If your child has Apraxia, it can be frustrating to be at home without any strategies to help them improve their communication skills. So to give families a way to work on speech production at home, the first thing I suggest is reading.
Repetitive books are great for all young children but they are best for those kids with Childhood Apraxia of Speech. Why? Because predictable and repeating words decrease the need to focus on understanding and allows your child to focus in on speech production. This can be very beneficial during apraxia therapy or just hanging out at home!
Depending on what level your child is at, you can:
have your child watch your mouth as you say the words
use carrier phrases and have your child fill in the blank ("No more monkeys jumping on the...")
intentionally leave words out of the the story and see if your child makes a comment
There are many amazing children's books available but the type I've found most helpful in my practice are those that repeat the same words and phrases. That way I get to narrow my target words during a session and the child has repeated opportunities to practice. And best of all, there's no need to force the repetition... It's just built into the story.
1. If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Joffe Numeroff (Or any of the books in that series)
2. The Pirate Who Couldn’t Say Arrr! by Angie Neal
3. Moo Baa La La La by Sandra Boynton
4. Is Your Mama A Llama? by Deborah Guarino
5. I Went Walking by Sue Williams
6. I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Nadine Bernard Westcott
7. Caps For Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
8. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.
9. Who's Making That Mess? by Jenny Tyler Stephen
10. I Don't Care! Said the Bear by Colin West
Reading books is a good way to engage and learn.
Do you have any favorite repetitive books that you and your child read?
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About the Author
Lenora Edwards
I am ASHA Board Certified Speech Language Pathologist and Chief Knowledge Officer with Better Speech. Since obtaining my CCC’s in 2010, I have worked with individuals of all ages from little ones who are learning to understand and express themselves to adults who want to improve their speaking skills and become a more fluent and effective communicator. I love to teach and educate others, in my spare time I like reading, cooking and traveling!
