02/10/2022
๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ต & ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ โ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐น๐โ - ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐?
Children require certain skills to acquire language & bring on word development. As shown below each of these skills are paramount prior to a child speaking - want to know why then keep reading:
Preverbal communication skills are important because they are how a baby/little one in your life communicates with you before they can use real words. These are necessary as they teach a child the intention behind communication.
Here are some essential skills your baby requires when developing their overall communication skills -
1๏ธโฃ ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐: pointing, waving, raising arms for going up, shaking their heads for no - gestures is giving a message without a verbal response
2๏ธโฃ ๐๐บ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป: copying a sound, action, movement or expression you as the parent make e.g. parent stating โwoofโ when you see a dog
3๏ธโฃ. ๐ง๐๐ฟ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด: being able to take a turn with others through either initiating or responding e.g. child places one block, parent places the 2nd etc.
4๏ธโฃ ๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐: smiling, cooing, babbling, using gestures, calling the person etc.
5๏ธโฃ ๐๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป: shared focus on an action or object eg when you and your child are both focused on the same thing & interacting about it this is called joint attention
6๏ธโฃ ๐๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐: using eye contact to get your attention and to communicate a message
7๏ธโฃ ๐ข๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป: ensuring the child is regulated (from a sensory perspective) to support attention maintenance to develop their speech and language skills
๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฝ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ-๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐น๐:
๐ค Face to face - get down to your childโs level, get face to face with them & copy! Copy sounds they make, actions they complete, things they do! Then WAIT! Waiting is an important skill for speech and language development! Always think of giving your child 10 seconds to respond before you say something again!
๐คWhen your child makes a vocalisation - respond! When they make a gesture or an expression - respond! The more you respond, the more they learn!
๐คSing songs or rhymes that use sounds, repetitions, gestures and silly sounds
๐คPlay people games eg peek a boo, horsey horsey, hide & seek
๐คUse anticipation games eg bubble play & add language to it โpopโ, โmoreโ, โagainโ - wait to see what your child will do to convey the message to you - remember there are so many ways to communicate other than words (as shown on this post - see does your child give you eye contact, a social smile, a gesture or some attention)
๐ค Read books & look at pictures - observe what your child is looking at and point to it, name it, make the sound it makes eg cow moo
๐คAn important one - when children arenโt talking we have a tendency to ask many many questions! Instead of testing their knowledge think of one hand 5 fingers ruleโ give them 4 pieces of information about something prior to asking 1 question - itโs better to build their knowledge than constantly question it!
๐คRemember: repeat, repeat, repeat!
