What I Do at Home to Improve My Children’s Speech Delay
What can I do to help my child’s speech delay at home? How can I speed up my child’s progress?
My answer is always, Have you tried Gemiini?
This article is not an official review of Gemiini, nor is it sponsored in any way. I’m simply a mom who thinks sharing is caring.
Both of my twins have a speech delay. They were born prematurely and spent 6 weeks in the NICU. As soon as they came home, I signed them up for early intervention (EI) services.
My babies received the full-court press. They had therapy at home through EI, and attended speech therapy sessions through the Children’s Hospital.
But none of it was enough. In addition to the speech delay, both of them were diagnosed with a severe mixed expressive/receptive delay. That means they weren’t understanding language either.
Dominic, my oldest twin, said his first word when he was 2.5 years old. He has a pretty severe cognitive delay, and language doesn’t come naturally to him.
Julian, my youngest twin, never spoke at all. When he turned 3, he was diagnosed with autism. I suspect he has apraxia/dyspraxia as well, but he isn’t officially diagnosed.
Even with multiple therapy sessions every week, I still felt like I could be doing more to help them. We had a lot of downtime at home.
I started seeing advertisements for Gemiini when the boys were 3 years old. To be honest, I thought it was a scam – just another Facebook ad sent my way because I’m in a few autism support groups.
But one night, I started reading the comments on the post. And the testimonies were real. After doing some research, and watching a few of the videos, I decided to use the 1 Week Free Trial.
Whoa! These weird little videos actually work! Before the week was over, Julian was saying “ish” for fish. He was making animal sounds, and even started to point. Dominic was was using sign language and saying new words as well.
As the months went on, Dominic continued to soar using Gemiini. His vocabulary exploded! He was like a little sponge.
Julian continues to take his time, but enjoys every moment of the videos. And I know he is soaking it all up. When we go to the aquarium, he uses the sign language he learned on the videos. And every now and then, he will speak one of the words he’s working on.
I know I sound like a walking advertisement, but I’m so glad I gave this program a try. I don’t know a child who couldn’t benefit from Gemiini.
Here are a few questions I’ve been asked about Gemiini, and my responses:
1. What is Gemiini?
It’s intensive therapy you can use at home. Language doesn’t come naturally for my kids. So it models it for them.
The first video my children watched, was one with 5 animals. The video included making the animal sound, saying the word, and signing the word.
There are over 100,000 videos in the Gemiini library. There are skills videos such as potty training and crossing the street. There are videos that model taking turns and cleaning up.
Whatever you’re working on, there’s a video for that. You can easily make your own video if you want. I made a video on objects my kids see when we take a walk.
My kids are only four, so I haven’t even explored all that Gemiini has to offer. They have special programs and tutorials for children of all abilities, including children with autism and Down’s Syndrome.
2. Is it easy to use?
Yes! It took a couple hours for me to watch all the tutorials and set it up perfectly. But that was over a year ago, before Gemiini updated their software. They’ve really improved their ease-of-use since then.
I would recommend watching the tutorials before getting started. YouTube has some great videos as well. Their customer service is exceptional. They even have a secret Facebook group you can join.
The Gemiini app can be downloaded on tablets and phones as well. I download the videos to our devices, so I don’t need wifi to watch them.
3. How much does it cost?
The standard fee is $98 per month. I applied for a scholarship during my free trial. And I was approved before the week was over. I pay $29 every month. There’s no contract, so I can choose to end the program at any time.
In addition to the videos at home, Gemiini will also give your child’s teacher and therapist a login code so they can use it as well. And all of that is included in the program.