Language Strategies for Early Communicators (children who are non-verbal or who are just starting to talk)
- Wait, Watch and listen
- Look carefully at your child to figure out what he wants and needs
- Give your child a chance to communicate through eye gaze, actions, noises, pictures, words…
- Listen carefully to what your child is trying to say tell you
- Get down to your child’s level
- Lie down on the floor if your child is lying on the floor
- Kneel down to remain face to face and at your child’s eye level
- Follow your child’s lead
- Play with activities that are motivating and interesting for your child
- When you follow your child’s lead, you pick up on his interests and go where your child wants to go
- If your child needs help to try new activities, use words, pictures and actions to help him go to a new activity
- Repeat and imitate your child’s words, sounds and actions
- This will tell your child that you are paying attention to him
- Children learn to copy actions before they learn to copy sounds and words
- Copying is an important skill to work on because it involves cooperation and turn-taking which are used in talking and playing
- Talk to your child
- Describe things in your child’s environment – “ See ball”
- Describe what’s happening – “Mommy is cooking”; “Dog barking”
- Describe what you or your child is doing- “Change diaper”
- Use short simple sentences
- Speak slowly and clearly
- This helps your child to focus on the important words in the message.
- He will be more likely to understand the message and imitate it
- Repeat important words
- Stress important words and say them many times
- Set up activities so there are many chances to practice a word in an activity. (e.g. If the target word is “on”, say “on” every time you put on a piece of clothing) or in different activities (eg. Lights on”)
- Exaggerate your hand gestures and facial expressions
- Be enthusiastic, silly and engaging
- Exaggerate your tone of voice
- Model and expand your child’s attempts at words and phrases
- Child: “Cah”
- Adult: “Car” (model)
- Adult: “Car go” (expand)
- Don’t test your child
- Don’t say, ‘What is this?”
- Don’t tell your child what to say (e.g. “Say cat” or “Say cookie.”)
- This puts a lot of pressure on your child. Just talk about what you see (e.g. “Apple” or “Cat.”)
- Please” and thank you” aren’t important
- It’s more important that your child use nouns (things) and verbs (actions) at this stage than them saying “please” and “thank you”
- Model “Want juice”, instead of “Juice please”