How could I use my DD's love of music to help with her peech??

[mummyloveslucy]

Hi, my 3.5 year old daughter absoluitly loves music, she has won a prize at school for her musical appreciation and her music teacher says she has amazing pitch. The thing is, she also has a speech disorder and is having speech therapy. I just wondered wether there could be a link between music and helping with her speech sounds?
She can remember whole songs and loves singing anything from nursery rhymes to songs from musicals. She has a box of instruments at home and we have "music sessions" together. We put on a disney C.D and we sing, dance and crash tamborines etc. She loves it. I just wondered if anyone knows of any other way of teaching her speech sounds through music in a fun way? I don't really want her to know she's being "taught". Or if anyone thinks she is old enough to start to learn a proper instrument? I'd be greatful for any pearls of wisdom.

Not sure how you can actually help her but you are right that there is a link between music and speech therapy. I have heard of patients who have lost their speech through had strokes and are taught to speak again by retraining the musical side of their brain.

Is her articulation better when she sings? I wonder if these might help.

There seem to be quite a lot of resources around if you google speech therapy and music you may find others HTH

That is fantastic!, thank you smartiejake

my ds does music therapy at SNAP and he loves it will be signing him up again for it

not sure if old enough to learn instrument but im sure she would be

thats how i taught my ds to talk was by singing he wouldnt use words unless singing as you know now dx autism but speech is coming along and still loves to sing its so sweet to hear him singing around the house not all words said correctly but still so sweet

i have just started getting word cards and getting him to sound them out c. a. t

to help with sounds and then we make a songup with saying c a t making rest of words up makes it fun for him and wants to learn next one and he can now say some words he couldnt say before still along way to go but its helped good luck she sounds like she is coming along great

not words he couldnt say sounds he couldnt say

Thaks bubblagirl, I have bought some jolly phonics books and a music C.D called Jolly songs. It is songs sung to the tunes of different nursery rhymes but with phonic sounds eg- e, e, eggs in the pan.To the tune of Lou Lou skip to the Lou. etc. She loves it, I play it in the car and she has started to coppy some sounds.

ooh i'll have to have a look at them as still unable to get b words can do it as b on its own but bob is gog and so on

so maybe this would help him to

Might be worth getting some sing and sign dvds for her to sing along to. Doing actions/signs can definitely help with remembering words and reinforcing sounds. Have a look at "something special" It's on bbc2 around 8:45am to see the kind of thing I mean.
I'm a musician and I feel that she is probably a little bit young to start with an instrument although the suzuki method teaches violin from about this age. I would keep singing with her for now and playing rhythm games with basic percussion instruments and think about a structured instrumental lesson when she turns 5. At the moment she would be very limited in the range of instruments you could consider because of her tiny hand size.

Thanks everyone, I thought she'd be too youg for a proper instrument really but thought I'd ask. I had heard of 3 year olds learning but I think she'd learn better at about 5. I will try the sing and sign DVD's too, I think she'd enjoy them.