As summer gives way to crisp mornings and fresh school notebooks, it’s the perfect time to prepare—not just for academics, but for smooth communication, confidence, and continuity. Here’s how you and your child can get ready—and how we’ll be right beside you every step of the way.
1. Establish Predictable Routines
Children, especially those working on speech or language skills, thrive with structure. Setting consistent wake-up times, meal schedules, and bedtime routines—even one week before school starts—helps ease transitions and manage anxiety. Using visual schedules or charts adds clarity and builds confidence for the days ahead. It's never too late to integrate and start new habits for success!
2. Sensory & Regulation Aids
For many children—especially those with sensory processing, autism, or attention needs—the school day can be a marathon of sensory input. Crowded hallways, buzzing lights, echoing cafeterias, and constant transitions can lead to fatigue or overwhelm. A well-planned Classroom Sensory Toolkit can help your child self-regulate, stay engaged, and be ready to learn. Things like: Noise-reducing headphones, Fidget tools, or even a textured seat cushion are possible everyday useable tools to help in the classroom.
3. Collaborate with Your Child’s School Team
Your insight is invaluable—and when blended with teacher or therapist strategies, it fosters consistency that truly supports your child. Share what works at home, ask how they’re progressing, and explore ways to align goals across home, school, and therapy settings.
4. Keep Therapy Consistent
Research shows that children who maintain uninterrupted speech therapy make significantly more progress than those experiencing gaps. Even beyond speech, consistency enables therapists to monitor growth accurately, refine plans promptly, and prevent regression. Skipping sessions can not only stall progress but weaken the trusting relationship your child builds with their therapist.
5. Integrate Therapy Goals into Everyday Life
You’re not just a caregiver—you're a co-therapist at home. You help bridge the periods between sessions. Simple acts like practicing a target word during reading time, describing routine tasks, or celebrating small wins keep communication skills fresh and relevant. Read together, talk about your day, play together—each moment is rich with growth potential.
6. Let Us Help You
We are an extension of your support team. We welcome updates from parents, teachers, and other professionals to keep everyone aligned toward success. If you or your child's teacher need techniques or strategies we'll equip you with fun, practical tools to weave speech and language goals into everyday life—so learning stays both natural and consistent. And, with regular sessions and check-ins, we can fine-tune our approach to match your child’s evolving needs throughout the school year if you see need arise at home or in the classroom with your kiddo's: communication, speech, language, movement, and sensory needs and goals. We're here to help!
Continuity Is Our Shared Path to Success
We believe that continuity of care, aligning school, home, and therapy, strengthens outcomes. Studies tell us that uninterrupted therapy sessions significantly boost progress, even doubling the gains for some children. When therapy continues consistently—and when we collaborate closely with families and educators—children grow more smoothly, confidently, and sustainably toward their language goals.
Educators, though highly trained, don't always know the ins and outs of speech/communication and sensory needs. If you want to make sure your child's teachers and instructors have better insight to your child's needs, try this sheet to share with your child's teachers:
Downloadable Communication Needs Sheet
*Also, remember to have your Consent to Share Information sheet ready if you wish for certain parties (therapists/aids/teachers, etc.) to share information between them.*
