. With my school age children that I work with, I'll give them the option of which one works best for them, and we can always switch it up. I try and pay attention to their energy levels that day and see what we can do to keep them in the learning zone. Ultimately, we want to make speech therapy fun so the child is engaged and motivated to keep practicing.
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