Watch & Narrate
Watch your child closely as you play. Look at what they look at, do what they do, and observe. Even simple things, like being close to a toy that is interesting to them is communicating a message to us. Narrate what you see out loud for your child. Model language that is at their skill level. You might hear it come out when they’re playing by themselves at first, and that’s ok. The more practice you get with reading your child’s cues and intentions, the easier helping your child form expressive language will be.
Create a language routine
Model single words that are fun, invite engagement, are based on what your child is wanting to do, and are predictable. You can model a language routine based on something that you are doing or what your child is doing. Being at your child’s eye level for this is best, and it’s sometimes an even stronger tool if you are doing exactly what your child is doing (i.e. have the same toy, doing the same actions).
For example: Your child is pushing a truck and crashing it over and over. The next time your child picks up the truck, you say “Truck”. Your child puts the truck on the floor and you say “Let’s go!” Your child pushes the truck and crashes it, you say “Boom!” The child smiles and you say “Funny”. Your child picks up the truck again, and you say “Again!” You repeat those same 4-5 words just the same every time.
Create a pause of anticipation
This is particularly effective after modeling a language routine several times, or during a daily routine where the language is very familiar to the child. At a moment when you have your child’s total investment and engagement in what you are doing, pause and wait. Look at your child expectantly and kindly. Wait a little longer. Your child may make a noise or try to point. If this is a new word or sound you want your child to imitate, model it at this point. If it’s a word that’s been coming in and you want to practice more, imitate your child’s pointing and say “oh!”, then wait a little longer. Pausing gives them an “in” to the conversation and lets them make the connection to the word they want to use in a very meaningful way!
Create a temptation
Create moments that tempt your child to communicate. You both could be having a blast during a tickling game, and you decide to pause with your fingers ready, waiting for your child to express that they want more. You could create moments where a ball bounces out of reach, blocks get stuck under the couch, or a door closes they wanted open. This is not meant to be frustrating for your child, but rather a (hopefully) enjoyable opportunity, so be sure they are in a good place emotionally before challenging them. If you want to push a little further, you could pretend to have difficulty fixing the problem yourself, which places longer demands on the situation and may encourage different ways of communicating.
You can check out an example of a few of these tactics here!
A potential progression towards using words:
- I use objects to communicate (i.e. I give you a ball when I want to play catch with you)
- I use pictures to communicate (i.e. I show you the picture of a cookie on an empty box to ask for more; I point to a picture of a dog then a real dog I see outside)
- I start babbling more paired with gestures or sign language
- I start using single words or babbling with words mixed in
These are a few things you can do in helping your child form expressive language, but if you ever need more help, do not hesitate to contact us!