BeCuriouzLearn something new every day
Why your child can do it at therapy but not at home
💡 A skill learned in one setting often doesn't automatically transfer — helping it show up across places, people, and objects (generalization) is a real, plannable part of therapy.
Many parents feel puzzled — even a little discouraged — when a therapist reports big progress, yet the same skill vanishes the moment they get home. This isn't backsliding, and it usually doesn't mean the therapy failed. It's a well-known challenge called generalization: the tendency for a young child to tie a new skill to the exact place, person, and materials where they first learned it.
A child might name colors perfectly with the therapist's flashcards but go blank with the crayons at home. To a developing brain, "cards with Ms. Lee at the table" and "crayons with Dad on the floor" can feel like two completely different situations. Skills become truly useful only when they transfer across settings, people, and objects — from the clinic to the kitchen, from the therapist to grandma, from toy blocks to real snacks.
The encouraging part: generalization is something you can deliberately build, and parents are ideally placed to do it. Practice the same skill in many small ways — different rooms, different times of day, different people, everyday objects instead of therapy props. Ask your therapist which one or two skills are "ready to travel," then weave them into ordinary moments like bath time, the grocery store, or a walk. Variety is the bridge, not repetition of the identical drill.