Daily Gratitude to Help Speech Therapy
Daily gratitude can be one of the simplest acts, and yet it’s one that we seem to only reserve for Thanksgiving. There are so many benefits to utilizing daily gratitude and speech therapists would do well to add it to their toolkit. Here are your top reasons why:
Increased Vocabulary
When we challenge children to answer the question, “What are you happy about today?” and they struggle with how to express themselves, it can open them up to working with new vocabulary. Additionally, it encourages children to take notice of all the things that take place around them and talk about them. It is equally important that the child understands that gratitude can be expressed for anything that happens. It does not have to be about a major milestone or occurrence in their lives. Just having new sheets on the bed can be a glorious thing in a child’s life. (Even adults can appreciate sleeping in freshly clean sheets!)
Changes Their Outlook
Children with special needs, especially early on, are coping with a lot of negative feelings and frustrations. When we open the door to looking for the good in therapy sessions, we are encouraging them to view their lives differently. You may suddenly notice a difference in a child once they routinely express those things that they are happy for. You may even see their list grow over time.
Improved Relationships
When a child and the therapist navigate daily gratitude together, it can instill such positive self-esteem that the child’s relationships with family and friends can be greatly improved. When our outlook on life and learning improves, we feel much better about ourselves. And that translates into better relationships with other people.
Improved Health
People who express daily gratitude often report better sleep and fewer aches and pains. Some special needs children often feel discomfort and physical pain from stress when they are struggling with their communication issues. As they learn to express themselves with daily gratitude, they are often reducing their stress between being able to communicate and changing their worldview.
Reduced Aggression
Aggression is common in children who communicate differently in a world that wants them to conform. However, when gratitude is expressed often we are tapping into that part of ourselves that allows us to see beauty in the world despite our frustrations. Even when the child gets frustrated, later on you will see a remarkable difference in how they express their frustration.
Daily gratitude is highly recommended for every person on the planet. We should tap into this wonderful tool. It can make your job more enjoyable as a speech therapist and make a very positive impact on the children you routinely work with. Take a test run on your next patient and see how well it works for you!