Most of us have heard the fable about the Tortoise and the Hare.  If not, I will give you a brief summary.  Once a tortoise and  a hare entered a race.  The hare just knew that because he was faster-that he would definitely win, so he took all of these detours and stops along the way to the finish line, while the tortoise-although he was slow -never stopped-he just kept his eyes on the finish line. In the end-even though the hare ran as hard as he could to the finish line-the tortoise still won because of his consistent effort.

This story reminds me of many of the parents that I talk to frequently.  They know that there is a problem or they need more carryover from our therapy sessions, but they keep getting sidetracked by some things that they think they need to help their child such as:

-A chunk of time: “we are going to really work on these skills during christmas break or during the summer.”

-A ton of money:“As soon as we get that bonus or our tax refund-we are going to look into tutoring or speech therapy.”

-A piece of technology:” I am going to get an iPad or Leapster or Nabi (or whatever the hottest tablet is at this time) to reinforce skills”

In reality I have tried all of these things with all of my clients at one time or another and to honest what I have found to be the most successful–CONSISTENCY.  Taking 10-15 minutes a day with simple toys such as blocks, balls, flashcards of common objects or skills that are deficient, board games games such as CandyLand, Sorry, Connect Four, cars, board books and anything else your child may have an interest in. Just like the tortoise, keeping your eye on your goal and slowly plugging along at will get good results.  Now don’t get me wrong-I love my IPad-I use it a lot in therapy,  and there are many cases when tutoring and/or Speech therapy is needed and very beneficial and some  of my clients have made tremendous gains with intense therapy during the summer. But around this time of year (the holidays) I see a lot of parents spending money (that sometimes they don’t have) to give their children toys and technology that they may not need, especially at a young age. Or  I see them wait until the summer to start intervening.   Don’t wait-start with five minutes a day with something you feel comfortable doing with your little one.  When it comes to your child and his/her progress-be the tortoise and not the hare.[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]