An important factor to a child’s progress is the parent’s understanding of their child’s goals and what/how to carry over skills into the home. I usually involve parents of younger children (approximately ages 18 months-3 years) directly into the entire therapy session as these children learn through play and natural interests. Therefore, the parent can understand and learn what words to target at home and how to model these throughout their day. I spend time helping parents come up with ways to incorporate natural targets into their routine that match their current goals. For example, during bath time participate in blocked practice such as splashing and say “ah! Ah! Ah!”, or in the car practice random variables with /b/ such as: “beep! Bus, bike”, etc. For my older patients (approximately 3.5 and up) I usually have the parent in the first few sessions so they can understand what therapy looks like. After these sessions, the parent can choose to observe the session in the office, or wait in the waiting room and join for the last part of the appointment. I tend to use this model with older children, as my therapy approach is more drill-work based followed by carryover of the words into play or conversation. When the parent comes back into the session, this is a great time to have the child demonstrate what we practiced that day and go over homework with the parent. Homework is a regular part of my routine; whether I print a worksheet or educate parents on natural carryover to home. For my English Language Learners (ELL) I have experience integrating families into sessions to practice words in their primary language.