As many of you know, my family and I are expecting baby number three in just a few short weeks. As I take some time off from work and blogging to spend time with my family both before and after my new son’s birth, I am thrilled to share with you some amazing posts written by some very talented bloggers. So please sit back, relax and enjoy this guest post and leave a comment letting us know what you think! Today fellow SLP Jenna from Speech Room News is here to share her ideas on building receptive language skills at home.Â
Language is often separated into two parts. Expressive language is what your child can say and express verbally. Receptive language is what your child can understand. While expressive language is sometimes to easiest to identify as delayed, delays in receptive language can have a significant impact on a child’s ability to function at home and in preschool. Children with receptive language delays struggle with skills such as understanding directions, understanding stories read to him/her, identifying vocabulary items and answering questions.

Skill: Following Directions
Activity: Have your child set the dinner table each night. Start by giving your child one step directions with you demonstrating the task first. “Put the plates on the table.” Once your child can do one step directions with a model, remove the model and just give verbal directions. Don’t be afraid to be silly! Directions such as ” Put one napkin on your head.” will help you tell if your child is really understanding. Increase the complexity by adding two and three step directions. “Get the spoons and forks and set them in the basket.” To support your child when multiple step directions are given, match each step with one of your fingers. ‘First get the spoons and forks (showing 1 finger); Second put them in the basket (showing 2nd finger). Repeating the directions and showing visual cues like this will support your child’s ability. You can them remove those supports as your child becomes successful.
Skill:Â Identifying Vocabulary

Skill:Â Sequencing

Skill:Â Answering Questions

Skill:Â Basic Concepts.

Jenna Rayburn, MA, CCC/SLP is a Speech Language Pathologist from central Ohio. She works with children ages 2-12 through several clinics and the schools. Jenna writes the blog SpeechRoomNews where she shares easy ideas to make speech therapy fun!Â
[…] Language is often separated into two parts. Expressive language is what your child can say and express verbally. Receptive language is what your child can understand. While expressive language is sometimes to easiest to identify as delayed, delays in receptive language can have a significant impact on a child’s ability to function at home and in preschool. Children with receptive language delays struggle with skills such as understanding directions, understanding stories read to him/her, identifying vocabulary items and answering questions. Today I want to share with you some quick and easy ways to support your child’s receptive language at home. It’s quite easy once you think about a specific skill. The key is to pick one skill and have intention to target it throughout your day. Head on over to Katie’s blog to check out the rest of the content! […]