Communication Development

Strategies to support your child's communication development within their everyday routines and play.
Browse this section if you're looking to broaden your child's vocabulary, improve their speech sounds or develop their social communication.

On the Blog...

Flash Card: True or false?

Flash Card: True or false?

I will NOT be using flashcards. Not only are they super unnatural (are YOU ever shown cards and forced to shout out what you see on them?!) but they’re just...
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What counts as a first word?

What counts as a first word?

More than you think! A first word is something that your child says intentionally, the same way every time and consistently - to get or communicate what they want. E.g....
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Sing to Learn

Sing to Learn

Nursery rhymes are EXCELLENT for language development. My Mam's been teaching August a new word a day by singing to him and it's so exciting to see!HOW does it help?...
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The Language Development Ladder

The Language Development Ladder

Here's how I like to think of language development: It's like a ladder. All children are on this ladder somewhere, even if it's just briefly, and there's things we can...
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Help your baby to start talking!

Help your baby to start talking!

Communication temptations are little purposeful opportunities set up to tempt your baby to show you what they can do! The PAUSE is the most important thing here. You're going to...
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Tempt your child to communicate

Tempt your child to communicate

Create opportunities for your child to initiate an interaction with you by setting up a COMMUNICATION TEMPTATION. Place a favourite toy or snack within view but out of reach, or...
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Story Spoons

Story Spoons

If you're into bringing stories to life then this is for you! Wooden spoons are cheap, easy to get a hold of and make EXCELLENT story props! So easy for...
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Books Alive: The Hungry Caterpillar

Books Alive: The Hungry Caterpillar

Super excited to finally have this finished! I wanted to bring 'The Hungry Caterpillar' to life because it ticks so many boxes for us. August loves the story ✅ He...
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Picnic Prattle

Picnic Prattle

Ok - we have a lot of picnics. Even if it's just in the lounge or with play food, we're ALL ABOUT IT. And there's many reasons why.  Firstly. Lockdown...
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Story Stones

Story Stones

I read Hairy Maclary about 6 times a day. August LOVES it - so I wanted to bring the story to life a bit. I made these story stones last...
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Contain your excitement

Contain your excitement

Your eyes haven't deceived you. I've just given August all the plastic containers I could find (nope they don't all have lids) and let him go to town. Containers are...
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Communication Temptation: Offering Choices

Communication Temptation: Offering Choices

Imagine knowing what you want but not being able to tell anyone! That's often the frustration that faces our little ones and more often than not they're desperate to let...
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Sign with us: Dear Zoo

Sign with us: Dear Zoo

Let's add some books to our repertoire! Dear Zoo is a favourite of ours - it has a really great rhythm, it's simple, it has animals, it has lift the...
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Bringing the Ducky Song to life

Bringing the Ducky Song to life

You've all probably sang this song before. Your babe probably loved it - but have they any idea what you're singing about? I've turned this song into a water play...
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Communication Temptation: Familiar Action Songs

Communication Temptation: Familiar Action Songs

If your favourite song comes on and you know the words - you sing along, right? You love it, so you're tempted to join in. The same applies to babies!!...
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Communication Tempation - Pausing

Communication Tempation - Pausing

Click here to swipe to see a video of me showing you how I use the 'pausing' technique to teach August how to communicate with me that he wants to...
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We love books!

We love books!

We love books! With a Speech and Language Therapist for a Mam, August has no choice really. Did you know that children who's parents read them 5 books per day...
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When do different speech sounds develop?

When do different speech sounds develop?

What’s the difference between speech and language??? Language is the words and signs we use to get our point across. So when we’re learning a new language, we’re learning a...
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How to teach your toddler to join words together

How to teach your toddler to join words together

Typically, most children can combine two or more words before the age of 2. Some children take a little longer and some children learn this much sooner.The BEST WAY you...
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Gestures and When They’re Likely To Develop

Gestures and When They’re Likely To Develop

You already know that all kids are different and they develop at varying rates - but here’s a general guide to when you might expect to see some common gestures....
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