SPEECH AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT Tools Parents Can Use To Help Children At Home

Your child’s language development is an ongoing process, a process that involves you, the parent, as a vital component. Watching your child’s language skills grow is one of the most fulfilling and fun parts of parenting. The following are tips to help you as you speak to your child and encourage their speech. Don’t forget to read to your child regularly each day!

EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE (How your child uses his/her words): Use play to reinforce the words you are working on during activities of daily living. If your child is learning to use the word “eat” or the names of common foods reinforce use of those words through pretend shopping trips for toy food, feeding stuffed animals or baby dolls, or having a tea party. Follow your child’s lead. If she shows interest in an object, person, or even, provide her with the word for that concept. Help generalize newly learned words by applying them to similar situations. For example, once your child grasps “Dog”, take a walk around the neighborhood to help him/her learn that many different-looking animals can be called a dog. When your child attempts a word but the word is mispronounced, repeat it back slowly stretching out the word and emphasizing the sound or sounds that have been produced in error. (E.g. if she says “bana” repeat back “”Yes! Ba-NA-na”. Your repetition lets her know you are listening and recognize the attempt at communication. DO NOT try to make her say the word correctly. Don’t say: “Say it this way” or “Say ‘banana’.” If your child spontaneously repeats your word correctly, give her lots of praise for the effort. Use daily activities and repetition to build use of words. Match words to the activities of your day. Teach “drink” at snack time. Teach body parts at bath time. Teach clothing names while dressing and undressing. The following is a list of some of the words that you can emphasize during your daily routines: • DRESSING: Parts of the body. Clothing names: shirt, coat, pants, shoes. Prepositions: in, on, off, up, down. Verbs: Button, zip, pull, sit, stand, push, open. • MEALS: Names of food. Utensils: cup, plate, bowl, fork, spoon. Verbs: eat, drink, chew, cut, wipe. Adjectives: hot, cold, empty, full, all gone, more. • PLAY TIME: Nouns: playground, names of toys, tress, grass, sidewalk. Verbs: kick, roll, push, pull, throw, drop, catch, stop, go, spin. Prepositions: in, under, on, through, up, down. Vehicle terms: wheel, car, horn, stroller, truck, airplane. Weather terms: sunny, rain, snow, windy, hot, cold, wet, dry. • SHOPPING: Nouns: box, can, jar, cart, money. Labels associated with type of shopping: grocery, clothing, furniture, toy, shoe. • BATHTIME: Nouns: body parts, water, duck, boat, bathtub, soap, towel, shampoo, washcloth, faucet. Verbs: pour, splash, wash, rinse. Adjectives: wet, dry, hot, cold, big, little. • BEDTIME: Nouns: bed, blanket, pillow, light, bear, doll, door, window, moon, star. Verbs: read, kiss, hug, close, sleep, cover, open, close. Greetings: goodnight, I love you. Sleep well

Increase the use of statements because they provide good examples of sentences and vocabulary: • Talk about what’s happening. Make yourself a play-by-play announcer: “You are eating yogurt!” “Mommy is stirring eggs.” “I am making pancakes.” “Daddy is washing the car.” • Interpret unspoken body language to provide words about feelings. If your child throws a bottle, give a response such as “Mad. You are so mad.” If your child pushes you, you respond, “You want Mommy to move.” • Repeat, correct, or add to what your child has said. Child says: “Daddy go”. Response: “Yes, Daddy is going to work.” Child says: “Car.” Response: “Big car”, “Blue car”, “Car is going fast”, etc. Child says: “Her going cause her mad!” Response: “You are right! SHE is going because SHE is mad.”

When asking yes/no questions, be prepared to respect your child’s answer or do not ask the question. Example: If you ask, “Do you want to go?” and the answer is “No”, be prepared to respect that answer. If there is not a choice between going and not going, do not ask. Children are not motivated to interpret or answer questions correctly when their answers to not make a difference. When using questions try the following: • Use questions that must be answered with a phrase or sentence. Example: “Should we pick up your toys?” requires only a response of yes or no. “What should we do?” requires your child to use a phrase or sentence, e.g. “Need to pick up toys.” • Use questions that offer choices or contain some of the words needed for the answer, e.g. “Do you need the paint brush or the paper?” Response: “Need paper.”

Use names and avoid pronouns such as “it, that, this, they” etc. Do say: “I want a jelly bean.” Don’t say: “I want one, too.” Do say: “Look at the fire truck!” Don’t say: “Look at that.”

Books are essential to help you teach your child language: • Choose books that interest her. • Choose books that have large print, thick pages, and colorful, interesting illustrations. • Make visits to the library a regular part of your weekly routine. • Allow her to grab, pat, rub, and scratch at books – it is normal. • Make reading time a special time. Try not to have interruptions. Sit in a favorite chair, snuggle together, and read. • Children love repetition. Don’t hesitate to read the same book(s) again and again. Children learn through repetition. • Read with drama and expression. Don’t be shy! • Label pictures your child points to in the book. • Sometimes children don’t like to have stories read to them because the sentences are too long. Try talking about the book rather than reading the words. Label pictures and describe the actions. Provide sound effects. Pause often to let your child join in. • Have fun! If you are enjoying yourself, your child probably will, too. • Focus on the quality of the time you spend reading to your child, not the amount.

RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE (How your child understands your words):

Get your child’s attention before beginning to speak: • Call his/her name. • Turn him/her towards you. • Get down to his/her eye level.

Talk about familiar events and activities. Avoid excessive talking: speak in short, clear sentences. To help increase understanding of a conversation, pause between sentences, keep sentences short, and reword/rephrase if you sense confusion. Use gestures, facial expressions, and tone of voice to help your child interpret what you are saying. Eliminate distractions when discussing important or complex information. Distractions such as radio, TV, or other talking can make it more difficult for your child to follow and understand what is being said.

Repeat, repeat, repeat! It is important for your child to hear the same words over and over again when trying to build understanding of what words mean. When you are teaching the word “in”, for example, provide as many experiences as you can with that concept. Label the action each time. For example: Pour juice in a glass and say “in”. Clean up toys and as you put each toy back in the toy box, say “in”. Choose words that match your child’s current level of language understanding. Pair your words with events as they occur, such as saying “shoe” while pointing to the shoe, or while putting the shoe on. Use buildups and breakdowns to help your child grasp what you are saying: • Buildup: “shoe; shoe on; put shoe on; put your shoe on.” • Breakdown: “Take your spoon and eat your cereal.” If your child is confused, break down the directions as follows: “Take your spoon” while pointing to the spoon; “Eat your cereal” while pretending to bring the spoon to your mouth. When giving your child an instruction such as “stop”, “come here”, “give me”, or “pick up”, offer only 2 repetitions and then help him to follow the instruction. For example, if you ask him to give you an object and he does not respond, place your hand over his and guide him into placing the object into your hand. Reward him for following your instruction even though he needed help, e.g. “Good listening!”, “Good giving Mommy your toy”. Your child cannot become better at responding to directions if not given the opportunity to practice matching a command with the appropriate action. Reduce the use of questions because questions test the child; statements are more helpful because they provide information and an opportunity for learning what words mean. If you do use a question and your child does not respond appropriately, he may not have understood the question, may not have the knowledge needed to answer the question, or may not have the words to answer the question. When he does not respond to a question or answers incorrectly, provide him with the answer. Example: You ask, “Where is daddy?” but do not get an answer or the response is incorrect. Answer your own question: “Daddy is in the kitchen.” This will help your child to slowly begin to better understand how to interpret and answer questions.

(Rev. 1/08)