Speech delay and speech therapy
How do I homeschool a child with a speech delay?
Keep speech therapy going, ask the speech-language pathologist how to support their goals at home, and give your child ways to show what they know that do not depend on speaking clearly, such as pointing and tapping. Whether to start or slow reading lessons is a good question for the therapist, who knows your child's speech.
Work with the therapist
Ask which sounds or words they are working on, what to practice at home, and how reading lessons fit. Tell them what you see at home. You spend far more hours with your child than they do.
Knowing is not the same as saying
A child can know a letter sound and not yet say it clearly. Pointing, tapping, matching and drawing let them show what they know while speech catches up.
How answers work in Clareza
In Kindergarten to Grade 2, questions are read aloud and answers are tapped. Some cards ask your child to say a word, but the spoken part is never scored and Next is always there. The microphone stays off until you switch it on, and a missed try only says "try once more". From Grade 3 up, Answer by tapping puts answer buttons on each of Clara's replies, so typing is never needed.
With autism too
If your child is autistic, there is more on routine, wording and pace at /homeschooling-for/autism-and-adhd.
What this is not
- Clareza is not speech therapy. It does not assess, diagnose or treat speech or language.
- Answering out loud depends on a computer understanding your child, and it may not understand unclear speech. Tapping avoids that.
- Clara is an AI and can be wrong. Sit with your child for early reading.
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Questions parents ask
Did I start reading too soon with my speech-delayed child?
Ask your child's speech therapist. They can tell you whether reading practice is helping right now or adding pressure.
Can a child who does not talk much use Clareza?
Yes, by tapping. Through Grade 5 answers are mostly tapped, and the Answer by tapping support means typing is never needed at any grade.
Is homeschooling good for a child with a speech delay?
It can be, alongside therapy. Ask the therapist how to support their goals at home.
Also written up
This page is general information and is not medical advice. Ask a speech-language pathologist about your own child.