The use of breath control, stillness, a calm environment and mindfulness can all help children with communication difficulties:
Those who stammer can find the space and composure to speak with more fluency.
Tuning in, copying or mirroring the breathing of children with communication difficulties and autism can lead to more non-verbal communicative exchanges.
Speech sound difficulties are helped through the use of a focus on breathing including aspiration techniques (/h/).
Breathing to prepare for speech and taking breaths whilst we speak helps to manage demands that might otherwise be overwhelming.
Mindfulness and breath control support us in being able to listen and understand words and language that might otherwise be too much to process.
As speakers, when we breathe and wait, we give those that listen the time and space to hear and process the words we have used.
Have you tried listening to your own breathing?
Aspiration, we all have hopes and aspirations – take the time to breathe and reflect on yours.
Wait.
Wait for calm.
Wait for a moment to speak.
Wait for a silence, so that your child can fill it with their voice.
Self regulation. Be aware that our breathing helps us control our emotions and responses to others.
Breathing features in Zones of Regulation; a system to self regulate, to be aware of and control our own emotions.