Welcome! If you are here, chances are you are looking for some ways to help your child speak and communicate! Great news…you’ve stumbled across the right page! Below you will find links to many posts here on this blog that are intended to help you help your littles expand their speech, language and communication skills. And don’t worry…I have many more posts in the works coming up soon as well. If there is something you are looking for that is not here, please be sure to shoot me an email: katie@playingwithwords365.com. Chances are the topic is on my “to-do list” but I am ALWAYS looking for more ideas and input from my readers!
Pre Reading Assignment
First, be sure to read this post to determine what type of communicator is your child:Â
What Type of Communicator is YOUR Child? (terms used by permission by the Hanen Centre)
Next, read the following posts for a strong understanding of speech, language and communication. Understanding these terms is vital is being able to best help your child!
What is The Difference Between Speech & Language?
The Importance of Play for Speech & Language Development
Then, check out this overview of tips:
5 Tips to Help Your Child’s Speech and Language Development
Specific Strategies to Help your Child Talk
Welcome to my How to Help Your Child Talk series. These posts are intended to give you simple tips to help you work with your child so YOU can be your child’s best “speech therapist.†You may want to try out a new tip/strategy for a week or so and then when you feel like you’ve “got it† and it comes more naturally, move on to a new tip and incorporate that into your day for another week or two. Remember: This blog and it’s content, including this series, is for educational purposes but is NOT intended to be a replacement for interventions from a licensed speech-language pathologist. If you are concerned with your child’s speech and language development, I urge you to find a speech-pathologist in your area. Please read my full disclosure page for more information.Â
How to Help Your Child Talk: Slow Down and Be Present
How to Help Your Child Talk: Get Down at His/Her Level and Make Eye Contact
How to Help your Child: Listen with Your Eyes
How to Help Your Child Talk: Follow Your Child’s Lead
How to Help Your Child Talk: Becoming an Interpreter
How to Help Your Child Talk: Responding Meaningfully to Your Child
How to Help Your Child Talk: Becoming a Narrator
How to Help Your Child Talk: Expanding His Words
How to Help Your Child Talk: Providing Opportunities for Communication in Daily Activities
How to help your Child Talk: Providing Opportunities for Communication in Play
Questions: Why Less in More {Part One}
Questions: Why Less is More {Part Two}
Setting up the Environment for Communication
Parallel , Self Talk, and Descriptions
Expansions, Extensions, and Repetitions
Commenting and Asking Questions
Modeling and Requiring Language and PRAISE!
Strategies to Work on Listening and Following Directions (Receptive Language)
Five Playful Ways to Work on Listening and Following Directions
Tips on Expanding Speech & Language in Specific Activities
Top 10 Summer Activities to Encourage Your Toddler’s Speech Development {A Summer Challenge}
Expanding Speech and Language During Crafts
Expanding Speech and Language at the Park
Expanding Speech and Language While Building Forts
Kid’s Activities to Help Expand Speech/Language Skills
Owl Finger Puppet Tutorial and Finger play
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything ActivitiesÂ
Where is Cupid? A Prepositional Game
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Chick Activities
How to Use Specific Products/Toys to Expand Speech & Language Skills
Expanding Speech and Language with Toys (Part One)
Expanding Speech and Language with Toys (Part Two)
Expanding Speech and Language with Toys (Part Three)
Expanding Speech and Language with Toys (Part Four)
Other GREAT Resources
A FANTASTIC site that I highly recommend checking out if you have a little one (especially ages 1-3) who is not talking/talking very little, is Little Stories. Kim is a fellow speech pathologist who provides some really great information for parents of young children with speech and language delays.
Another great site for parents of children with speech and language delays is Teach Me To Talk. Another site by a fellow speech pathologist, she provides a ton of information including pod casts on speech and language tips.