What can we learn in forest school that helps with speech, language and communication?
- Stick with it-ness and resilience
- Fun in engaging with others
- Language, communication and vocabulary
- Problem solving and flexibility of thinking
- Awareness of others and empathy
- Sensory regulation and sensory play
- Confidence and self esteem
- Sense of achievement
- Turn taking, teamwork and cooperation
- Relationship building and attachment
- Cooking, foraging and food prep- which can support language but also picky eaters and those with sensory feeding difficulties
Why speech and language in the outdoors?
In the outdoors we can more easily:
- Follow child/individual led learning and communication
- Foster shared experiences that build on interaction and communication skills naturally
- Find something motivating to talk/interact about
- Use what is interesting and motivating to work towards goals
- Find endless opportunities for vocabulary, language and communication development
- Keep pressure low and stop the anxiety around needing to perform or get it right
The overlap:
The best speech and language therapy practice meets the individual where they are and helps them develop their speech, language and communication skills in ways that are meaningful and motivating to them. It thinks about the whole person and the family and community around them. We all do our best when we can. Forest school and outdoor learning provides a background and opportunity for all individuals to do their best.