04/11/2025
It’s important to constantly remind ourselves that language doesn’t begin at the top of the pyramid where the words live.
Words are the final flourish, not the starting point.
The preverbal layer that most people ignore actually forms the foundation! Aspects like eye gaze, turn-taking, facial expressions, joint attention, co-action, imitation are imperative for language development.
If that foundation isn’t solid, the rest won’t hold, no matter how many flashcards, drills, or repetitions we stack.
So before we ask “Why isn’t he talking yet?”
we need to look at the foundation.
