Two Tuesdays ago, my husband took SJ to his after school speech session. He told SJ's therapist about the upcoming Talent Show. She said she would address this during the session. Before they began to talk about the Talent Show, they continued to work on Idioms. This is always a favorite skill for SJ to work on. She said he did fairly well with the Idiom practice. She suggested to my husband that we continue to work on these at home with him. My husband told her that we would and he printed out the 25 most common idioms for us to practice at home.
Next, she asked him about the Talent Show. He told her what his act was (parody rap) and that he was a little nervous to perform. She asked him what made him nervous and he listed off four items:
- Forgetting the words
- Others may make fun of me
- Music will be loud
- I might mumble
Then, they discussed strategies for him to try to lessen his worry for each of the items. First, for forgetting the words, she suggested the following strategies:
- He can practice A LOT!
- He can practice by himself.
- He can practice in front of others.
Second, for the worry of others making fun of him, she told him to try:
- He can practice in front of others and ask them what they think.
- He can take advice from your audience when you practice.
Third, for the music possibly being too loud, she proposed:
- He could wear ear plugs to protect his ears and make the sounds quieter.
- He could ask the staff to make his music and microphone quieter when he performs.
- He could practice with loud music.
Last, for the mumbling of his speech, she recommended:
- He should speak clearly.
- He should speak loudly.
- He should take his time when talking.
I thought she gave him excellent strategies to ease his nervousness and possible stage fright. We had him practice in front of us and by himself many times before the Talent Show and we reminded him to reread his note cards several times. I hope these strategies work and he will get through the performance successfully.
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