Basic Rules & Facts for Early Speech & Language Development
• Reduce the amount of questions you ask your child. If they are having trouble using language, they will have trouble answering your questions. Try commenting instead, such as, "Look at the tree. It has big green leaves on its branches."
• Label items without demanding a response. Provide a simple definition or explain function. This will improve their vocabulary.
• Expand your child's utterances. If your child says, "Dog," you say, "Yes. That's a big dog."
• Model good speech and language rather than correcting errors directly. If your child says, "Her big girl," you can respond, "Yes, she is a big girl."
• Self-talk. While doing everyday activities, talk to your child and explain what you are doing. For example, if you are making a sandwich, you can say, "First, I am going to get out the bread, and then I am going to spread the peanut butter..."
• Provide multiple opportunities for socialization with peers and adults. Encourage independent communication.
• Have your child "read" his or her favorite book to you and show you the pictures. Talk about parts of the book such as pages, cover, and words.
• Ask your preschool or early school-aged child to answer questions from books after each page.
• Early developing sounds are p, b, m, n, t, d, w. These are visible and are in early words, such as mama, no, bye, and wawa (water).
• Reduplicating sounds are easier and can be true words such as dada, mama, bye-bye, and wawa. Accept these as true words.
• When your child uses a word, reinforce them immediately by giving them a desired item. This works better than cheers. If your child says, "Wawa," you can say, "Okay. Let's go get some water."
• Provide an environment that encourages language use. For example, give a small amount of liquid in his or her cup. That way he or she needs to request more. You can also put desirable toys up high so they have to request, "Down."
• Come up with a list of important function words for your child's needs. Some examples are: hi, bye, more, yes and no, help, up, down, mom, dad, his or her name, family members, and pets.
• Keep an ongoing list of your child's utterances. Note any changes or inconsistencies.
• Encourage oral-motor activities, such as bubble blowing, horn blowing, straw drinking, silly face imitation, animal sounds, and environmental sounds (train, car, wind, etc.).
• Draw your child's attention to your mouth while you produce words. Be on their eye level.
