Kelli Meyer M.Ed, CCC-SLP Certified & Licensed Pediatric Speech Language Pathologist

Hi team & welcome back to The Speech Scoop! "Helping YOU Be the Therapist!"
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// 7 TIPS FOR SPEECH AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT BY A PEDIATRIC SPEECH THERAPIST:

Original post https://www.instagram.com/p/Cmtv3eMOK...

Why? Think about when you're on a long call/meeting or listening to a lecture.... you start to tune out. Your attention fades. It's only when there's a pause, lull, or a change in vocal intonation that you start paying attention again. The same goes for your child. Too many words can be overwhelming and they tune it out like background noise. Keeping language learning opportunities short, sweet and meaningful is a much more effective strategy for helping their communication skills develop.

Here are 7 EASY tips that you can do at home to improve your child's attention, receptive and expressive language skills and help them become functional communicators.

#1. Sing! Use simple, repetitive songs throughout your day (or verbal routines) and allow your child an opportunity to "fill in the blank" by providing a word! (Ready, set, _. or "skinnymarinky dinky dink, skinnymarinky doo, I love _.)

#2. Model one more word than your child is currently saying. For example, if your child is currently using under 50 words, use 1 word that is meaningful for your child (JUICE! UP! MAMA! GO! HELP!, etc). If you child has 50-200 words, model 2 word combinations (GO MAMA! BUNNY IN! BALL STUCK! HELP ME! MORE JUICE!) and if you child has 200+ words, model simple 3 word sentences combining familiar or already acquired words, (HELP ME MAMA, BALL GO UP! WHERE'D IT GO?)

#3. Choose a functional word and use it all day every day. (i.e. HELP, STUCK, GO, UP, DOWN, EAT, OPEN! etc - actions/verbs) Think of any way you can use it throughout your day! Model the word with the action every time (i.e. every time you take a piece of clothing out of the dryer, make a grunting sound and say "STUCK!" or "PULL!" repeat 10 times and then do the action without saying the word, and look to your child to see if they will fill in the blank.

#5. Use and over-exaggerate onomatopoeias as much as possible throughout the day. Onomatopoeias are super fun words that kids love to say and are vowel heavy, meaning that they are easier to produce! (i.e. UH OH! WEEE! YAY! AHH!) Fake sneeze something off of your head AH CHOO! and see if you child will imitate you! https://tinyurl.com/3dn45vks

#6. Make silly faces in the mirror and see if your child is able to imitate your oral motor movements. By practicing in front of the mirror, your child can visually see how their mouth is moving. Help them move their mouth/jaw in the correct positions if needed (lip pucker, big stretchy smile, frown, etc). If your child is not able to imitate,try fine motor such as clapping, high fives, wave and blowing kisses, or even gross motor running, jumping, falling down (ring around the rosey, etc). https://tinyurl.com/mr34rdta

#7. Read a book together and emphasize the actions & other important words/sounds. Let your child control the speed of the book and help by turning the pages. If your child is a quick "book reader" then stick with 1-2 important words per page and make them fun and exaggerative, even act it out if you can to draw the correlation between the action and the word. https://tinyurl.com/3x9ehsv7

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Recap:
1) Quality over Quantity.
Use FEWER but more functional words to communicate.

2) Keep language learning intentional and fun by keeping their attention and making activities short and sweet. Don't forget to use HIGH AFFECT (facial expressions), alternate vocal intonation and vocal volume.

3) Focus on teaching FUNCTIONAL words vs. labeling, nouns, colors. IF your child is STUCK in their car seat one day, they will need to say (HELP! STUCK! OUT!). Can your child say NO! MINE! STOP! when someone takes their toy? Model and teach them the words if not! https://tinyurl.com/4uv5u332

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