Speech Therapy at Home: Tips from Dr. Mary Barbera from the SpeakJoy Parent Academy

If your toddler is showing signs of a speech delay or autism, you may feel like you’re stuck waiting for a diagnosis or therapy spot. But here’s the truth: speech therapy at home is not only possible—it’s powerful.

In my recent conversation with Jennifer Adams Oppenheimer, speech-language pathologist and host of the SpeakJoy Parent Academy, I shared how I went from overwhelmed mom to autism expert, and how parents can use daily routines to teach language skills—starting today.

What Is Speech Therapy at Home?

Speech therapy at home means using the natural routines you already do every day—like meals, getting dressed, and brushing teeth—as opportunities to build communication. You don’t need a clinic. You don’t need special materials. You just need some guidance, consistency, and a plan.

This doesn’t mean that therapy isn’t important- but often isn’t accessible and starting is better than waiting!

“Parents are the most important speech teachers in a child’s life—especially in the early years.” – Dr. Mary Barbera

My Story: From Denial to Determination

When my son Lucas was 21 months old, I didn’t recognize his delays. My husband, a physician, brought up the concern. I was in denial for over a year—until Lucas was diagnosed with moderate to severe autism the day before his third birthday.

That year of lost time led me to become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and create tools to help other families get started earlier, more effectively, and without the overwhelm.

Now, I help thousands of parents around the world implement speech therapy at home through routines and my Turn Autism Around® approach.

Benefits of Speech Therapy at Home

Even if your child is in therapy or school for a few hours a day, they have 80–100 waking hours each week. That’s a lot of time with you—and it’s time you can use to help them learn.

Benefits of speech therapy at home:

It’s done in real-life situations (mealtime, playtime, etc.)
It’s consistent and ongoing
It empowers you as the teacher
It improves generalization of language across settings

The biggest benefit? More engagement. Studies show that children with developmental delays—especially those with autism or speech delays—make the most progress when they are actively engaged during the majority of their waking hours. That means the more natural, positive interaction you can build into your routines, the more opportunities your child has to learn language and reduce problem behaviors. By turning everyday moments into learning opportunities, you’re not just reinforcing speech—you’re building confidence, connection, and lifelong communication skills.

Building Speech into Routines: 4 Places to Start

Let’s break down how you can use speech therapy at home in common routines:

1. Getting Dressed

Use this routine to label clothing items, give choices, and narrate each step:

“Shirt on!”
“Do you want red or blue socks?”
“Pull up your pants. Good job!”

Position yourself behind your child to assist with motor skills while talking through each part. Make it fun with songs or counting.

2. Handwashing and Brushing Teeth

These routines are rich with action words and body part labels:

speech therapy routines. routines at home for speech — Handwashing is a great opportunity to work on language.

“Turn on the water”
“Rub hands”
“Brush teeth, then rinse”

Avoid making these routines stressful. Instead, pair them with songs, visuals, or a favorite toy. If your child resists, scale back and make the activity more fun and predictable.

Try keeping your phrases short and simple-even single words can be beneficial.

3. Mealtime: Teaching Specific Nouns

This is one of the best routines for language learning—but only if you avoid generic words like “more.”

Instead, focus on teaching single-word nouns:

“Juice”
“Apple”
“Cracker”
“Spoon”

Here’s how:

Offer small portions so your child needs to request
Hold up two items and say, “Do you want banana or cracker?”
If they say “more,” model the word “cracker.” as you hand them what they want.

Tip: You’re not just feeding your child—you’re feeding their language!

4. Story Time

Instead of simply reading books aloud, interact with the story:

Label items as you read.
Use gestures and mimic sounds: “Roar!” “Moo!”
Encourage imitation and pointing

Pick short books with one sentence per page. Choose topics related to your child’s interests or upcoming events. Rotate books weekly to introduce new vocabulary.

Quick Start Tip: Do a Language Sample

One of the easiest ways to track progress is to complete a language sample:

Sit with your child and toys or books for 15–60 minutes.
Write down every sound, word, or word approximation.
Use parentheses to clarify (e.g., “buh buh” for “bubbles”)

Repeat monthly to monitor gains from your speech therapy at home efforts.

Get a Clear Starting Point with the BECA™

Before jumping into tips and tricks, it’s important to assess your child’s current abilities.

The Barbera Early Childhood Assessment (BECA)™ is:

Low-Cost
Parent-friendly
Done in 10 minutes
Covers language, problem behavior, and self-care skills

Click here to access the BECA™ »

This tool gives you a clear starting point so your efforts are targeted and effective.

Top 3 Takeaways for Parents

You don’t need to wait for a diagnosis—start speech therapy at home today.
Daily routines like mealtime and handwashing are your best teaching tools.
The BECA™ assessment helps you find the right starting point.