As a parent or professional working with little ones, I am sure that you have noticed how much children love to mimic what we say and what we do. Sometimes, we wish they wouldn’t copy everything we do and say, but when it comes to speech and language development, I encourage kiddo’s to copy me all day, every day!
Using imitation to teach speech and language skills is a great way to nurture your child’s language development. The great thing about teaching imitation skills is that it is not just for verbal language, it can be used for nonverbal language skills too, such as actions, body movements, and facial expressions!
Whenever I have parent coaching classes, I always think of tips to give parents that are functional, meaning they can be done anywhere, anytime and require little to no prep and planning time and imitation encompasses all of this! Imitation is something parents and professionals can do anytime, anywhere and it is actually one of the biggest and best supports for your little one’s communication skills and overall development.
What is imitation?
Imitation is a strategy that includes the mimicking of words, sounds, actions and facial expressions and is a precursor to your little one’s language development. When we use verbal imitation skills, it shows our little ones how words connect to actions and behaviors, which helps children make associations between words.
Imitation can begin as early as 8 months old when a child imitates a gesture like clapping hands. Around 18 months of age, children begin imitating simple actions they see adults do (like pretending to talk on the phone), and when they are 36 months, children begin imitating more complex actions (like pretending to cook a meal). There are several types of imitation, including: gross motor imitation (clapping hands), play imitation (pretending to drive a car), and sound imitation (imitating animal sounds). Teaching reciprocal imitation skills at an early age not only helps your little one develop verbal communication skills, but it also helps support play skills, joint attention, and social interaction skills.
How do I work on imitation with my child?
You can work on imitation in the car, at home, at the park…basically you can work on imitation skills wherever you and your little one are together! The best is if you can get face-to-face with your child and maintain eye contact, this not only supports your kiddo’s communication skills, but it also works on joint attention which is a critical skill for language development.
When you are engaged with your little one and they are motivated, the more likely they are to imitate you, so picking something of high interest to your little one and/or following their lead is super important. When you have your kiddo’s attention, imitation usually follows. Try singing songs, being animated, and using high affect to keep your little one engaged. Another great tip with imitation is not only can your child imitate you, but YOU can imitate YOUR CHILD too. Mimic their gestures, facial expression and sounds!
Why is imitation important for my child’s development?
Imitation is an important skill for typically developing children, as well as children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other developmental differences. Since imitation skills are an early developing skill, it is no surprise that early intervention is key for targeting this very important skill. Imitation skills are one of the precursor to your little one’s language abilities, social communication skills, and overall development.
Imitation is a crucial aspect of your little one’s development. It allows your little one to learn new things quickly by watching what is going on around them. Strong imitation skills provide a way for your little one to learn about themselves and others, and opens up endless opportunities for learning! For guidance specific to your child, please contact us today at[email protected] or by calling us at949.516.0766 to set up a complimentary consultation.
Sholeh Shahinfar is the founder of Valued Voices, and a licensed Speech Language Pathologist, Child Communication Specialist and Certified Oral Motor Therapist. She is passionate about uplifting children’s voices in the world and inspiring self-expression. In her free time, she loves going to the ocean, exploring nature with her pup Kobe, and spending time with her family and friends!
One of the most common questions I get asked by parents is “how many words should my child be saying?” As a parent, you are so eager for your little one to finally start talking. You spend so much time talking to your child and you just can’t wait for when they will start talking to you! First words are such an important part of your little one’s journey but what exactly counts as a word?
Before your little one uses a word, they must first have the understanding of the word and must use that word to represent a concept. For example, if every time your child wants milk they say “mimi”, then “mimi” can be considered a word. If your child says “moo” every time they see a cow, then “moo” also counts as a word.
Additionally, something very important to keep in mind is that when children are first learning to talk, they will definitely make mistakes. It is not expected for your child to say certain sounds and word perfectly clear. In fact, between the ages of 1-2, your child is understood about 50% of the time by familiar listeners and by the time they are 3-4, they are understood about 75% of the time. By the time your kiddo is 5, their speech should be understood by others, across contexts, 90-100% of the time. So, when children are first learning to talk, it is not expected for their speech to sound just like ours.
So, now that we have a bit of information on how much of your child’s speech you should understand, let’s now discuss what counts as a word:
1. Animal Sounds: I always love to start with animal sounds because they are fun and functional! “Moo,” “quack,” “woof,” “neigh” are all considered words. Animal noises (like snorting) are not considered words. In order for an animal sound to be considered a word, it has to include a consonant and vowel (i.e. moo).
2. Sound Effects: “beep-beep”, “vroom,” “woosh”- when your kiddo makes speech sounds when playing, these all count as a word!
3. Word Approximation: remember when I mentioned your little one’s speech does not need to sound exactly like ours, this is where word approximations come in. For example, a 2-year old is not expected to say the word “water” perfectly, so they may say “wawa” or “watuh” or “ba” for “ball”, this is considered a word approximately and definitely counts as a word.
4. Exclamatory Words: These words are easy and fun for kiddo’s to imitate. Some examples are “yay,” “uh-oh,” and “wee”
5. Sign Language: if your child uses signs for words-these all are considered words
BONUS TIP: If your child is learning two languages at once and has 5 words in English and 5 words in another language, guess what? That means your kiddo has TEN words total!
So to recap: if your child is using words CONSISTENTLY, INDEPENDENTLY, and INTENTIONALLY, then it counts as a word! Now that you know what counts as a word, are you finding that your little one has more words than you thought?
Now that you know what counts as a word, let’s talk about what you can do to encourage your little one’s first words!
1. MODEL: Modeling language is one of the most critical parts of early language development. The best part is, it requires NO prep and NO plan, you can do it anywhere, anytime! Model language by narrating what you are doing and what your kiddo is doing. For example, if your little one puts his arms up and says “uh” for you to pick him up, model “UP” and exaggerate the word. Vowels are often easier to imitate and early developing consonants like /p/, /b/ and /m/ are typically the first to emerge.
2. KEEP IT SIMPLE: Keep your own language simple. Right now, it is important for your kiddo to pick up on key words like nouns and verbs, articles like “the,” “is” and “a” will come later. If your child is using no words, you can model 1 word. If your child is using 1-word, you can expand by modeling 2-words. Word counts will grow in time.
3. FOLLOW THEIR LEAD: Following your little one’s lead not only empowers them but it helps make the language functional and meaningful. For example, if your little one loves faucets and water, go with it! You can model words like ON, OFF, WATER, HOT, COLD, SPLASH, GO, STOP, DOWN, etc… Communication requires motivation and what better way to motivate your kiddo than by using things they enjoy! The more we follow our kiddo’s lead, the more likely they are to stay engaged and interact with us!
It is never too early to work on your little one’s communication and if ever, you have any questions along the way, seek out the support of a speech language pathologist to help guide your little one’s early speech and language development.
Learning language is a process that starts during your baby’s development in the womb. And from the moment your baby is born, they begin expressing themselves. First through cries and smiles, then with coos and gestures, which leads into babbling. You long for that day for those babbles to turn into first words. While we cannot rush our little one’s on their journey of self-expression, we can certainly encourage their language development and provide an environment that empowers their expression.
Here I will share with you 10 simple strategies to help boost your baby’s language development. The best part is, these tips can be used in every day life and situations that are happening all the time! So, no need to stress yourself out and feel like you are adding something to your already busy to-do list. Just give yourself the daily reminder that language opportunities are happening all the time.
1. Connect with your baby.
This is one of my best tips! Now read carefully, because there are a few layers here. In order for your baby to listen, they must be paying attention, and in order for them to be paying attention, they must be engaged and where does this all begin? CONNECTION. Babies communicate with us almost instantly after birth when they give us eye contact. Eye contact is one of the foundational ways in which most children learn about the world around them. Connect with your baby and get them engaged and motivated to learn. This is the foundation of speech and language development, and everything to follow!
2. Talk with your baby.
This is a very easy and connected way to help your baby’s language development. Babies learn language by hearing it first. Using simplified language and familiar words to help your baby hone in on the key words is great and so is using the full sentence, I like to use a combo approach. Bonus tip: repetition is key! Talk to your baby all day long! Remember, use simple sentences and vocal intonation to keep your kiddo engaged and make things fun. Healthy speech development starts with a few words and just goes up from there.
3. Narrate to your baby.
Talk to your baby about the day. Talk about what your baby is doing and talk about what you are doing. Bonus tip: using daily routines is great because it allows your baby to hear the same words over and over again. This is a great way to build neural connections and increase your baby’s language development. Most young children, around their first birthday, begin to use their first words. The more language they hear, the more inclined they are to repeat and that is why narrating in early childhood is such an important tool in supporting your child’s speech and language developmental milestones!
4. Give your baby feedback.
Giving your baby feedback is a wonderful way for your baby to learn language. You may be thinking “how is my baby going to understand when I tell them good job?” Well, it is all in the way we are celebrating our little loves. Celebrate the successes, and this includes acknowledging all the attempts and efforts. When young babies are learning to talk, they will not say words perfectly, for example, “water” may be “wa” or “wawa” and this is perfectly okay! Clap your hands, do a happy dance, sing songs, give a high-five or a hug, whatever fun way you want to show it, just celebrate it!
5. Use a different pitch.
Parentese is the sing-song way we speak to our babies. Parentese is used across many cultures and has so many benefits for language development and learning. Research has shown that parantese increases blood flow activity to your baby’s frontal cortex of the brain, sustains and grabs your baby’s attention, and helps your baby engage in prelinguistic skills such as joint attention (just to name a few). Bonus tip: speak slowly and clearly, use exaggerated speech sounds, and repeat, repeat, repeat!
6. Read to your baby.
Book reading is important at every age and there is no such thing as starting too early! Research has shown that book reading helps increase your child’s development in so many areas! Maybe your little one doesn’t understand all the words yet, but that’s okay! Secret tip: you actually don’t have to even read all the words! Make book reading fun! Get animated, use facial expressions, act out the story, make noises that may go with the story, and label objects and things happening the picture! Storytime is a wonderful way to connect and bond with your baby. Read more here.
7. Play with your baby.
Play is one of the most important ways we learn. We learn through experience, so get down on the floor, get outside, get creative and PLAY! This is another great way to boost you child’s development across so many areas! There are so many benefits to play, some of which include: increased imagination and creativity, increased social-emotional development, increased physical and cognitive development and a way to interact with the world that allows for exploration through the senses. Play is great because it incorporates so many modalities of learning, including motor movements, visual skills, social-emotional skills, problem solving and of course so many opportunities for language learning! Learn more about the connection between play and language development here!
8. Let your baby lead.
Following your baby’s lead is a great way to understand their likes and dislikes. It gives you an opportunity to see how your baby interacts with the world around them and gives your baby the opportunity to grow! When you are out for a walk and your baby points up to the airplane in the sky, follow your baby’s verbal and visual cues by labeling and expanding “Airplane. Fast airplane.” Letting your baby lead means really staying present and connected to what your baby is doing in all moments, and chances are, all these precious moments are filled with language boosting opportunities!
9. Give your baby choices.
This is such an important tip, but sometimes the hardest for parents to follow. As a parent, you know exactly what your baby wants and needs and so when you see your little one is getting a little worked up, you give them exactly what they need to feel comfort and calm. Although this is absolutely incredible, it sometimes also becomes a missed opportunity for language. Before your little one gets into a distressed state, give them a choice: “do you want apples or banana”-it would be ideal if you can hold up each object as you name it too! When your child is presented with a choice, they are more likely to communicate their wants and needs because they need to indicate to you their choice! Remember, there are many forms of communication, if you baby looks at the object, points to it, or tries to label it those are all great ways to communicate. When giving your little one choices, first make sure that your baby understands the vocabulary. Also, get creative! Communication comes in so many forms and is not just talking. I love to use both verbal and visual cues to help support a child in their speech sounds and language development. Bonus tip: if your baby points to the apples, hold the apple close to your mouth and say “A-PO” and really exaggerate your mouth movements. Try 1-3 times and see if your kiddo imitates, if they don’t, give them a little piece of the apple and try again! This simple snack activity turns into a teachable moment where you are taking each apple slice (maybe up to 10 slices or 20 chunks of apple) to target the sound “a”, the word “apple” or maybe even the phrase “more apple” with your little one! Another example: if your little one wants milk, rather than giving your baby a bottle when they cry, ask them if the would like “more milk” and then encourage their participation in choosing it. This takes a bit of practice and rewiring, but once you get it down, you will see how great it is in encouraging your little one’s speech and language skills.
10. Expand your baby’s language.
Language expansion is a great tool to help your little one develop their expressive language skills. Expansion is when you take what your little one is saying and then add more language to it. When your little one is talking using 1-2 words to communicate, you can imitate what they say and then expand it. For example, if your little one says “car,” you can expand by saying “yes, that’s a green car.” If your little one says “more juice,” you can say “want more juice, okay-here you go!” Putting emphasis on certain words and using parantese (see tip number 5), helps draw your little one’s attention to new words and keeps them engaged!
Language opportunities are happening around you and your kiddo all the time. Now that you have become more aware of these natural moments, you will be more present to when they are happening. Remember, your little one’s speech and language develops in its own time, so just be patient and trust the process. Plus, you now have 10 wonderful ways to boost your kiddo’s language in any given moment! So, print these tips out, put them on the fridge and have so much fun connecting with your kiddo!
Sholeh Shahinfar is the founder of Valued Voices, and a licensed Speech Language Pathologist, Child Communication Specialist and Certified Oral Motor Therapist. She is passionate about uplifting children’s voices in the world and inspiring self-expression. In her free time, she loves going to the ocean, exploring nature with her pup Kobe, and spending time with her family and friends!
Tips on How to Increase Your Kiddo’s Word Combinations
The moment your little one says their first word is filled with magic, so much excitement and a whole new world of opportunities. Childhood speech and language development is highly individualized and includes so many layers. This development of speech, language and communication helps pave the way for deeper connections for you and your child.
Your little one has spoken their first word and now you are so excited for what is to come. So, what comes next? What can you do to help move words into phrases and sentences?
Using a Variety of Words
In order for you little one to begin combining words, they need to have a variety of word types. Typically, our little ones first learn nouns; they are labeling things in their environment and pictures in books, but they aren’t yet combining words. Well, in order begin combining words, we need to make sure your kiddo has an understanding of various word types (including verbs, adjectives, spatial concepts, and more). For example, if your little one is only using nouns, they wouldn’t be able to say “dog dog” and effectively communicate their wants and needs. However, if they wanted to indicate to you that they want the brown dog they would say “brown dog.” Remember, the understanding of language always comes before the expression so you want to make sure your little one has an understanding of various word types before expecting them to use it.
Typically, your child should begin combining two words together between 18-24 months of age. This is also known as telegraphic speech: when your child is combining a noun and a verb (i.e. mommy eat, sleep baby). Many children can use about 40 verbs by 24 months of age. If your toddler isn’t there, don’t worry! The first step is making sure your child understands verbs. You can practice this through flashcards, following directions and everyday routines. The second step would be to begin modelingand narrating verbs and other word types throughout your daily routines and create the opportunities to use them.
In addition to nouns (people, places, things) and verbs (run, sleep, go, want), some other word types include:
Adjectives (hot, big, yellow, fast)
Prepositions (in, out, on, under)
Social Words (hi, bye-bye)
Pronouns (me, I, you, mine)
Requesting (more, again, all-done)
Negation (no, can’t, don’t)
How Do I Know My Child is Ready to Combine Words?
You know your child is ready to combine words when they have two ideas that they want to express. For example, if your little one wants you to pick them up and says “mama” to get your attention (idea 1) and then puts their arms up (idea 2), then they are ready to begin combining words. Your little one is pairing a word with a symbolic gesture and their message has two ideas: 1) to get your attention and 2) to get you to pick them up.
I always tell my families, expanding your child’s language should be something that is happening naturally and believe me when I say, the opportunities are happening every day, all the time. Below are some fun activities you can use as part of your daily activities:
Create a fun washing/bathing game. You can do this during bath time or during play by filling up a bucket with water and grabbing a bunch of toys. Target the verb “wash” and describe what you are doing. For example: “wash hands,” “wash head,” “wash feet.”
Use the words your child already knows. If your child has a variety of nouns, use what your little one already knows and create opportunities to expand to phrases and sentences. For example, when your child is requesting “cookie” for snack, give them small pieces of the cookie each time. Then model “more cookie” or “want cookie.” If your child is already at this phase, then increase it to “I want cookie” or “I want more cookie.”
Create a “bye-bye box” or “gone box.” Get a box or bin and while you are cleaning up activities/toys, have your child put the object in the box while saying “bye-bye teddy,” or “teddy gone.” You can also use this activity to include prepositions such as “teddy in” or “teddy in box.”
Always make sure you are encouraging your little one, expanding on their current words, and providing them the opportunities to use more word combinations. If you are wondering if there are more ways you can help support your little one’s speech and language development and if they are developing on track for their age, you can book a screening appointment with me today!
Sholeh Shahinfar is the founder of Valued Voices, and a licensed Speech Language Pathologist, Child Communication Specialist and Certified Oral Motor Therapist. She is passionate about uplifting children’s voices in the world and inspiring self-expression. In her free time, she loves going to the ocean, exploring nature with her pup Kobe, and spending time with her family and friends!
Child speech, language and communication development can be so complex yet so rewarding! That moment when your child looks up at you to be picked up, puts her arms up and says “up” or runs over to you and says “mommy, I want to go up” are all pieces of a larger puzzle that creates connection between you and your little one and that nurtures your little one’s self-expression.
Expression can come in so many different forms.The earlier we expose our kiddos to the many ways we can communicate and express, the more empowered they become.
The journey of self-expression starts from within the womb and along the way, there are so many ways to help your little one become more connected to her voice. As your child neared her 1 year mark, you may be longing to hear her first words. So, what happens when you don’t hear those first words, and you are struggling to understand your little one’s wants and needs? Parents often go into a cycle of blame-shame-guilt, but I am here to tell you to let that go!
There are many ways to connect with your kiddo, and by following these tips you will find yourself talking with your toddler! Now let’s be clear, every child is different so try out these tips and see what works best for your child. Don’t compare, don’t rush the process, be patient and be mindful that talking is not just with our words, we can communicate and convey our thoughts, needs, wants, and feelings in many ways!
So here it is, my 25 tips to talking with your toddler:
REPETITION: Repeat words and phrases over & over. Think of repetition when you are selecting books to read with your toddler or toys to play with.
SIMPLIFY: Use short phrases and sentences. Continue to model grammatically correct and complete sentences so that your little one is hearing the right form, but when it comes to structured activities, use a few words drawing your little one’s attention to that main vocabulary.
PARALLEL TALK: Narrate everything your child is doing, Talk out loud, putting language to your little one’s actions. For example, if your little ones pushes a car, you say “push car” if she is running you can say “run, run, run”
SELF TALK: Narrate everything you are doing. Similar to parallel talk, but here, you are talking out loud about everything you are doing. For example, if you are cutting up an apple for a snack, you can say “cut apple” or “mommy is cutting apple.”
CREATE OPPORTUNITIES: Choose a daily routine (something that happens almost the same way, everyday) and focus on implementing the above concepts into that routine. The more you practice, the more your kiddo is absorbing! You can also create opportunities by the way you structure your environment and daily routines.
GIVE CHOICES: Choices are an amazing way to create an opportunity for language and give your child a sense of autonomy. Start with 2 choices, then expand from there. For example, “do you want apple or banana” (while holding up the objects).
USE VISUALS: Show your little one objects or photos to represent objects/actions when talking. For example, when giving the choice of an apple or banana, hold up the real objects and see if your little one will reach for, point to, or name the object she desires.
IMITATION: Have your little one copy you. Important tip here, avoid saying “say ….” that puts unnecessary pressure on communication, simply provide the language “apple” and see if your little one imitates you. Give it 2-3 attempts before you hand the object to her, we never want to cause frustration and inside tip: if you cut up the apple slices into bite-sized pieces, and each piece gets 2-3 tries, that is lots of opportunities to practice “apple”
MODEL: Model the language that you want your child to say. Start with simplified language (i.e. push car) then move into more grammatically correct and complete sentences (i.e. you are pushing the car). I love to use a combination of both when working with my kiddos!
EXPAND: Use one-or-two more words than your kiddo is using. For example, if your kiddo says “ball” while rolling a ball, you say “roll ball.” If she says “roll ball” while rolling the ball, you say “I roll ball” and if she says “I roll ball” you say “I am rolling the ball”
ROUTINES: Take a few routines that happen every single day and use the same words, phrases and/or short sentences to talk about the daily routines. For example, during bath time you might say “wash, wash, wash” when washing your toddler, or you can say “wash head,” “mommy washing head” or “daddy is washing your head.” Common routines include: bath time, bedtime, getting dressed, morning/night routines, meal/snack time, and car rides
SING: Songs are a great way to teach language. When singing songs, start out singing it a few times together, then try a version where your toddler fills-in-the-blank. For example, when singing ‘Wheels on the Bus,” say “the people on the bus go up and ____” and see if your kiddo fills in with “down.”. You can then increase the number of words that you omit.
FOLLOW CHILD’S LEAD: Let your toddler explore and discover her interests, likes and dislikes. Follow her lead as she moves around the room and follow her lead when she is using words, gestures, and/or signs to communicate. For example, if you are playing with cars and your toddler gets up to go play with the balls, get up and go with her. Acknowledge and embrace your toddler’s curiosity!
WAIT: It is SO important to give your toddler some wait time. Oftentimes, we feel uncomfortable with silence and we feel the need to fill in those quiet moments by talking more. This isn’t always so effective. Pause and give your toddler time to respond.
SIGNS & GESTURES: Let’s remember, self-expression comes in many forms and it is important to use many modalities when connecting with our kiddos. Do not limit your modeling to just words, give your kiddo options of self-expression. Early signs, gestures, and other forms of communication are so important to teach at an early age.
ONE-BY-ONE: When playing a game, playing with objects or having a snack, make sure to hold onto objects/items so that your little one gets the opportunity and repetition to ask you for something multiple times. For example, when playing with cars, hold onto all the cars and have your little one request the item by saying “car,” “more car,” or “I want car” for each car that you have. Think about, if your little one has 10 cars, that is at least 10 opportunities to develop and expand her language skills, as opposed to giving her all 10 cars right away.
SET THE STAGE: Set up your environment so that your little one needs to ask you for something. For example, give your little one the house without opening it up for her to encourage the word “open” or “help.” Setting up our environment is crucial when addressing and empowering our little one’s communication skills!
PRETEND: I like to have fun with this one and kiddos love it too! I sometimes pretend that I don’t know how to do something or that I need help. For example, if I am trying to open a toy garage door, I might tug and pull at it and say “oh no, it’s not working, what should I do” and when my little one signs “open” or uses the word “open” or “open door” it is the magic in making the door work-viola, all of a sudden, the door opens!
UP & AWAY: The first homework assignment I often give to our toddlers is homework for the parents! I almost always tell parents after our first session to “go home and put most of your little one’s favorite toys up and away, out of reach, so that she has to ask for it.” Let’s remember, this can be through pointing, gesturing or spoken words. This is a bonus tip because it also works on foundational pragmatic language skills, such as initiating conversations.
GET SILLY: This is one of my favorites! I love getting silly with my kiddos! Making silly faces, over exaggerating my emotions and facial expressions, getting into character when I am reading a book…all great ways to shift and explore with different kinds of body language, vocal qualities, emotions and ways to self-express!
EXPLORE: If you had to eat the same meal every single day for the rest of your days, how would that make you feel? Bored, frustrated, annoyed…just to name a few. Well, the same is true for our kiddos. If we do the same activities, even during play, with our little ones, the excitement tends to wear off quickly. So, switch things up, explore something new every week and try out new things!
MAKE COMMENTS: Be mindful of having a good balance of questions and comments. Too often, we over do the questions with our kiddos: “who did you play with,” “what did you do at school,” “what did you eat for lunch”-this can be overwhelming at times so create a balance. When you ask your kiddo “what did you eat for lunch” and she excitedly shouts “celery and peanut butter,” instead of bouncing to the next question right away, make a comment instead: “wow, that is a yummy snack and it sounds like you really enjoyed it.”
ASK QUESTIONS: This is another tip we must be mindful of: what types of questions are we asking. Oftentimes, we want our kiddo’s talking in sentences, but when we ask them a question, it really does elicit a 1-2 word response. For example, when you ask your kiddo “what did you eat for lunch” and she say “sandwich” and you think to yourself “ahh-why isn’t she answering me in a full sentence”-take a minute to reflect on your question. If she can answer it with one-word, then change up your question to elicit a longer response. Shift friend “what did you eat for lunch” to “tell me about your lunch”-you can see how the shift in the type of question, shifts the type of response we get.
SAY IT BACK: Repeat back what your little one is saying to draw awareness to the correct form or pronunciation. For example, if your little one says “daddy goes outside” you can model back “yes, daddy went outside”-putting the emphasis on the correct grammatical form while also validating and acknowledging your little one’s beautiful communication.
SLOW IT DOWN: Most of us tend to live in a fast-paced world and not only are our bodies moving fast, but so are our words. Practice the art of slowing down. When we move slow through life, we realize all the opportunities that are right in front of us, we become more present to how we can use the moment to increase our child’s development, and we model a more clear and articulate way of speaking-all of which our children are observing and absorbing right up!
These tips are designed to make you aware of all the amazing things you are likely doing, but not giving yourself enough credit for or it could be that you just needed this little nudge to connect with your kiddo with confidence! Whatever brought you here, I am here to tell you that you are doing great and by incorporating these 25 tips when talking with your toddler, you are creating an atmosphere of acceptance, trust, safety and empowerment!
Sholeh Shahinfar is the founder of Valued Voices, and a licensed Speech Language Pathologist, Child Communication Specialist and Certified Oral Motor Therapist. She is passionate about uplifting children’s voices in the world and inspiring self-expression. In her free time, she loves going to the ocean, exploring nature with her pup Kobe, and spending time with her family and friends!
It was about two years ago, I was in invited to do a speaking event for a room full of parents and preschool teachers, my topic was of course my passion: childhood self-expression. I started with a little experiment: “raise your hand if you think speech, language and communication are the same thing,” about 70% of hands went up. Now I know this is a common misconception, but I wanted to understand why the audience thought these three things were the same. Once person asked “well isn’t it all talking”, another said “because it all has to do with how we communicate.” Interesting points and I can see where their minds were going, but I was also secretly super excited that I was about to turn their worlds upside down!
Often, when people ask me “what do you do,” I find it unbelievably hard to explain and not because I don’t know how to put it into words, but more so because Speech Language Pathologists do so much. So, if there are any fellow SLPs, parent, or anyone for that matter, reading this that wants to help me narrow it down into 1-2 sentences-please, send me all you have!
One of the places I love to start when speaking to others about the role of a SLP is to break down the difference between speech, language and communication, because (in case you haven’t figured it out yet) they are very different, yet very connected:
Speech: the sounds we use for talking and the way we say those sounds and words. This includes fluency, volume, pitch, rate and intonation.
Language: understanding and using words and their meaning, understanding how words go together, putting words together using grammatical markers to make sentences, as well as higher level skills such as drawing inferences and making predictions.
Communication: nonverbal and verbal language skills used to share and exchange thoughts, feelings and ideas.
If your child has a speech, language, and/or communication delay this has a ripple effect into many other aspects of their life. Let’s look at this in terms of some examples:
Joey is 4 years old; he is at the playground and notices some other kids coming over, he runs over to invite them to play but none of the other kids understand what Joey is saying. He keeps repeating himself, over and over, but the other kids continue to not understand him. Joey begins to feel frustrated and walks away. The impact of Joey’s speech is not only affecting his verbal expression but it is now also the cause of behaviors, as well as emotional and social development.
Sara is 2 years old; she is in the kitchen with dad. Dad takes Sara over to the fridge and says “what should we eat for lunch today?” Sara replies by saying “mmm…mmm” while pointing to the yummy snack she wants. Dad asks “apples?”, Sara shakes her head no and points again saying “mmm…mmm,” “juice?” guesses Dad; again, Sara shakes her head no and continues to point. After a couple more guesses, Sara begins to get frustrated and begins crying and hitting dad. Sara’s language is affecting her expression and she is becoming frustrated because she isn’t getting her wants and needs met. Because of this, Sara begins to hit and cry, behaviors which can impactsocial and emotional development, as well as learning.
Zach is 6 years old; he is in class and the teacher says “okay kids, after you finish your art project, put it in your cubby, go sit back down and take out your pencils and blocks for math.” Zach feels lost and confused, the teacher just gave a pretty long and complex direction and he only got the first part. Zach looks around to copy his peers, but they are all at different parts in the direction. Zach decides to just sit back down at his desk and not participate in the direction. His teacher thinks he isn’t listening. Zach’s difficulty with comprehending/understanding this language has an impact on his learning, ability to participate with others, and the confidence he has in himself, demonstrating impacts in most areas of development.
You can see from these three examples above how deeply connected speech, language and communication are to the way your little one is being and feeling in this world, as well as the impacts it has on many areas of development. My mission is to connect children to their voice through whatever modality of expression resonates best with them and to provide parents and professionals with the tools necessary to empower our children’s voices!
Want to know how your kiddo is progressing with speech, language and communication skills? Book an appointment, with me today!
Sholeh Shahinfar is the founder of Valued Voices, and a licensed Speech Language Pathologist, Child Communication Specialist and Certified Oral Motor Therapist. She is passionate about uplifting children’s voices in the world and inspiring self-expression. In her free time, she loves going to the ocean, exploring nature with her pup Kobe, and spending time with her family and friends!
Let me start off by making a confession: I don’t own an iPad. When it comes to technology and therapy, I am a bit old school, however, despite my opinions on screen time, I also have to stay connected to the needs of my families, and something I get asked quite often is “what are the best apps for speech and language development?”
For children under 18 months of age, avoid the use of screen time all together. Video chatting, through platforms such Facetime, Whatsapp or Skype, can be used in moderation, for example: if a parent is out of town or a long distance grandparent. Pediatricians report that video chatting with family members can help build relationships, however, the AAP reports that more studies are needed to determine the cognitive and behavioral impacts of too much screen time, particularly with babies and toddlers.
If choosing to introduce media to little ones 18 to 24 months of age, parents should choose high-quality programming, always be present, and more importantly be interacting and playing with their children. Devices should not be a replacement for interactions, but rather a shared activity and experience.
For ages 2 to 5 years old, doctors recommended 1 hour or less per day of screen time, and urge parents to continue choosing high-quality programming and to continue parent involvement: watch the program with your little one to help them understand what they are seeing.
Screen time is a personal and family decision, so whether or not you choose to allow your kiddo to have some screen time depends on what is best for your child and what feels most aligned with your family values. As I said, I don’t own an iPad and have never gravitated towards apps in my sessions, but I have used a few and seen the benefits they can have when done right. Also, because this is an important topic for many families and professionals out there, it makes it important to me, so I have come up with a few of my favorite apps that are engaging and interactive, and that encourageconnection and expression! All of my recommendations are apps that are intended to be done with your little one!
Apps for your Toddlers & Preschoolers:
Wheels on the Bus: this is a fun, interactive version of a favorite song! You can sing-a-long by recording your own voice, learn and label various nouns and actions, and interact by spinning the wheels, opening the doors, swishing the wipers, and so much more!
Baby’s Musical Hands: another great musical activity that will allow your little one to explore and create their own music, inspiring so much self-expression. Your little one can learn about instrument sounds (like the drums, piano and guitar), as well as colors. Not only is this a great fine and gross motor task, but also a great task for eliciting language to label and request!
Peakaboo Barn:in this app, friendly farm animals are waiting to be make friends! Help your little one guess who the animal is based on the sounds you hear. This is a great way to work on identifying and labeling animals, making animal sounds, using consonant-vowel or vowel-consonant combinations, and making predictions! A great cause-effect game for our little ones!
Toca Boca: there are many Toca Boca apps that are great for identifying and labeling nouns, verbs, and attributes (such as color, size, shape, etc.). Many are theme-based so you can encourage lots of expression here. Take a trip to the hair salon or invite your friends to a birthday party!
First Phrases HD: this amazing app works on identifying and labeling nouns and verbs, and is a multi-modality approach to learning language (you hear it, see it and can record your own voice). This is a great way to increase your little one’s sentence length, moving from one word to two-or-three word combinations and then your little one watches as their character follows their command! A must have for increasing expressive language! There is also a version that targets following directions of increasing complexity, check that out here: Fun with Directions HD.
Remember, apps can be a great way to supplement speech and language development when they are used in collaboration with real-life events and interactions. Play and connection with your kiddo is the number one best way to empower, encourage and expand speech and languagedevelopment!
Sholeh Shahinfar is the founder of Valued Voices, and a licensed Speech Language Pathologist, Child Communication Specialist and Certified Oral Motor Therapist. She is passionate about uplifting children’s voices in the world and inspiring self-expression. In her free time, she loves going to the ocean, exploring nature with her pup Kobe, and spending time with her family and friends!
Have you ever gone into a store or visited a website and just stared aimlessly at all the products, feeling overwhelmed by the vast selection and thought “which one will be best for my kiddo?” I definitely have! When I first started my career, I definitely overdid it and overspent on my toy inventory, I thought “the more, the better.” Well, I was wrong!
Through experimenting and experience, I have discovered the magic sauce when shopping for toys for toddlers and want to share some of my favorite toys with you today! Also included are some of my pro-tips on how to use these toys to develop, expand and support your toddler’s speech, language and communication skills:
Speech: Work on early developing consonant and vowel combinations like “buh” for “ball” and “ha” for “hammer” Language: Work on identifying and labeling colors, counting, and spatial concepts, such as “in” and “out,” as well as “up” and “down” Communication: Work on eye contact, attention and turn taking
Speech: Work on animal sounds and increasing syllable length Language: Work on following directions with various linguistic concepts, as well as identifying and labeling shapes, colors, and animals. Also work on commenting, requesting, and narrating play Communication: Work on eye contact, attention, turn taking and play skills
Speech: Work on early developing consonant-vowel combinations like “puh” for “push” and “ha” for “hammer” Language: Work on identifying and labeling colors, counting, and spatial concepts, such as “in” and “out,” as well as “up” and “down” Communication: Work on eye contact, attention and turn taking
Speech: Work on vowel-consonant or consonant-vowel combinations like “up”, “pop”, “hi”, and “bye-bye”, also work on animal sounds Language: Work on 1-2 word combinations by labeling the animal, action and/or color (ex: “dog down”, “blue up”), also work on requesting (i.e. “more pop”) Communication: Work on eye contact, attention and turn taking
Speech: Work on later developing phonemes like /k/ and /g/ for “car” and “go” Language: Work on identifying and labeling colors and numbers, as well as following directions using more advanced spatial concepts such as “on top” or “bottom.” Work on requesting using 2-4 word phrases (ex: “blue car” or “I want blue car”), as well as commenting using prepositional phrases (ex: “car on top”) Communication: Work on eye contact and turn taking using “my turn” and “your turn”
Are you interested in discovering more:
Ways to use these 5 toys to create speech and language opportunities for your toddler?
Toys that encourage and expand speech and language opportunities for your toddler?
Sholeh Shahinfar is the founder of Valued Voices, and a licensed Speech Language Pathologist, Child Communication Specialist and Certified Oral Motor Therapist. She is passionate about uplifting children’s voices in the world and inspiring self-expression. In her free time, she loves going to the ocean, exploring nature with her pup Kobe, and spending time with her family and friends!
Communication comes in so many forms. Nonverbal communication includes our body language, eye contact, signs, gestures, and so much more! Verbal communication includes babbling, spoken words, and the use of a device,
When our little ones are experiencing communication delays and differences, this can have a ripple effect into many areas of their life.
Story 1: Little Johnny is on the playground. He is talking to his friends but his friends just can’t understand what he is saying, so they don’t really engage with him and after a few minutes they go onto play something else without Johnny. This keeps happening to Johnny over and over again, and so he begins to get sad and frustrated. He starts to avoid and withdraw himself from social situations, and starts playing by himself. When he talks at home to his parents, they sometimes don’t understand him either, so he keeps repeating himself until eventually he gets so upset, that he throws his toy car. Johnny’s speech delay is not only impacting his communication development, but it is also impacting his social and emotional development as well.
Story 2: Maggie is 5 years old. She has difficulty following directions and doesn’t use many words to express her wants, needs, thoughts and feelings. Maggie has been going to speech/language therapy since she was 3. There are 20 children in Maggie’s class and when the teacher gives the direction “clean up your snack, go wash your hands and get in line for recess,” Maggie only got the first part “clean up your snack.” She doesn’t yet have the words to ask her teacher for help or for a repetition, so Maggie feels lost and she begins to feel frustrated that all the other kids are doing something else. She begins to loseconfidence because she compares herself to her peers. This delay in understanding and using language (also known as receptive and expressivelanguage) is not only impacting Maggie’s communication, but it is having adverse impacts on her academic learning, social development and emotional development.
You can see from the examples above, that when a child has difficulty being understood (due to speech sound errors, fluency, rate of speech, vocal volume, etc.) this leads to frustration, withdrawal/isolation, etc. which may have adverse effects on behavior, social and emotional development. When a child has difficulty understanding language (receptive language), this may lead to behavior challenges, negative impact on learning, and social/emotional development. Additionally, when a child has difficulty producing language (expressive language), this tends to have big impacts on a child’s overall development and behavior. For example, a toddler that is communicating through pointing and gesturing but the parent cannot always determine the child’s needs, begins to feel frustrated as they are not feeling seen, heard and understood. This leads to behavior challenges (i.e. tantrums, throwing, hitting, etc.) as the child is communicating but their needs are not being understood/acknowledged. Again, this may have later effects on learning, as well as social/emotional development.
Children that are not understood by others tend to “give up” as they feel like nobody will understand them. Some express their frustration through kicking, screaming, or hitting. This is why it is important to connect to our children’s need and give less focus to their behavior. Providing children with the tools to effectively communicate, as well as guiding parents on how to great more opportunities for communication and connection is key!
Some tips include:
Gain attention
Provide choices
Break things down (directions or your own language)
Provide natural reinforcement and connection
Acknowledge & Validate
Create space
Create opportunities
Often times, when there is a speech, language and communication deficit, we see impacts on learning, emotional development, social development, and behaviors. I believe a big reason for this is because instead of connecting to the expression we are focusing on the behavior.
Remember, instead of focusing on the behavior (“I said NO kicking!”), try connecting to your child’s expression and feelings (“I see that you are feeling frustrated right now, do you want your cars or blocks”-while holding up a car and block so that your child can point and show you their wants/needs).
Connection in communication is key and starts within the womb!
To find out more tips and ways to connect with your little one’s journey self-expression, book a parent coaching session with me today
Sholeh Shahinfar is the founder of Valued Voices, and a licensed Speech Language Pathologist, Child Communication Specialist and Certified Oral Motor Therapist. She is passionate about uplifting children’s voices in the world and inspiring self-expression. In her free time, she loves going to the ocean, exploring nature with her pup Kobe, and spending time with her family and friends!
