What to Expect at Your Child's First Speech Therapy Session

Starting speech therapy can bring up a lot of questions for parents. What will the therapist work on? Will I stay in the room? What if my child is shy or doesn't want to participate? And perhaps most importantly—what does speech therapy with a child actually look like?

Your child's first speech therapy session is an opportunity for the speech-language pathologist (SLP) to begin building a relationship with your child, become familiar with their communication style, and start working toward the goals identified during their evaluation.

While every child's therapy will look a little different, knowing what to expect can help both you and your child feel more comfortable getting started.

What Happens During the First Speech Therapy Session?

During your child's first speech therapy session, the speech-language pathologist will typically spend time getting to know your child, reviewing their individual goals, and introducing activities designed to support their specific communication needs.

For younger children, therapy may look a lot like play. The SLP might use toys, books, games, movement, crafts, or other motivating activities to encourage communication.

For older children, sessions may include more structured activities while still incorporating the child's interests whenever possible.

The goal isn't simply to get your child to complete a series of tasks. Effective speech therapy should provide meaningful opportunities to practice communication skills in ways that are appropriate for your child's age, abilities, and needs.

Don't Be Surprised If the Therapist Spends Time Building Rapport

Your child may not walk into their first session ready to immediately participate in every activity—and that's okay.

Building trust is an important part of pediatric therapy.

An SLP may spend some of the first session learning what your child enjoys, following their interests, playing together, talking about favorite activities, or simply helping your child become comfortable in the therapy environment.

This relationship can make it easier to introduce more challenging communication tasks as therapy progresses.

What Will My Child Work On?

That depends entirely on your child's individual communication needs.

Speech therapy may address areas such as:

• Speech sound production and articulation

• Phonological disorders

• Receptive language, or understanding language

• Expressive language, or using words and sentences

• Vocabulary development

• Following directions

• Answering and asking questions

• Social communication

• Fluency and stuttering

• Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)

• Motor speech skills

Your child's goals should be based on their evaluation results and individualized to their needs rather than following a one-size-fits-all therapy program.

Why Does Speech Therapy Sometimes Look Like Play?

Parents are sometimes surprised to see their child playing during speech therapy.

But play can be a powerful way for children to learn and practice communication.

Imagine an SLP playing with a toy farm with a young child. While it may simply look like they're playing with animals, the therapist might actually be targeting vocabulary, following directions, combining words, answering questions, speech sounds, turn-taking, or requesting.

A skilled pediatric SLP intentionally creates communication opportunities within activities that are engaging and meaningful to the child.

So yes—your child may tell you that they “just played.”

There may have been a lot more happening within that play than they realized!

Will I Stay in the Room During Speech Therapy?

This can vary depending on the child's age, individual needs, therapy goals, and the practice.

For some children, having a parent present may be helpful. Other children may participate more independently when working one-on-one with their therapist.

Your SLP can help determine what arrangement is most appropriate while keeping you informed about what your child is working on and how you can support those skills outside of therapy.

What If My Child Is Shy or Doesn't Participate?

This is a very common concern.

Children may need time to become comfortable with a new person and environment. Your child's therapist should adjust the session based on your child's comfort level rather than expecting immediate participation.

An SLP may begin by following your child's interests, offering choices, modeling communication without requiring a response, or simply playing alongside them.

Participation often develops as the child becomes more familiar with the therapist and therapy routine.

How Will I Know What My Child Is Working On?

Parents should understand the goals being addressed in therapy.

Your child's SLP may provide updates about what was targeted during the session, how your child responded, progress toward goals, and strategies that can be incorporated into everyday routines.

Don't hesitate to ask questions. Collaboration between families and therapists is an important part of pediatric speech therapy.

Will We Have Speech Therapy Homework?

You probably won't be sent home with hours of homework—and you shouldn't feel like you need to become your child's therapist.

Instead, your SLP may recommend simple ways to practice or reinforce communication skills during everyday activities.

For example, you might practice a speech sound for a few minutes, model slightly longer phrases during play, offer choices during snack time, pause to give your child an opportunity to communicate, or practice a strategy while reading together.

Small, consistent opportunities for communication throughout the week can help children use skills beyond the therapy room.

How Quickly Will My Child Make Progress?

Every child progresses differently.

Progress can depend on your child's individual needs, the type and severity of the communication difficulty, frequency of therapy, attendance, opportunities to practice skills, and many other factors.

Some skills may develop quickly, while others require more time and repetition.

Your SLP should monitor progress over time and adjust therapy goals or strategies when appropriate.

What Happens After the First Session?

The first session is just the beginning.

As therapy continues, your child's SLP will continue targeting individualized goals, collecting information about progress, adjusting activities and supports, and communicating with you about how your child is doing.

Over time, the goal is not simply for your child to demonstrate a skill during therapy. We want communication skills to become increasingly useful and meaningful in your child's everyday life.

Preparing Your Child for Their First Speech Therapy Session

You don't need to do anything elaborate to prepare.

You can simply let your child know that they're going to spend some time with a speech therapist who will talk, play, read, or do activities with them.

Try to keep the explanation positive and low-pressure.

For younger children, something as simple as:

“We're going to see your speech teacher. You'll get to play and do some fun activities together.” may be enough.

And if the first session isn't perfect, that's okay. Getting comfortable with a new therapist and routine can take time.

Looking for Pediatric Speech Therapy in Seekonk, MA?

Little Garden Speech & Language Therapy Services provides individualized pediatric speech and language therapy in Seekonk, Massachusetts.

Our speech-language pathologists work with children with a variety of speech, language, and communication needs. Therapy is individualized to each child's goals while providing families with information and strategies to help support communication outside of the therapy room.

If you're concerned about your child's communication development or would like to learn whether speech therapy may be appropriate, we're here to help.

Not sure whether an evaluation may be appropriate? Read 10 Signs Your Child May Need Speech Therapy.