What Can I Do to Help My Child Talk?

What Can I Do To Help My Child Talk?

I've worked with hundreds of parents and professionals whose main desire was they wanted their child to talk. Many of them thought that since their child had delays, getting her to talk meant teaching her, like teaching numbers and other school-like things. However, we have found that there's a great deal of play, turn-taking, and nonverbal communication needed before words are ready to come. But for now, lets look at what parents can do once their child is ready for words.

Use the guide below to prepare your child to be a frequent and enjoyable talker.

PLAY FREQUENTLY in ways your child plays

BALANCE your times together; be sure both of you do about as much as the other

WAIT FOR YOUR CHILD TO TALK; avoid doing all the talking

MATCH your child's actions

MATCH your child's communications, communicate in ways your child can do

TALK AS MUCH AS YOUR CHILD DOES; then show him a next step

RESPOND to your child's little sounds and actions as communications at first

RESPOND MORE to your child's words than gestures or sounds, after he's talking regularly

SHOW HIM WHAT TO SAY in one or two words

MAKE TALKING TIMES MORE PLAY THAN WORK

TRANSLATE your child's own language of sounds and movements into A WORD

DON'T RUSH YOUR CHILD TO WORDS; communicating with sounds come first

REDUCE YOUR QUESTIONS; show your child what to say instead

ACCEPT ANY PRONUNCIATIONS AT FIRST, he won't talk like an adult until he practices a lot

BECOME MORE OF A PLAY PARTNER THAN A TEACHER; your child will stay and learn more

BE A LIVING DICTIONARY; put words on your child's experiences as they happen



---Dr. Jim MacDonald
a professor of Speech and Language pathology and Developmental disabilities at the Ohio State University