Language Stimulation Exercises
- Breathing exercises: deep, slow breaths and quick breaths
- Blowing (bubbles, paper or foam balls, a straw)
- Rhythm exercises with the hands or a drum (using instruments and silence)
- Imitating animal sounds, or the sounds used in the rhythm exercise
- Tongue exercises (moving it around the mouth, chewing gum, eating wafers or white bread, touching the teeth with the tongue)
- Silence exercises: find a quiet space, make sounds and ask the child which sound they heard; then the child can do the activity and ask the adult
- Singing and imitating songs of interest
- Expressing short needs (give me, I want, water, baby, milk, etc.)
- Facial exercises (moving the cheeks, puffing out the cheeks, holding water in the mouth and releasing it slowly)
- Faces and gestures
- Finding things (hide a toy and ask the child to find the ____ and say its name)
- Playing "I spy"
- Playing with dough (open, wow, soft, little ball)
- Speaking to them at their eye level
- Pretending to talk on the phone (having conversations)
- Reading them stories
- Naming everyday things
- Taking advantage of playtime (block sounds: boom, splash, etc.)
- Repeating back the words they say correctly
- Helping them answer yes, thank you, mom, dad
- Describing what they are playing with or doing
- Asking simple questions and giving them time to answer
- Avoiding repeat, repeat, repeat; don't force it