How to Support Speech Therapy Progress During the Holiday Season

Key Take Aways

• Embed speech and language practice into daily routines.
• Model social scripts before gatherings.
• Use visual schedules and Social Stories to support comprehension of novel routines.
• Reinforce effort and communication attempts, not perfection.
• Collaborate with your SLP for carryover strategies.

As the holidays come closer, there are many ways to support communication through all of the excitement with loved ones. Parents and caregivers can aid their children during this time to continue promoting speech progress, even when missing speech due to holiday plans.

See the Holidays as Communication Opportunities

The holiday season, with all of its changes with daily routine, provides opportunities for language learning through conversation and vocabulary exposure.

Incorporating language into daily activities helps to create a connection between words and experiences, aiding in generalization (Justice and Kaderavek, 2004).

Even though therapy appears to be a separate means of practicing language, activities such as decorating, baking, and gift-giving provide opportunities for functional communication modeling. Provide your child with models to label items, describe actions, or make choices (“Should we decorate the cookie red or green?”).

Build Language Through Everyday Routines

Parent-child interactions aid in building expressive and receptive language skills, especially during holiday preparation such as cooking or setting the table for meal time (Bleile, 2004; Rowe, 2012).

• Label and describe actions: “We are mixing the batter”, “The cookies taste yummy.”
• Emphasize sequencing: “First we mix, then bake, and last we decorate.”
• Incorporate commenting: “I wonder what you see!” or “What’s your favorite decoration?”

These actions support expressive vocabulary growth, syntax, and narrative skills.

Support Social Communication

The holiday season can bring many new experiences and social expectations. Providing predictability, support, and preparation can help children feel both comfortable and help them enjoy it.

Families can provide models and Social Stories to prepare their child for upcoming interactions with others. These tools build confidence and offer opportunities to practice social communication in natural, supportive contexts (Adams et al., 2012).

Creating a simple visual schedule can help children anticipate transitions, manage sensory input, and help with engagement (e.g., decorate → eat dinner → open gifts). Children benefit from predictability and clear expectations to support emotional regulation (Hodgdon, 1995; ASHA, 2016). When children know what to expect, they can focus their energy on connection, communication, and enjoyment.

Incorporate Speech Goals into Holiday Routines

Learned skills are carried over to other environments when they are fun and meaningful. Use activities your child enjoys as opportunities for speech and language practice (Justice & Ezell, 2002):

• Decorating: Target spatial concepts (“under,” “next to,” “on top of”).
• Baking: Following directions or looking for target sounds within recipes.
• Listening to holiday music: Singing aids in breath support and can provide an opportunity with practicing speech sound production.

The key is to embed goals naturally rather than setting up “drill time”, especially with a difference in your daily routine.

Allow for Rest

Progress during holidays may look different and that’s okay! Children need time for rest and sensory regulation. Gentle reinforcement and positive feedback support intrinsic motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Focus on communication attempts and modeling without expectation, not perfection.

Collaborate with Your SLP

Before the holidays, check in with your child’s speech-language pathologist. Ask your child’s therapist for customized home-practice ideas that fit into your plans. Your SLP can help you determine functional goals to easily incorporate into your hectic schedule.

Carryover between home and therapy leads to more consistent outcomes and aids with treatment progress (Roberts & Kaiser, 2011).

Conclusion

The holiday season doesn’t mean a disruption to your child’s speech therapy progression. With collaboration between families and clinicians, you can keep your child’s communication skills growing all season long.

At CareWell Therapies, we believe every child deserves a voice and the holidays are the perfect time to continue encouraging that.

References

• Adams, C., Lloyd, J., Aldred, C., & Baxendale, J. (2012). Social communication intervention for school-age children: Rationale and evidence. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 47(3), 256–270. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-6984.2011.00090.x
• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2016). Social communication disorder. Retrieved from https://www.asha.org
• Bleile, K. M. (2004). The late eight: Treatment of later-developing sounds. San Diego, CA: Plural Publishing.
• Hodgdon, L. (1995). Visual strategies for improving communication. QuirkRoberts Publishing.
• Justice, L. M., & Ezell, H. K. (2002). Use of storybook reading to increase print awareness in at-risk children. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 11(1), 17–29. https://doi.org/10.1044/1058-0360(2002/003)
• Justice, L. M., & Kaderavek, J. N. (2004). Embedded-explicit emergent literacy intervention for vulnerable preschoolers: The LEER model. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 13(1), 65–80. https://doi.org/10.1044/1058-0360(2004/008)
• Roberts, M. Y., & Kaiser, A. P. (2011). The effectiveness of parent-implemented language interventions: A meta-analysis. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 20(3), 180–199. https://doi.org/10.1044/1058-0360(2011/10-0055)
• Rowe, M. L. (2012). A longitudinal investigation of the role of quantity and quality of child-directed speech in vocabulary development. Child Development, 83(5), 1762–1774. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01805.x
• Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68