While the speech, occupational, or physical therapist may be the expert in child development, the parent is the expert in knowing their own child. This is why collaboration between therapists and parents is an essential part of treating a child – regardless of their needs. Parents interpret both verbal and nonverbal language of their child better than anyone else. While therapists see the child for about an hour a week, parents communicate and interact with their children on a daily basis. Therapists rely on parents to report what they are seeing in their child throughout the week. However, parents play a much larger role than simply “checking in” during the last 5 minutes of a therapy session.
When a parent is involved in a session, they are able to not only observe techniques used to elicit language, but are also able to implement many of these techniques themselves. However, it can be overwhelming to work on every one of your child’s goals at home. One helpful strategy is to have a conversation with the therapist to decide on one technique to target in the coming week. By taking it one week at a time, the parent will build confidence and the child will build skills at a faster rate than if they were to only address them in the therapy room.
The ultimate goal of therapy for any child is not to master skills just in the treatment room, but to take those skills and transfer them to their everyday environments: home, school, and any other setting the child participates in. One way to speed up this process of “generalization” of skills is to practice with parents and other family members outside of the therapy room. Some of the best opportunities to work on goals come up during everyday routines such as during meals, getting ready for bed, or taking a bath.
Ultimately, one of the most valuable tools a child can have is the support and dedication of parents. As a parent, you should never feel that you are not qualified enough to be working with your child on their goals. Knowing your child’s needs and knowing how to address them is something that takes time, even for an experienced therapist. However, parent involvement makes this job much easier. In the end, both the therapist and the child benefit greatly from the support and involvement of parents.
