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A Summer of
Discovery!
WORDS: Jennifer Colombo, M.S., CCC-SLP
Speech Language Pathologist
Many families will be on the road during the summer break
visiting relatives or enjoying time off from school and
work. On these adventures, it is important to remember
that language learning goes beyond the four walls of a classroom
or a therapy room.
Whether by trains, planes, or automobiles, family vacations are
a great way to generalize language skills to new environments.
Travel also bonds families together, raises cultural awareness,
teaches organization and problem-solving skills, and is just a
whole lot of fun!
ere are some ways to make a summer vacation not only
enjoyable, but a learning experience for a child who is developing
language or has a language delay.
Involve your child in the preparation. There is a lot to do before
a big trip. ave your child work on following directions while
packing and preparing.
Involve your child in the planning. You can target social
conversation by talking about preferences with your plan. (“Do
you like to go hiking or kayaking?” “I like hiking better because…”)
Talk, talk, and then talk some more! Describe everything
around you, whether it is the city skyline, the cars on the road,
or observations at the beach. By describing your environment,
you are providing a language model for your child that helps
develop sentence structure and vocabulary. To target social
conversation, discuss feelings as your family moves through its
adventure. (e.g. “I was really excited to see my cousins,” or “I
did not like the tour because my feet were tired.”)
Sequence events. Before your start your endeavor, go over
the sequence of events to expect. For example, when going
to the airport, review the steps. You can also sequence your
itinerary (e.g. “First we are going to the oover Dam, then the
Grand Canyon, etc...) Sequencing not only aides in executive
functioning and story comprehension, it can also help children
who struggle with transitions to feel comfortable with a plan. Use
pictures to help visualize the steps if needed.
Write about the experience. After the day is done, work on writing
and memory skills by logging events in a journal. The child can
write about some of the items he/she saw, or a favorite part of the
adventure. For struggling writers, encourage drawing pictures or
provide a word bank of key words to use to make it more enjoyable.
Make it a sensory experience. There are many sights, sounds,
smells, tastes, and textures in this world to explore. Children learn
through their senses, so make sure to give them opportunities
to immerse themselves in your trip, such as touching a sting ray
in an aquarium, tasting a new dish, or listening to the animals
in the forest. Be sure to have a discussion with your child about
what he/ she experienced.
Apply it to what your child has already learned in school this
year. Use travel as another instructional tool. Museums are great
places to learn history. Zoos, aquariums,
and botanical gardens are great places
to learn biology.
ave a great time discovering new
lands and new communication skills this
summer!
Jennifer Colombo, M.S., CCC-SLP
Owner of Therapeutic Potentials, Inc.
www.TPIKids.com
/www.TPIKids.com