Attending speech and language peer groups is an excellent way for your child to boost their language skills while encouraging peer interaction and engagement!
Speech-language pathologists are experts in communication; so having one design a peer interaction group for kids is a fantastic way to ensure your child is learning ways to communicate with their peers in a fun, play-based and neurodiversity affirming setting!
In speech and language peer groups, your child will participate in various activities that incorporate gross motor, fine motor, and sensory experiences all while learning new vocabulary, new ways to communicate with others, and boosting language comprehension through following directions.
Speech and language peers groups at Resolute Therapy Collaborative typically follow this general format:
Free play
Free play encourages children to engage with each other to come up with new ideas and provides opportunity for problem solving, conflict resolution, and working together!
Organized group movement activity
Group movement activities encourage children to work together to complete a task. Examples include moving through an obstacle course to finish a puzzle, playing hide-and-go seek, or going on a scavenger hunt to find items around the room.
Sensory Activity
Sensory activities can include playing in sensory bins (ex. rice/beans, water, kinetic sand) using themed objects/items within the sensory boxes to learn new vocabulary. Sensory play can also be things like finger painting or playing with play doh.
Arts and Crafts
Completing a craft is an excellent way for children to practice their fine motor skills, work on following directions, learn new vocabulary, and boost creativity!
Music/Dancing
Music and dancing helps children come together in an organized group activity that is fun and engaging. Music activities can include games like freeze dance or learning new gestures/movements to child friendly songs!
Speech and language peer groups designed by a neurodiversity affirming speech-language pathologist is also beneficial because neurodiversity affirming therapists understand that all children will learn and play differently. Therefore, in Resolute Therapy Collaborative peer groups, we do not force participation but gently encourage while allowing opportunities for taking a break when a child is showing signs of dysregulation. Fostering positive relationships and encouraging children to develop new skills in a gentle, non-forceful way is very important to us!
Finally, at Resolute Therapy Collaborative, we want your child to succeed and get the most benefit out of peer groups as possible. For these reasons, we complete an intake for interested parents in enrolling their child in peer groups. In the intake, we gather information about your child's current language skills, how they play, and areas of strengths and needs. Based on this information, we group children together who are working on similar skills and similar age ranges.
Interested in joining a future peer group? Send as an email info@resolutetherapycollaborative.com!
Learn more here about how peer groups at Resolute Therapy Collaborative differ from "social" groups!
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