Things you can do at home to enhance your toddler's speech and language development:
Model Clear, Simple Sentences Be sure to slow down and get down at your child's level. Repeat what your child has said and expand on it. If your child says, "Big car," you respond by saying, "Yes, that is a big car. A big red car. Let's make it go fast." This can be done during play, at the grocery store, or wherever your day takes you and your child! Make It a Game The above concept can be turned into a simple game using a bag filled with common objects from around the house. Have your child pull out one object at a time. You repeat whatever your child says, then expand on it. Reading Expand your child's vocabulary through reading books with simple sentences on each page. Describe People with Simple Sentences Look at family photos together and use simple sentences to describe the people, places, objects and actions. For example, "There is daddy! Daddy is sitting on the sand. He is at the beach." Use Family Photos to Create Your Own Books Write a simple sentence on each page below a single picture. Your child will enjoy reading these homemade books with you while enhancing early literacy skills! Sing Simple Songs and Tell Nursery Rhymes These songs and games introduce your child to the rhythm and sounds of language. Songs and rhymes paired with gestures increases the fun and helps your child improve motor and imitation skills.
Offer Your Child Choices To Help Him Communicate Better Rather than asking your child, "Do you want milk?" you could ask, "Do you want milk or juice?"
Create Language Routines Around Favorite Activities Your little one loves bubbles? Create a repeating language routine. “Let’s play bubbles”, “Blow the bubbles”, “pop, pop, pop”, “uh- oh, all-gone”, “again!” Repeat as long as he’s interested. (think bath time, mealtime, bedtime routines)
Praise Successful Communication Attempts This helps build self-confidence for your child and lets him know that he has something important to say!
If your child requires some more specific intervention, the SLP will let you know what type of speech language therapy your child will benefit from and provide any appropriate referrals. For children who do exhibit true speech and language delays or disorders, early intervention is the key to success. Social development, behavior, later literacy and academic skills are built on a solid foundation of speech language development.
If you have more questions about your child's development or speech-language therapy click the "Get in Touch" button above.
- Stephanie Peterson, M.A., CCC-SLP, ASDCS
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