New to this topic? Start with our companion article: Why Parents Are the Most Powerful Part of Speech Therapy | Brisbane Speech Pathologist
Your therapist has sent you home with "a few things to try" — and suddenly the kitchen feels like a pop quiz. How much? How often? What if your child won't sit still? These are the questions we get asked most, and the answers are simpler than you'd expect.
The most powerful thing parents do at home isn't running drills. It's the way you talk to your child during the everyday moments you already share — at the table, in the car, in the bath. When a speech pathologist sets specific home practice, it's tailored to your child's goals and what they're ready for; in between, the universal good practice is shared reading, narrating what you're doing, and listening with full attention. As a mum of two boys, I know how hard it is to add "one more thing" to the routine — so home practice is designed to fit into what you're already doing.
This article focuses on the how of home practice. For the why — the research on parent-implemented intervention and our coaching model — see our companion piece: Why Parents Are the Most Powerful Part of Speech Therapy.
What Should I Be Practising?
This depends on what your child is working on in therapy. Your speech pathologist will guide you on the specifics, but here's a general overview of what home practice looks like for different skill areas.
Speech Sounds
If your child is working on saying a particular sound (like /s/ or /r/), home practice usually involves a small amount of focused practice at whatever level your speech pathologist has set — often a short game with target words, a book loaded with the sound, or gentle encouragement in everyday chat once your child is ready. Your therapist will tell you what level your child is working at — don't jump ahead to conversation practice if they're still building confidence at the word level.
Early Language
If your child is building their vocabulary, putting words together, or learning to communicate more, home practice is all about responsive interaction — following your child's lead, modelling the words you'd love to hear, expanding what they say, and creating small openings for them to communicate. We unpack each of these strategies with worked examples in How Speech Pathologists Use Play in Therapy Sessions, which is the best place to start if your child is still building their first words and phrases.
Stuttering
The right home strategies for stuttering depend on your child's age and the programme they're in. For preschool-aged children, parent-delivered approaches like the Lidcombe Program have strong evidence — your therapist will guide you through the specific procedures step by step. For school-age children, adolescents, and teens, treatment is different, and approaches like the Camperdown Program or Westmead Program are often used. Whatever the programme, the key is to follow your speech pathologist's specific guidance — and to focus on supporting your child's confidence and participation, not just the speech itself. The Australian Stuttering Research Centre at the University of Sydney is the leading authority on stuttering treatment in Australia and a great source of evidence-based information for families.
Social Communication
For children working on social skills, the home environment is full of natural practice — turn-taking games, family meals, sibling play, and gentle narration of social situations ("I can see your sister looks upset — I wonder what happened?"). Your speech pathologist will help you spot the moments that suit your child best.
When and How Often?
Here's the part most parents worry about: how much practice is enough?
The short answer is that little and often beats long and rare, and the right amount is always something your speech pathologist works out with you — based on your child, your goals, and what's realistic to sustain. In my experience coaching parents, the breakthrough usually comes when a family stops trying to carve out "practice time" and starts noticing the practice moments already hiding in their day.
Embedding Practice into Daily Routines
The best home practice doesn't feel like homework — for you or your child. Here are some ways to build it into what you're already doing.
Mealtimes
Naming foods, describing textures and tastes, taking turns to share something about your day — meals are full of natural language opportunities, and any target sounds your child is working on slot in easily ("Can you ask for the ssssoup?").
Bath Time
A relaxed, low-pressure setting where language flows naturally — body parts, actions (splash, pour, squeeze), describing words (hot, cold, bubbly), and lots of pretend play with bath toys.
Bedtime Reading
One of the most powerful language-building routines you can have. Pause and point, ask "what's happening?", make predictions together, and choose books with repetitive phrases your child can join in with. For speech sounds, pick books loaded with target sounds.
Keeping It Natural and Low-Pressure
This is the most important part. If home practice becomes stressful — for you or your child — it's not going to work. A few things that often help:
- Follow your child's mood. If they're tired, hungry, or not interested, skip it. There's always tomorrow.
- Praise effort, not perfection. "I loved how you tried that tricky word!" goes a long way.
- Don't correct everything. If your child is working on the /s/ sound, you don't need to fix every single /s/ in conversation. Focus on the practice activity and let the rest be natural.
When to Step Back and Let the Therapist Lead
Not everything is suitable for home practice, and that's completely fine. There are times when it's best to leave certain things to the therapy session:
- When your child is learning a brand-new skill — let the therapist introduce it first and tell you when it's ready for home practice
- When practice is causing frustration or avoidance — let your therapist know so they can adjust the approach
- When the therapy approach is specialised — some techniques (like specific oral motor exercises or complex language interventions) need a trained clinician to deliver
- When you're unsure — always ask! We'd much rather you check than guess
Your therapist should always be clear about what to practise, how to do it, and when to stop. If you're not sure, that's our job to fix — just ask.
You're Doing a Great Job
If you're reading this article, you're already invested in supporting your child. That matters enormously. Home practice doesn't need to be complicated or time-consuming — it just needs to be consistent, natural, and enjoyable.
One of the strengths of mobile speech pathology is being able to support children in their natural environment — your kitchen, your lounge room, your own toys and books. If you'd like support with home practice or your child's communication development, we'd love to help.
Alexandra Bouwmeester is a Hanen-certified Senior Speech Pathologist (MSPA, CPSP) and mum of two boys. She specialises in parent coaching and offers mobile speech pathology to families across Brisbane's south side and Logan.
References
- 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.
- Sugden, E., Baker, E., Munro, N., & Williams, A. L. (2016). Involvement of parents in intervention for childhood speech sound disorders: A review of the evidence. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 51(6), 597–625.
- Heidlage, J. K., Cunningham, J. E., Kaiser, A. P., Trivette, C. M., Barton, E. E., Frey, J. R., & Roberts, M. Y. (2020). The effects of parent-implemented language interventions on child linguistic outcomes: A meta-analysis. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 50(1), 6–23.
