How to help you child’s speech development
November 2024
Lots of conversation and talking at home.
This can involve asking about what your child is thinking, what you are doing, or singing, playing games, actively listening when they tell stories, and making good eye contact. As well as tell stories and nursery rhymes.
Getting children off devices.
Screen time (TV, computers, phones, tablets, etc) can get in the way of their progress, so finding ways to minimise your child’s time with screens, and maximise their time talking with you and others, will make a big difference.
Reading books.
Read books to your children whenever the opportunity arises. Board books, picture books, again, and again. Whatever stories you enjoy together. A child who is read to can hear over a million* more words by the age of 5 than one who is not.
Remodeling is more useful than correcting as it places what the child is saying above how they are saying it.
The aim of remodeling is that the child hears the correct pronunciation of the word 3-5 times within the interaction. The child is not expected to try to say it again.
Remodeling has two steps:
1. First repeat what they said using the correct pronunciation of the word.
2. Then use the word again 2-4 more times in different ways but maintaining the topic of the conversation.
Child: “there’s a bish!”
Adult: “there is a fish!” “that fish is nemo” “this fish is called Dory” “the fish are swimming in the water.”
The best remodeling is when:
- The word is emphasized or stressed
- The adult uses sentences of a similar length to the child’s
- The adult is face to face with the child at their level
- The adult uses specific (naming the sound) praise if the child repeats the word correctly. Eg. “that was a good ‘k’ in ‘king’.”
There are lots of opportunities for children to hear sounds throughout the whole day; modeling can happen at home, at the playground, in the car; anywhere! You don’t have to make time to focus on it and it doesn’t take a lot of effort.
Be positive about all attempts at talking. Listen to what they say not how they say it.
Get down to the child’s level. Sit, squat or lie down; being face to face is important for communication.
Try to respond immediately, or as soon as you can. Try to avoid letting the child feel ignored as over time they may give up trying. Attentive listening helps a child feel secure.
Try not to show your distress or confusion when you cannot understand. Sometimes we are unaware of what we give away by the look on our face.
Shift the blame off the child; onto the situation or onto yourself to make sure the child doesn’t feel pressured. E.g. “sorry, it’s so noisy in here / oops Mum didn’t have her listening ears on – can you tell me again?’ Ask for 1 or 2 repetitions at the most.
Repeat back the parts you did understand
If you understand part of what was said, repeat it back to the child and make your voice go up at the end (like a question) so he/she can finish off the part you didn’t understand. You can break up long stories into parts like this too.
E.g. Child: “I want to go ****?”
Adult: “You want to go ….?’
Child: “to Grandma’s.”
Choice Questions
E.g. “Do you want an apple or an orange?”
Describing or Showing
Get the child to take you to the thing they are talking about. Ask them to use gestures to help you understand or try to describe it.
E.g. “Come and show me”, “What does it look like?”, “Where is it?”
Acknowledgement
If none of the above strategies work, you can say to the child “Sorry I didn’t understand. Can we come back to it again later?” This tells them that they have been heard and gives you an opportunity to either realise what has been said or for a fresh try later.
Avoid:
- Saying things like “you can say it properly”, “don’t be silly” or “you’re a big boy/girl.” Remember children are not being lazy: they are doing their best.
- Focusing more on how they say things rather than what they are saying.
- Telling him/her to “say this” or “say it again”. The best strategy you can use is to repeat the whole sentence back to them as part of the conversation.
- Talking for the child with others; they need to practice! Instead act as an interpreter. This means to let your child talk first and then clarify what he/she has said to the other person if they need to.
