There is an old saying, “it takes a village to raise a child.” Here at The Center, we fully believe that. Parents have so much on their plates these days from doctor’s appointments, sports games/practices, dance recitals, summer camp, theater practice, instrument lessons, therapy sessions, the list goes on and on and often it’s for multiple kids.
It's important for parents to reach out to their “village” to help make sure everyone gets where they need to be. Often, babysitters, caregivers, foster parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, friends, neighbors, etc. step up to help, and we sometimes see them at the Center. As a therapist, I value the child’s “village members” because they bring a unique perspective and often are spending a significant amount of time with that child in their life. The more people we can share strategies with, the better support we can give the child!
As they were leaving, the grandma turned and said, “Wow, that was fun!”
Recently, I had a grandparent of a two-year-old come to therapy and observe my session with her granddaughter. Often, therapy at this age looks like play. Play is the child’s job at this age and it is how they learn. Through play with bubbles, farm animals, “squigs” sticking on the window, hide-n-seek, etc., the child imitated novel single words, practiced early developing speech sounds in functional and motivating words, and expanded her spontaneous utterance length to 2-3 words strung together. Grandma was right there with us, popping bubbles, playing hide-n-seek, and modeling phrases throughout play. In addition, Grandma asked excellent questions, provided insight into how the child speaks at home, and learned simple language expansion techniques in order to increase her grandchild’s expressive language while also supporting her receptive language. As they were leaving, the grandma turned and said, “Wow, that was fun!”
We so appreciate our families’ dedication to therapy, and it shows in their kids’ growth and progress. A huge “THANK YOU” from us to all the “village members” out there!
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There is an old saying, “it takes a village to raise a child.” Here at The Center, we fully believe that.
