Hello parents! Is your kid going through any therapy sessions? Yes, it might be difficult for you to see your kid in this way – however, this is for the betterment of your kid. Be it physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy or any skill practice session – as a parent, you should be well educated enough to incorporate the therapy practices into the daily routine of your kid. Because the more your kid practices the exercises or activities, the faster your kid will make improvements.
Now the question is – how would parents incorporate the therapy/skill practice into the daily routine? Let’s find the answer here in this blog.
Using Problem-Solving Language – This is a very useful technique that encourages children to think through challenges and find solutions. Do not simply tell them how to do a task. Instead, you can ask questions like “Wow, that looks tricky. I wonder how we could do this together?” This prompts the child to explore different approaches and problem-solve.
Additionally, you can narrate their actions as this helps foster self-reflection and problem-solving. For example, you can say “I was amazed to see how you tried to push your thumb through the buttonhole first”. When you say this, you acknowledge their effort and encourage them to think about their approach.
Backward Chaining – This is a very interesting teaching method used to help children become independent in performing their day-to-day tasks like dressing, tying shoes, or brushing their teeth. As a parent, you can start by doing most of the tasks and then leave only the final step for your child to complete. Here’s an example- if the objective is to teach a child how to tie their shoelaces, you would tie the laces until the very end then let your child pull the final knot tight. By completing the last step, your kid experiences a sense of accomplishment and success in finishing the task. You can continue this until your child can perform the entire task independently, from start to finish.
Setting Objectives At Home – Setting achievable and realistic goals is an effective way to motivate children to learn new skills. By breaking down large tasks into smaller, manageable goals, you can establish expectations and help your kid experience a sense of success and confidence.
Here’s An Example: suppose your kid is learning how to properly dress in occupational therapy, then you can start with a smaller goal like “pulling their socks up by themselves each day.” As children accomplish these smaller goals, they can gradually work towards bigger objectives.
Modeling Action- Modeling is a very powerful technique for teaching new skills. When children observe someone else perform a task, they can learn through a process called “mirroring.” Our brains have special neurons called “mirror neurons” that activate when we watch someone else complete an action. This is very effective in ABA therapy which aims to bring more positive behavior in your child.
You can model tasks like pulling up pants, pouring a drink, or explaining how to behave in a certain situation. This is how you provide a visual reference for children to learn and imitate those new skills.
Learning from mistakes – This is known as error-based learning. This in turn helps children build problem-solving skills. You should allow them to make mistakes and learn from those experiences. Do not immediately correct their mistakes, let children try a task, even if it results in a mess (like pouring their favorite food in a bowl). When mistakes happen, you can encourage children to try again and figure out what went wrong.
Bottom Line
Therapy or skill practice helps kids make significant improvements with time.
Whatever therapy or practice session your child is going through, initiate to talk to the therapist or practitioner to understand the therapy better.
Here at Hope AMC, we include parents or caregivers in our therapy sessions so that they understand it and incorporate the exercises into their kid’s daily routines.
We offer physical therapy, occupational therapy, ABA therapy, feeding therapy and more!
Visit our website to discover more about our one-of-a-kind therapy techniques. Or, book a call to discuss more!
