Rebecca Wakeford Speech Therapy

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Rebecca Wakeford Speech Therapy

Paediatric speech therapy practice in Sinoville, Pretoria. Practices in Pretoria East (Die Wilgers) and Pretoria North (Sinoville).

Services in English and Afrikaans.

31/08/2025

Wait time is a very important strategy for helping your little ones develop language. It should feel like “crickets” are chirping away while you wait. You probably aren’t waiting long enough

30/08/2025

4 strategies to get your little ones to listen:
1: Make eye contact.
2: Shorten your sentences.
3: Clearly explain what your little one needs to do.
4: Calmly ask your child to repeat the instruction back if it’s complex.

Stop saying “Don’t” so often. Negative commands like ‘don’t’ and ‘no’ require your child to listen to what they shouldn’t do and work out what to do instead (e.g.: “Don’t hit your brother.” = they have to stop the current behaviour AND determine and appropriate alternative behaviour).

Make an observation. Instead of “Pick up the toys.” You can try; “I see a lot of toys on the floor. What’s your plan for taking care of that?”. This makes them feel that you trust them to come up with a plan (even if they didn’t have one).

29/08/2025

A little secret about your therapist:
Your therapist doesn’t just hold you in mind for the 30-minute session that you sit with them. There is also research, planning, taking notes, working with other team members and keeping you in mind between sessions. It’s more than just 30 minutes.

28/08/2025

Child-led interactions doesn’t mean that they can do whatever they want…

It means:
-notice what they notice
-set safe boundaries
-share joy
-acknowledge their needs
-respect their opinions
-empower them

27/08/2025

Questions are not connections. Questions can increase anxiety for many kids so let’s rather use statements to show we’re interested in them.

Instead of: “How was school?” we could try “You look like you’ve had a long day.”
Instead of “How do you feel?” we could try “You have a big smile on your face.”

26/08/2025

🧡

23/08/2025

If you aren't having fun how can you expect your little ones to?
Every child has something different that motivates them so find the right game, activity or toy to motivate your little one. If they are having fun they will be more willing to engage with you and learn.

Teaching concepts through play will allow your little one to learn faster and retain the information better. This is because they will most probably pay attention for longer.

Go HAVE FUN with your little ones!

22/08/2025

It’s not easy to have ‘perfect’ interactions with our little ones, but this is a common mistake we make:

We try to fill all the silences:
Silences can feel uncomfortable to us, but these silences are necessary for our little ones to process what we’re saying and think about an answer. Yours and their silence are good things- if you fill the silence, they won’t have the opportunity to be a part of the conversation.

20/08/2025

Keeping activities and vocabulary simple is a very effective way to encourage speech and language development.

Use real objects that are lying around. You don't need fancy toys, just something that seems fun to your child. (e.g.: hide block in containers or use toilet rolls to "look" for things on an 'adventure').

Keep your phrases at your child's level. (e.g.: If your child is using 2 word phrases don't use long sentences when playing with them. Rather use 2-3 word phrases and focus on the activity they are interested in.).

Address

147 Sefako Makgatho Drive, Sinoville
Pretoria
0182

Telephone

+27736008980

Website

http://rebeccawakefordspeechtherapy.medeweb.co.za/

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