ASD language Therapy Toronto

Activities You Can Do at Home To Support Language Therapy for Kids with ASD

Supporting language development at home offers many opportunities for bonding, making memories, and keeping alive the formation of communication skills for life. For children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), this early and constant support goes a long way. While speech-language pathologists play a vital role, the small moments you create together at home are equally powerful in your child's progress.

At Thera+Kids, we seek to empower families with practical tools coupled with warmth and guidance. To do this, we've worked together to provide some simple, fun, and child-friendly activities at your disposal that you can do at home to complement language therapy. These activities are pretty much playful, adaptable, and intended to make communication feel soft, natural, and fun; let's explore some of them.

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1. Make Animal Sounds And Encourage Your Child To Imitate

Both sound and action support are variously successful with children, especially when sounds are silly, playful, or exaggerated. Saying sounds of animals, like "moo," "quack," or "roar," and encouraging a child to try imitating them also works for laughter, plus learning. You can:

Make the sound plus actions (e.g., flap your arms like a bird)
Use animal toys or picture books as prompts
Celebrate any attempt they make to copy you, such as the sound, gesture, or even eye contact

2. Focus on Essential Words

Equipping children with a core vocabulary of functional everyday words is key to helping them express their needs and minimize frustration. Begin with simple yet powerful words like: "More," "Help," "All done," "Please," and "Thank you."

The best way to teach these words is by modeling them within natural, everyday situations. You could say "more" while serving extra yogurt, or "all done" when a child is ready to exit the bath. Through this consistent, contextual exposure, children gradually grasp the meaning of these words and their relation to actions or objects.

3. Create Communication Temptations Through Play

Create moments that elicit speech in your child or moments in which they have to show or tell their needs. These are called "communication temptations." It's a fun situation in which the child is required to utter or perform some act to express a desire.

Try things like:

Putting a favourite toy just out of reach.
Giving a snack in a closed container.
Handing one block at a time during play.

These little games bolster a child's effort to communicate through words, signs, or gestures, all while having fun!

5. Play Sorting Games

Sorting games grows language and cognitive skills. Choose some household objects or picture cards and categorize them into colours, animals, foods, and shapes.

Perform sorting out the objects together, for example, "Let's put all the red blocks here." Encourage your child to repeat or name the objects they place. This builds vocabulary, categorization, and turn-taking skills.

6. Read Short Stories Together

Storytelling can be a magical time. Select books with clear pictures and minimal, simple text. While reading:

Point at the picture and describe it to the child.
Ask something very simple, like, "What's this?" or "Where is the cat?" Pause to allow the child an opportunity to respond, gesture, or look.

Even if the child doesn't engage verbally, these scenarios can strengthen listening skills and language comprehension. Repetition matters; kids usually enjoy their favorite story over and over again.

7. Try Sensory Activities

Children with ASD are frequently highly engaged by sensory play. Pouring water, engaging with sand, or playing in textured bins might calm the body and promote interaction. Saying things like, “Wet water”, “Soft sand”, “Pouring!”, etc.

Describe the action and invite your child to join in. Sensory experiences can open up some joint attention and communication.

8. Use Visual Aids And Supports

Visual tools can be very helpful in supporting language development. Here are some ideas:

Picture schedules of daily routines
Visual choice boards for food, play, or activities

Visuals help reduce anxiety by preparing children for what to expect. It also helps in means of communication if they're non-verbal or minimally verbal.

9. Play Games Together

Playing peek-a-boo, hide-and-seek, or pretend play activities gives support for turn-taking, joint attention, and expressive language. The games should be kept short, predictable, and interesting. For instance:

During hide and seek, say "Where are you?" or "Found you!"
Pretend to feed a doll, stating "Yummy!" or "More?"

The intent is to connect rather than to perform. Any sort of interaction-such as small verbal responses, shared smiles, or a shared glance, still counts.

10. Pair Language with Routines

Regular life offers good opportunities to promote language. Try using short and engaging phrases, like:

During Mealtimes: "More juice?", "Yummy!", "All done?"
When Getting dressed: "Shirt on!", "Where's your sock?"
During Bedtime: "Goodnight!", "Lights off."

Learning within routines helps children understand language through meaningful experiences. Also, it creates consistency and comfort, which is important to lots of children with ASD.

You’ve Got This—And We're Ready to Help You

Language development is a journey full of discoveries, connections, and growth. So, these fun activities at home will surely give your child an advantage in enhancing communication skills and self-confidence.

If you feel ready to explore playful and fun support, we are here for you. Thera+Kids specializes in programs designed for each child's needs and abilities, working always out of care, compassion, and evidence-based strategies.