When a brother or sister attends speech therapy regularly, sometimes it’s difficult to stand on the sidelines.  They come home to share excitement about the fun games and activities they did with their speech therapist, and mom or dad sets aside special time to play with them while practicing those skills at home.  It’s no surprise that brothers or sisters might feel a twinge of jealousy. When siblings are feeling left out of the fun, invite them to be a part of the team!  Siblings can be an active part of the therapy process. How?

1. Siblings can be excellent speech and language models.  Whether your child in speech therapy is working on specific sounds or language skills (e.g. combining two to three words, or using complete sentences), older siblings can help demonstrate those skills in conversation. Share speech and language goals with the sibling in a simple way and ask them to help you out.
2. Siblings are great communication partners for practicing social skills.  Because they are closer in age, brothers or sisters are natural play partners and may fit more easily into role-playing scenarios. These can be used to practice appropriate conversation skills, such as staying on topic. When playing a simple game, siblings can model how to take turns appropriately with their brother or sister.
3. Siblings are great for assisting with carryover.  To master speech and language skills, it’s important that children practice several times during the week. This isn’t always easy for the average family juggling multiple activities and a busy schedule.  Siblings are around each other for many hours of the day – at home, at daycare, and at school.  For this reason, they make great practice partners to help your child with speech and language skills throughout the week and in a variety of environments – not just in the therapy room!
4. Siblings can motivate. Sometimes it’s just more fun to play a game or read a book with your sister or brother than with mom or dad.  Give siblings specific ideas of phrases to encourage and teach them how to give feedback. Your speech therapist can offer some ideas if you are unsure!

Although difficulties with communication can often be a struggle for families, it can also bring them closer together.  When siblings, both older and younger, are involved in the therapy process, they feel proud of themselves for being a helper and a leader.  Not only does the inclusion of siblings take advantage of many opportunities for language learning, but it also can contribute to sibling companionship by improving communication and connection.

Written by Registered Speech-Language Pathologist with Wildflowers, Nicole Sax.