Simple Speech Therapy Activities For Adults
Are you keen to put a stop to the emotional stress associated with a speech difficulty? A lot of people associate speech therapy with children’s disorders, but language and speech challenges occur in people of all ages. The good news is, there are some simple speech therapy activities designed for adults that can really help improve communication and quality of life.
Reading practice with simple stories
Reading practice can assist with speech therapy for adults. You can buy reading material specifically designed for therapy, or create your own by breaking down stories into short sections in large print. Some stroke survivors, for example, regain their reading and speech skills by working with short sentences printed against a background of plentiful white space. Less vocabulary allows patients to focus on the basic sounds and patterns of speech. Other adult speech therapy designed reading material can include news snippets or recipes, presented in a similar, clear format.
Picture dictionaries
Pictures also help adults undertaking speech therapy. Picture dictionaries use photography or illustrations to provide a definition of a word. If reading ability is impaired, this can be an ideal way to practice speech sounds using visual cues. Such picture books assist with the interpretation and meaning of a word, and can also be used easily for practice at home.
Video assistance
Taking it one step further again, videos bring pictures, and thus words, to life. Websites and mobile device apps are now available to help break down words and phrases into helpful little videos. A patient is encouraged to watch and then repeat the word seen in the video by imitating its sound. The repetition of such videos is the key to a longer term memory of words. For a taster, take a look at the Vidtionary website, which displays words in video format.
Word puzzles and games
Speech therapy for adults doesn’t have to be boring. Word puzzles and games specifically geared toward adult speech practice are not only functional, but fun. The internet is jam packed with free word game resources, and similar apps exist for the iPad and other mobile devices. Simple word puzzles help us to visualise words, thus improving memory and word retrieval in speech therapy practice. The repetition in memory games and puzzles help patients retain words in the longer term.
Good day. My daughter, now 16 was born with bilateral cleft lip and palate. All her corrective surgeries have been done, orthodox almost complete, pnly has a retainer. She did speech therapy till age 8 and has not mastered the th sound. She pronounces it as a f with air escaping on left side of her lips.
Would you have exercises you could send her to improve this. She s now very self contious about it. Can you help please. We live in South Africa in a remote area far from town.
Any assistance vwould be appreciated.
Cincerned mom, heleen whelan
Dear Helen,
Thank you for your query on the Box Hill Speech Pathology Clinic website. We understand that it is difficult to access speech therapy in remote areas. The owner and principal speech pathologist of our clinic, Vince Borg, offers therapy over Skype.
Please contact our office staff at enquiries@speech-therapy.com.au to book an appointment.
We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Hi I am looking for a more easier and uncoiled like way to talk and communicate with a person I look after and I am running short of Ideas.
regards
colette
Hello Colette,
Thank you for your comment. How old is the person you are looking after?