You Asked Your Son To (fill in the blank:) and He Forgot- AGAIN!!! Ideas to Help Your Child REALLY Listen...
Tuesday Tidbit Authored By Elise Weinstein, M.S., CCC-SLP, Speech Therapist at The Village Therapy Place
Does your child get distracted…and always forget what you said?
Does he get to the other room…only to realize he forgot what he came for?
Today’s Tuesday Tidbit can help!
Teach him the following technique: SILENT REHEARSAL.
Silent Rehearsal is exactly what it sounds like:
Teach your child to repeat the direction to himself until he completes the direction. He can whisper it aloud or say it “in his head.” Younger children do not always grasp the concept of saying something to yourself (i.e. not aloud), so they will do better quietly repeating it to themselves.
How To Teach Silent Rehearsal:
Model: You can model this for your child when you are doing tasks.
Example: Say out loud: I need bread and cheese from the fridge. Bread and cheese. Bread, cheese.
Start With 1: Start with one piece of information in simple directions, and have your child repeat the key word or the whole phrase.
Example: Your direction- “Get your shoes please.” Your child should repeat the whole phrase OR the key word “shoes.”
Work Up to 2-3: After your child has mastered remembering one piece of information, work your way up to two and then three pieces of information.
Example: We need trains and the tracks. Get your socks and shoes. Can you get yellow, blue, and green?
Multi-Step Directions: Now your child is ready for the pieces of information to be scattered throughout multiple steps in the direction. Repeating the key words is more helpful at this point, since there are more words in the direction.
Example: Your direction- “Get your boots from the closet and your mittens from the table.” Your child should repeat “boots-closet, mittens-table” to help remember what to do.
By silently rehearsing the direction, your child should experience success following directions at home and in school. And Mom and Dad can get some much-needed cooperation!
Now if we could only remember the thousand and one things we need to do? Maybe we should copy our kids 😊
Share your success stories down below! How did this tip help your child?
About Us:
We, at The Village Therapy Place, located in Bergen County- in Wyckoff, NJ, aim to provide integrative, neurodevelopmental, individualized, pediatric therapy in a warm, fun, and collaborative environment.
We offer pediatric services that include physical therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, feeding therapy, and DIR Floortime.
At The Village Therapy Place, we utilize current and evidence-based treatment techniques to help treat your child during his PT, OT, speech therapy, feeding therapy and DIR Floortime session. These include sensory integration, reflex integration, therapeutic listening, Kinesiotape, craniosacral therapy, NDT, BrainGym, feeding therapy, PROMPT, to name a few.
Our expert pediatric therapists offer a variety of treatment options, including 30/45/60 minute sessions, group classes and virtual therapy to best suit a child’s needs.
The pediatric physical therapists, occupational therapists & speech therapists at The Village Therapy Place are in constant contact with a child's caregivers to facilitate lasting change.
Call us today at (201) 201-8220 or email us at office@thevillagetherapyplace.com to speak with a pediatric expert who truly cares!