I attended a talk by a pediatrician a few years ago, and she made an analogy about children with special needs that I love, and now I use it all the time. She compared young children to flowers. Most children are like dandelions – it doesn’t really matter what the environmental conditions are, they are going to bloom! Drought? No problem. Flood? No problem. No Soil? No problem, I’ll just grow right here between your patio stones. Look at them go, they’re everywhere! These children don’t really need any special attention. They learned to walk, talk, and met their milestones on time without any difficulties. Then there are children with special needs, or who are delayed in achieving their milestones (children with medical conditions, or genetic disorders, premature babies, children with developmental delays or speech and language delays in the absence of any other delays, etc.). And these more delicate flowers, can bloom, but they may require a little more tending in the garden. The conditions need to be right. They need the right amount of sun, water, and nutrients in the soil. And we can’t expect that they will all bloom in the same season, some bloom more quickly than others. It can be stressful hoping and waiting for the day they finally bloom.
In professions like ours, as Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs), we shouldn’t be the only ones to tend to your garden. We are here to teach you to become skilled gardeners. It is much more effective to teach the parent the necessary skills and strategies to help the flower bloom.
There is research to support parent involvement in speech therapy. A large review study* was conducted, and found that in parent-implemented therapy programs:
· the parent was successful in learning the strategies and implementing them,
· the parents’ use of the strategies made a difference, there was improvement observed in their children,
· parents were just as effective as SLPs at helping their child improve,
· and these improvements were seen across various populations (children with Autism, Language Impairment, or developmental delay)
Other benefits that can result from educating and coaching parents include:
· improved interactions between the parents and their children
· collaboration between the parent and SLP in developing meaningful goals
· the parent gains a sense of empowerment and confidence that they are doing the right thing for their child (no longer feeling helpless and relying on others to help their child improve),
· fewer therapy sessions needed overall, as the parents are able to carry out “therapy” at home in everyday activities.
Speech therapy doesn’t always have to be one-on-one (clinician and client), it doesn’t have to take place in a therapy room, and it doesn’t have to involve structured or pre-planned activities. It can take place during bath time, play time, snack time, or at home, the playground, or grandma’s house. Parent involvement in speech therapy can make such a big difference, and it is why it is such an important focus in how I offer services to families I work with.
* Roberts, M., & Kaiser, A. (2011). The Effectiveness of Parent-Implemented Language Intervention: A Meta-Analysis. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 20, 180-199.
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