10 Activities to Help a Child with Speech Delay at Home

A speech and/or language delay is when a child develops communication skills at a slower rate than expected. It is important to know that your child will eventually catch up, albeit it may take a little longer. Nonetheless, this can lead to nervous questions from parents about the future development of their child’s developmental skills. Early intervention can play a vital role in bridging the growth needed for your child to master communication milestones.

While therapy sessions are important, there are many activities parents can do at home to support communication and language delays. In this article, we will go over 10 activities that can help a child with speech or language delay at home.

Understanding Speech Delay in Children

A speech delay can be diagnosed at any time a child is meeting developmental goals at a slower-than-normal rate. A speech delay typically covers articulation, while language delays cover difficulties with understanding or expressing language models.

Some parents might confuse “late talking” with a speech delay, and while that is completely normal, it is important to look at the environmental factors that may contribute to late talking. This could include living in a multilingual household where research tells us children typically speak later in order to grow their receptive language in two or more languages.

If at any point you feel nervous or need a second opinion, it is vital to speak with your primary healthcare provider about getting a referral to a licensed speech language pathologist who is an expert in speech, language, and overall communication skills.

Signs Your Child May Have a Speech Delay

There are several milestones that you can follow to determine if your child is utilizing specific skills. These are not hard rules, but missing multiple milestones or showing consistent delays across stages may indicate a need for support. The following information is expanded upon in the Verse article “Does My Child Need Speech Therapy?”

Birth to 12 Months

Within the first 12 months, infants can show many degrees of communicative intent, including but not limited to:

• Making cooing and babbling sounds as early forms of vocal play.
• Reacting to sounds and familiar voices (turning head toward a sound, smiling when spoken to).
• Imitating basic sounds or facial expressions.
• Beginning to communicate needs through crying, gestures, or vocalizing intentionally.

12 to 24 Months

Toddlers typically begin using their first words around 12 months and progress rapidly from there. Development can include:

• By 18 months, many children have a vocabulary of around 10–20 words.
• By 24 months, they often start combining two words into short phrases (e.g., “want toy”).
• They should also follow simple instructions and point to familiar objects when named.

2 to 3 Years

From 24 to 36 months, communication growth involves the various components of language and speech developing to more complex stages, such as:

• Vocabulary grows rapidly, and the child begins forming three to four-word sentences.
• Inclusion of grammatical structures such as past tense, present progressive, and possessives.
• Asking ‘why’ and ‘how’ questions
• Recalling simple daily routines like snack time, going to bed, or playing with a toy
• Speech becomes more understandable to family members, though it still may include some sound errors.
• Children start answering basic questions and engaging in short conversations.

3 to 4 Years

Preschoolers’ speech and language become much more refined as their communication continues to develop in an academic setting:

• They speak in full sentences (4+ words) and can be understood by unfamiliar listeners most of the time.
• They understand and use concepts like “big vs small” or “under vs over.”
• They recognize symbols and signs such as “STOP”, street lights, and safety symbols.
• Understands and utilizes prepositions and articles in their speech.
• They ask lots of questions and can hold back-and-forth conversations.

What Causes a Speech Delay?

Common contributing factors that can cause a speech delay include, but are not limited to, hearing loss, developmental delays, or neurological conditions. Environmental factors can also play a huge role if there are limited exposures to language, or as mentioned, living in a multilingual household. It is important to look at all of the facts to determine if a delay is identifiable.

10 Activities to Help a Child with Speech Delay at Home

While speech and language therapy can help teach skills in speech and language, it is important to note that you, caregivers and parents, can play a key role in empowering your child’s communication abilities. Here are some activities to help a child with a speech delay at home.

1. Talk to Your Child Often

While you most likely speak to your child every single day, you can specify routines, directions, and narrate your child’s day-to-day experiences. You can model language models and repeat them in context for clarity.

For example, if you and your child are playing with LEGO, you can start to introduce vocabulary specific to building blocks like “connect”, “break it down”, “start over”, “build”, “snap”, etc. Repeating these words or phrases every time you play LEGOs with your child cements those words in a specific context, allowing your child to understand the use of that word receptively before using it expressively.

2. Read Books Together Every Day

Choose picture books with simple vocabulary and repetition. You can ask wh- questions and point to objects while reading. Encourage your child to turn pages and label images so they understand how books are used. You can start with wordless picture books or improvise a book you like, but know might have older vocabulary for your child.

3. Sing Songs and Use Rhymes

When singing, rhythm and melody help with memory and speech sounds. Choose repetitive nursery rhymes to reinforce patterns. You can add body language and gestures like hand motions or clapping to engage your child.

4. Expand on Your Child’s Speech

Sometimes you may need to model a larger phrase or sentence for your child. As your child develops, you can slowly start teaching the reasoning as to why we use phrases and sentences to speak clearly with friends and family.

For example, when a child says, “milk”, as one word, you can model different ways to request milk, describe milk, ask for more, or say no. By expanding your child’s understanding of milk with other words, you can continue to empower them to be clear and specific in their requests or statements. This is also an excellent opportunity to model appropriate grammar, knowing they will eventually learn more specific rules in their language arts classes in school.

5. Use Play-Based Language Building

Integrate toys and games that encourage naming, requesting, and turn-taking. Practice pretend play to build storytelling and sequencing skills. It is important to let the child lead during play while modeling new words. With child-led play, the pressure to conform to another individual’s standard for communication will reduce, and will allow you as the parent to teach language in a safe and empowering environment.

6. Limit Screen Time and Maximize Interaction

Excessive screen time may reduce language skills, reduce vocabulary, and limit functionality. In language and speech development, parents and caregivers must take an active and interactive approach to show language and speech models through modeling, repetition, and in the context of the scenario. Good examples include having face-to-face conversations, playing with toys together, or participating in a family activity.

This is not to say that screen time in moderation has a negative impact. It is important to set restrictions and expectations when allowing access to TVs, computers, tablets, and phones.

7. Use Visual Supports and Gestures

Introduce tools like picture cards or sign language to support verbal expression. Encourage pointing, gesturing, and facial expressions. Use routines like meals or bedtime to practice naming items with support.

8. Create Communication Opportunities

Set up situations where your child needs to ask or respond (e.g., describing a favorite toy). Encourage requests, choices, and responses during play and routines. Praise attempts to communicate, even if imperfect. If the attempt fails, model the appropriate response in context and follow through with the play activity.

9. Model Good Grammar and Vocabulary

Use correct sentence structure when talking with your child. Rephrase incorrect statements gently to model the right way. You do not need to correct harshly—respond with the right example and continue having fun! This allows your child to learn language in a safe and empowering manner.

10. Repeat and Reinforce Often

Emphasize repetition as a key to learning speech patterns. Reuse words in different contexts to build comprehension. Reinforce new words in songs, stories, and play. Modeling and repetition in context greatly help improve language and speech skills for your child!

Tracking Progress and Celebrating Milestones

It is recommended to keep a simple log of new words or milestones. Celebrate small wins to motivate the child and reduce frustration. The key to successfully supporting your child’s communication is consistency and patience in supporting development.

When to Seek Speech Therapy for a Speech Delay

Knowing when to seek help requires an understanding of potential red flags. These can include, but are not limited to:

• Use of nonverbal gestures or signs over verbal speech
• Understanding or using fewer than 20 words by 24 months
• Using one-word phrases to request wants and needs by 36 months

Therapy in language and speech may be beneficial if you see a regression in skills or plateauing. It is important to note that early intervention leads to the best outcomes. Keep open communication with pediatricians and early childhood educators on your child’s needs.

How Speech Therapy Can Help Your Child

Licensed SLPs assess speech development and identify delays. Therapy goals can include improving clarity, vocabulary, or sentence structure. Sessions are personalized and engaging, like play-based and parent-coached methods.

Take the Next Step in Supporting Your Child’s Communication

Working with your child on building language and speech skills at home should be a rewarding and exciting experience. If you need additional support, a speech therapist can empower you and your child to build clear communication skills that will help them be successful in the long run.

Start your child's communication journey with a licensed speech therapist from Verse Therapy.