Communication Development
Strategies to support your child's communication development within their everyday routines and play.
On the Blog...
Supporting Behaviour: What to say
It’s so simple - but changing up the way you pose questions to your little one can reduce frustration for the both of you. I posted about this in my...
Fix up their phrase
You really don't have to 'correct' your child to teach them the correct way to speak. MODELLING and REPETITION are incredibly powerful, and you can make a big impact by...
Have fun with sounds
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the SOUND a letter makes is so much more important to know than it’s name! Yes - the name is also...
Teach manners through modelling, not parroting
When you prompt your little one to “say please” or “say sorry”, they’re learning that they have to copy what you say to get what they want, but it’s unlikely...
Language Development Tip: Reading on Repeat
You don’t always need new books. Sure - it’s nice to have new stories to read but I already know that your little one likes their favourite books on repeat....
Speech errors kids make: Gliding
The /r/ and /l/ sounds are often quite hard to say for little ones. That’s why they often replace them for a /y/ or a /w/ sound instead. We’ve all...
Where did I come from? Photos from Language Development
Most kids LOVE to look at pictures of themselves when they were younger. I know the mums who went to SPACE class with me thought I was a little nuts...
Tempt them to communicate: Do the unexpected
If you were looking for permission to be really silly - here it is. Doing the unexpected is a wonderful way to spark your child's interest, get their attention and...
Speech errors kids make: Cluster reduction
When a Speech and Language Therapist talks about 'speech', they mean the sounds that words are made up of (not the words themselves). A child with speech difficulties may say...
Use their special interest
Many of your little ones may have already developed a special interest. A special interest is just something that they love and are drawn to. For August - it's bins!...
Speech errors kids make: Final consonant deletion
When a Speech and Language Therapist talks about 'speech', they mean the sounds that words are made up of (not the words themselves). A child with speech difficulties may say...
Language Everywhere: 🐝🐝🐝
Language is everywhere and there's an infinite amount of new words that your little one has the potential of learning. Remember - language isn't inside your child waiting to come...
Clap out the syllables in longer words
ALL CHILDREN drop syllables from longer words at some point in their development. Its called 'weak syllable deletion' - and it just means that they drop the weaker, less pronounced...
Early signs your child is on the Autism Spectrum
Autism Spectrum Disorder is just that; a spectrum. Its not a straight line from 'not autistic' to 'very autistic', it's a vibrant colour palette of characteristics that a person with...
Fun ways to teach body parts
My heart hurt as I wrote 'hokey tokey' for my fellow kiwis. It's 'hokey cokey' in the UK (where I'm from) and I've learned it's 'hokey pokey' in the USA....
How speech sounds develop: The last lot
Some sounds are harder to say than others. If you haven't already, check out my first 2 posts on the 'early eight' and 'next nine' speech sounds that typically develop...
How speech sounds develop: The next 9
Some sounds are harder to say than others. If you haven't already, check out my first post with 'the early 8' to learn which speech sounds typically develop first. This...
How speech sounds develop: The early 8
Some sounds are harder to say than others, so we don't tend to hear children say them until they're older. Knowing WHEN sounds typically develop will ensure that you're not...
Don't miss the teaching opportunity
I hear SO MANY people missing the teaching opportunity by saying "good boy" or "good girl". If this is you - don't be offended! I can FEEL the excitement of...
Fill them up with language: Swimming Edition
Just LOOK how much vocab you can teach when you take your little one swimming. And this is MINIMUM - there'll be so many more things specific to your local...
