Four Ways to Improve Communication While at Home

Just because you’re spending more time at home doesn’t mean you have to stop working on your communication. In fact, it may be the perfect opportunity to dedicate time each day to getting online and finding resources that will help you improve your communication.

Here are four ways to improve your communication during COVID-19:

1. Tele-speech therapy is a good place to start. Under normal circumstances, if you wanted to improve your communication and speech you would make an appointment with a speech therapist. Tele-speech therapy is the online equivalent. Many organizations and private practices are offering more teletherapy services, especially since Medicare announced that all services that were reimbursable prior to the pandemic are now available via teletherapy, including speech. Check with your insurance company to see if they are allowing tele-speech therapy and to find a therapist.

2. Melodic intonation therapy is a type of speech therapy that incorporates the use of music as a means of stimulating the parts of the brain associated with language. This practice can be quite fun if you like to sing along to a familiar tune. You have two basic options if you want to see what melodic intonation is all about. You can find a speech therapist or friend that likes playing music and meet up on a video platform to sing along. The other is to conduct an internet search for songs you like. For example, if you are a huge Neil Diamond fan you might want to search for the following: “Neil Diamond karaoke.” Click on a search result and the music will play while the lyrics are displayed.

3. If you are interested in improving your communication through technology, Lingraphica offers a free, no-risk trial using one of our speech-generating devices. We will send a device to your home and connect you with one of our speech therapists. All you need is an internet connection and our therapist will train you remotely for a few weeks on how best to use a device to achieve your communication goals. To learn more about how to start a device trial, schedule a free consultation with one of our communication specialists.

4. If working with someone remotely is not appealing and you would rather practice your communication independently, here are two options. TalkPath Therapy is an online tool designed for you to practice communication, language, and cognitive skills. The other is TalkPath News, which enables you to practice reading and comprehension skills, while keeping up to date on the latest in a variety of news categories. You can access both tools for free by creating an account.

Staying home and practicing social distancing is time well spent if you continue pursuing your communication goals. Give these four ideas a try and start improving your communication today.

Lingraphica Can Help

We offer free one-on-one consultations to SLPs, caregivers, and people with aphasia who want to improve communication, but aren’t sure where to start. Call us now at 888-965-6005 or schedule a call.