As a speech and language therapist, I am often approached by parents who ask what they can do to support their child’s speech, language and communication development. I have devised a list of techniques that are easy to implement at home and do that will do just that!

 

Developing Communication

Your child will start to learn about communication from the moment he or she is born and will learn language by interacting with other people.
As a parent there are several things you can do to help your child develop speech and language skills.

Firstly, by setting aside just 5 minutes everyday to spend  “special time” with your child either playing with toys or reading a storybook can really boost your child’s speech, language, communication and play skills.
In addition to providing daily 1:1 special time focusing on play and development, I also recommend trying to incorporate the following techniques into your everyday activities. This way you can continue develop your child’s speech, language and communication throughout the day – without a toy in sight!

Top Techniques

  1. Show interest in what your child tells you and then expand on what he or she says. You can do this for any word or phrase your child says. For example if your child is out in the park and says “dog” you can expand on this by saying “big dog” or “brown dog”.
  2. Encourage your child to communicate in different ways, not just through talking. If your child isn’t able to say the word, ask your child to point or show you what they want.
  3. Give your child choices. By providing choices no only will you be expanding your child’s vocabulary you will also be offering them opportunities to communicate. It is very easy to implement, for example at snack time ask your child if they would like an apple or orange and allow them to chose.
  4. Listen carefully to your child and give him or her time to talk. If your child says something incorrectly, respond back the correct way. For example if a child says “tish” respond with “that’s right is a fish”.
  5. Talk to your child. Even if your child is not yet talking, you can still promote language development by simply talking to your child. This may involve commenting on your own actions e.g. talking to your child whilst cooking dinner “I am putting the eggs in a hot pan”. Alternatively you can comment on what your child is doing e.g. “you are sweeping the floor with the broom”. This helps a child match language to an action.
  6. Show your child that you’re listening when he or she is talking to you. Non-verbal gestures are just as important as verbal communication. By nodding, smiling and using eye contact with your child when they are talking to you shows your child that you are interested in what they have to say.
  7. Sing nursery rhymes and songs to your child. Singing a song, especially those with actions can be done at any time e.g in the car on the way to the shops. Overtime your child will develop from following the actions to also joining in and perhaps singing their favorite’s on their own!
 

How Integrated Treatment Services can help

The rate at which your child develops speech, language and communication skills can vary. If your child is slow at developing these skills, he or she may catch up with other children. However, if you think your child needs speech and language therapy, talk to a therapist at Integrated Treatment Services (I.T.S). We are available throughout the week to give more top tips on supporting your child’s speech, language and communication development at home, answering any questions you may have.
We are happy to speak with you over the telephone on: 0845 838 2921 or by email info@integratedtreatments.co.uk.

If you have found this article helpful and have more questions then you can contact us with ideas for topics you would like us to cover in future blogs by simply clicking ‘Ask us a Question’.

Alexandra Tolley
Speech and Language Therapist© SXC.hu: Image Credit –addasell– CC Licensed