3 Steps for Using Wait Time to Improve Treatment Outcomes

Wait … what?! Working with children with speech and language delays can require significant patience. Sometimes expressing this patience translates into waiting—I mean a bit longer than we normally do—for the student to respond. Children benefit from extended wait time to allow them to process. Let’s look at the positive outcomes associated with increased wait time. How much time is enough time? Classroom teachers rarely wait more than one second after asking a question for a student response. However, when they wait three to five seconds, teachers see a higher accuracy in responses, decreased “I don’t know” and negative responses, and improved test scores. In addition, a greater number of students tend to volunteer to answer the question with more time. Waiting those extra seconds also results in students giving longer responses and demonstrating more speculative thinking, Increased wait time when asking for a response from students results in positive effects on academic achievement, classroom behavior, social skills, student confidence, and outcomes for teachers. It sounds like a win-win, so what’s the catch? Three to five seconds is a long time! Try counting three Mississippis in your head right now. Go ahead, I’ll wait … This poses the next question: How can we intentionally provide wait time in our sessions without it feeling awkward? Step 1: First, I let students know to expect the extra time and direct them to use it appropriately—thinkin...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Tags: Academia & Research Private Practice Schools Slider Speech-Language Pathology Language Disorders Speech Disorders Source Type: blogs