Simplifying Caregiver Speech

In early intervention we teach various language strategies to help caregivers teach their children communication skills when the therapists aren't there. One of the best things you can do is sit down with your child for 10 to 15 minutes a day and focus solely on your child. It will be difficult at first, but parents should learn to speak in a way that models the level at which the childs goals are. For example, maybe your child is at the single word level or moving up to two words. The caregiver should focus on changing large sentences or following them up with 1/2/3 word phrases. For example, “Give me that ball over there” changes to “Give ball,” or maybe even just a gesture such as pointing to your palm coupled with “ball.”

Your speech should also be child-focused, pretend that you are inside your child’s head narrating their actions. We don’t want to stress out your child by creating too many demands or talking about objects that they are not paying attention to at that current moment. The best way to get a child talking is by talking about their favorite things and while they are having fun with their favorite person! You!

Eliciting play sounds in toddlers

One of the best things we can do to get toddlers little speech motor moving is to use non-word sounds paired with play and motor actions. Teach Me to Talk has a wonderful list of sounds and strategies to use!

“Try these Play Sounds

Pant like a dog
Gasp
Squeal or scream
Grunt with effort
Yawn
Fake cough
Fake sneeze
Car/Truck noises
Siren noise
Fake laugh
Fake cry
Whine
Snore
Slurp with drinking
Exhale after drink
Shiver
“Sh!” for quiet
Growl
Say “ah” or another vowel sound in an empty bucket, paper towel or toilet paper roll, or in a funnel

Animal sounds and other play sounds like car and truck noises such as “beep beep” and “vroom” are powerful play sounds that toddlers love.

Exclamatory Words are Play Sounds Too!

Other kinds of “play sounds” include exclamatory words such as:

Mmm, mmm, mmm (when eating and the food is good!)
Yay
Uh oh
Whee
Wow
Woo hoo
Pow

My lists could go on and on and on… : )

Most of all, these kinds of sounds are so much FUN for everyone! I’ve found that dads and siblings naturally gravitate toward these sounds and are fabulous models for our little friends. Coach families to include these sounds not only at playtime but throughout the day. Here are some examples:

When a toddler sees a dog outside, on a commercial, or while reading a book, model panting.

When you see someone sleeping, modeling yawning, snoring, and saying, “Sh!”

As a toddler plays in the kitchen while mom is cooking dinner, get out the dishes, pots, and pans and excitedly say, “Boom! Boom!” as you bang a spoon on the bottom of the bowl or “Swish! Swish!” as you pretend to stir.”

Introducing Sign Language to Children with Communication Disorders

Signing is a great way to help with functional communication and can drastically reduce frustration that comes with trouble communicating. Research shows that sign language is actually a great way to get your child speaking faster! Check out this post from Playing with Words to learn all you need to know about choosing what signs to start with. I like to use, “more, eat, ball, car, mommy, daddy”.

You can use Baby Sign Language’s flash cards, make up your own easy to use signs, or look up American Sign Language words to use.

Check out The Bump for neat graphics as well!

Oral Motor Development for Feeding and Swallowing

Here is an excerpt from a wonderful website, Amy’s Speech Language Therapy. Please click the link to see the progression laid fully. https://www.amyspeechlanguagetherapy.com/oral-motor.html

“Oral - motor functioning is the area of assessment which looks at normal and abnormal patterns of the lips, tongue, jaw, cheeks, hard palate and soft palate for eating, drinking, facial expression and speech to determine which functional skills a client has to build on, and which abnormal patterns need to be inhibited or for which compensation is needed.  Structure (lip, tongue, jaw, cheek) affects oral motor control. Recognition of the patterns is essential to adequately attain baseline the individual's current skills, so that an appropriate plan of intervention can be developed. That plan will include mealtime interventions (positioning, handling techniques, adaptive equipment, etc.), as well as oral motor interventions to enhance control of the lips, cheeks, jaw and tongue.

Oral-motor patterns must be directly observed. It's extremely important to do a thorough oral - peripheral examination on clients of all ages.  The individual presents many different patterns at once with varying degrees of severity and skill, making identification of baseline oral motor skills challenging for the therapist. Different patterns may be observed with different food types and in response to different types of stimuli. For example, a client may show good control and normal patterns with denser pureed foods, but then have great difficulty controlling fluids, showing abnormal patterns such as jaw and tongue retraction, and incoordination of suck/swallow/breathing, resulting in coughing and neck hyperextension. Be certain to assess oral-motor patterns by presenting a variety of food densities, such as thick liquids, thin liquids, semi-solids, crunchy and chewy solids (may be wrapped in thin fabric for safety) and observing the oral-motor patterns seen with each item.”

Consonant-Vowel Word Lists

This word list from Bjorem Speech is not just for apraxia! It is perfect to print out, and hang on the fridge for those little ones who are having a tough time getting their motor going.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/My-Favorite-Early-Apraxia-Targets-4441895

Common First Words

Go to My Toddler Talks to download your very own word list! This is a great way to show your child’s progress, and find words to work on. It is evidence-based so it’s my fav!

Speech Sound Development Chart

This chart from Boise Chatter Box is great! You can check out the chart so you know what sounds your child should be able to produce, and what is appropriate to work on.

https://www.boisechatterbox.com/blog/speech-sound-development-chart

What is Occupational Therapy?

We frequently work side by side with other professionals. Here is a wonderful handout discussing Occupational Therapists and what services they can provide.

https://www.handyhandouts.com/pdf/119_Learning_Through_Play.pdf