Tips for Parents and Caregivers: Supporting Your Child Who Has a Communication Disorder

When a child has difficulty communicating, it can lead to challenges at home, in school, during public outings, and in other aspects of everyday life. These challenges can be stressful for the child and their caregivers. Here are some ways that you can support your child who has a communication delay or disorder.

Don’t interrupt your child to correct them. Sometimes, a child doesn’t pronounce a word correctly, uses the wrong word, or has trouble getting a word out. In those situations, don’t stop them to correct them or tell them to slow down. It is more important to let your child keep talking.

Respond to their communication attempts. When possible, give your child your full attention when they are trying to communicate. Look at them, and respond enthusiastically to their communication attempts. If you don’t understand what they want or need, see if they can show you by pointing to what they want. Try to stay patient and encouraging.

Expose them to lots of language. Talk about what you’re doing as you go about your daily routines. Use a lot of different words. Read and sing songs together.

Speak in the language you are most comfortable using. Exposing your child to more than one language will not delay their speech or language or confuse them. In fact, being multilingual has many benefits, including for children with speech or language disorders.

Use speech therapy techniques at home. If your child sees a speech-language pathologist (SLP), then the SLP most likely will provide you with suggestions for practice at home. You can often incorporate these techniques into your daily routines rather than make them an added task or chore.

Make sure that your child has their AAC at all times. Does your child use a device, pictures, or another method of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)? If so, be sure that they always have access to these tools—so that they can communicate their wants, needs, and feelings whenever they choose. This is their voice; it should never be left behind.

Keep a schedule. Many children with communication disorders thrive on structure and routines. This predictability can be comforting. You may even want to post a daily schedule with pictures where they can see it.

Minimize distractions. Turn off the television, put away other electronics and toys, and reduce background noise if you need your child to focus on or complete a particular task.
Break down directions into manageable steps. Don’t overwhelm your child with multiple instructions at once. Take things one step at a time.

Help them with transitions. Let your child know in advance when they will be moving from one task or place to another. For example, “In 5 minutes, we will be cleaning up toys so we can go to school.”

Make sure that screen time isn’t replacing time for in-person interaction. Screens can give caregivers much-needed time to get a task done (e.g., making dinner) or to take a break. However, screens can also make daily life more difficult in the long run if your child becomes overly dependent on them to entertain, distract, or soothe them. Find tips for establishing healthy screen time habits in ASHA–Fairplay’s Be TechWise series.

Communicate often with your child’s daycare/preschool or school. Let staff know what helps your child and what makes things more difficult for them. Ask for regular check-ins so you can troubleshoot early. Depending on your child’s age and specific challenges, they may be eligible for a 504 plan or for an individualized education program (IEP).

Look to additional resources for support. You are not alone. Communication disorders are among the most common conditions that young and school-aged children experience. But that doesn’t make it easy. Consider joining an online or in-person support group or community of other caregivers whose children have communication or other developmental disorders. If you have a child between ages 2 and 6, specifically, ASHA and Lantern offer a free texting program (TALK) that provides tips and resources. Many other organizations—such as Apraxia Kids or the National Stuttering Association—offer support as well.

To find a certified speech-language pathologist in your area, visit the ASHA ProFind national database. You can also contact your local early intervention program or school system for an evaluation.