Math Games for Kids

What have Math Games for Kids got to do with Speech Therapy? Many of the children I work with for speech therapy find math difficult.

Sometimes this is because it is part of their difficulty with language and they struggle to understand the language needed for math. Other times it can be something more.

If you find your child is struggling with math at school you should discuss it and work together with the teacher to identify the problem and find a solution.

If your child has been assessed as having difficulty with language concepts, this will probably have an effect on their mathematical ability. Why is this? Math is all about numbers right? So why do kids who need speech and language therapy sometimes need help with maths?

Math problems really do contain a lot of language. Think about classic classroom posers such as "If Annie has 3 apples and Ben has 7 apples, how many more apples does Ben have than Annie? " And even simple math concepts such as "more than, heavier than, smallest and divide" all require that you understand the words in order to carry out the calculation.

For a lot of kids who attend speech, math is a great subject for them in school. It is logical and ordered and for the most part it uses numbers instead of words. For these kids, this can be their subject to shine and show their teacher their best side. If this is your child then great, they might enjoy playing some math games just for fun.

Other kids though, find math a hard subject to master in school. You want to help them out, even though they are getting special ed. and other support through the school system.

As a parent, one of the best ways you can help is to make math fun in ways that don't always happen in the classroom. You can do this by showing how useful everyday math can be - at the store, sorting out laundry or when sharing candy or a pizza!