Intensity Can Be A Good Thing

Practice makes perfect, right?  We all heard (tuned out, whatever) that phrase from our parents and they heard it from their parents. And they were frustratingly, begrudgingly correct.  In the speech world this mantra is especially true and it can be taken a step further.  Practice does make perfect but the intensity with which we practice can see even greater gains, recent studies suggest. Daily doses of intense practice (defined as 100+ repetitions) in a week can show quicker gains than the same number of repetitions in less or more frequent doses. When it comes to preschoolers, they may benefit from more intense weekly speech sessions in less frequent intervals, for example three days a week (depending on area of focus). After preschool, the frequency of intense speech sessions generally decreases and should be reviewed on a case by case basis. So, if you have a child in speech, talk to one of our speech therapists about whether your child would benefit from this approach. Hint, for maximum gains, practice in the car on the way to Dairy Queen!