Smarten up your kid? Is that possible? Yes and No. You can’t change your child’s inherent intelligence or abilities, but you can improve their language skills. Better language skills = more success in school.
Normally, I write about things on my mind or my writing, but today I want to talk about you. Specifically abour your child’s speech and language skills. I’ve been a speech pathologist for over 30 years. Obviously, God gifted me with a love of words.
Whether a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or teacher, there may be a child in your life with a communication problem. So, what you can you do about it? A lot, actually. Parent’s are and always have been the best language teachers for their child. Unfortunately, the busier we get the less opportunities we have to do just that.
Is your child struggling in school? Many times learning problems are a result of delayed speech or language skills. It’s not always the case but language skills definitely affect learning and school success. These language problems can often be subtle and not show up until 2nd or 3rd grade or even later.
Reading and writing are language processes so if your child has language problems (even mild ones) they can and most likely will affect their reading and writing skills. And schools are all about reading and writing. That’s why it’s important to strengthen their language skills.
I’ve released an e-book (and soon to be print book) with the title SMARTEN UP YOUR KID; STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE YOUR CHILD’S LANGUAGE. This book is written for parents in an easy to understand style.
This book contains information about articulation and language problems and what parents and others can do to strengthen their child’s communication skills. It is NOT a substitute for a Speech Pathologist, but it’s filled with tips, strategies, and activities for you to enjoy with your child. And at the same time improve their language skills.
To learn more about this book or about Speech Therapy in general, visit www.SpeechTherapyExplained.weebly.com
Tiaras & Tennis Shoes 
THANK YOU for posting this on the ACFW loop. (Though the link above to the book doesn’t work, I found it on the site you linked to on the bottom.) I’ve been worried about my girl for awhile, she’s 5. I’m positive she’s dyslexic (father is) and I think that might be what is affecting her speech, the same words that trip up dyslexics when reading (those with no picture to associate with) like “for” “From” “when” “what” etc. she just uses haphazardly in speech and “makes no sense.” Anyway, I’ve been wanting to take her to a speech path, but I live in the middle of nowhere and didn’t want my overparanoia to make us take a big long trip to a big city to discover I’m crazy and she’d grow out of it like I have some friends insisting–but I’ve even had a friend tell me she was “stupid” because of it, but I know she’s smart. Anyway, this book I’m hoping will help me realize if it’s anything a speech path can help without fear of being a crazy parent. Thanks again!
I’m so glad. I hope it will be helpful. That’s why I wrote it. Anohter option is to contact your school district if your child is 3 or older and request an evaluation. Let me know what happens.
Our son is going to a speech pathologist now. He stutters and you can’t always understand what he’s saying since he talks so fast. However, he’s very bright and one of the few straight-A students in his class. When he reads, he doesn’t have a problem with the stuttering. It only happens when he speaks freely. I tend to think he’s got so much stuff running through his mind that it’s hard for him to focus on one particular thing to say at one time.
You don’t say how old your son is, but I think what you say is true for many kids who “stutter” expecially if they are young and don’t have all the words they need to express their ideas. Stuttering is not my favorite thing to work with because in fact we don’t know why people do it or necessarily how to “cure” it. The book does give some dos and don’ts for parents with children who have fluency issues.