What is Speech Intelligibility?
Speech intelligibility is how understandable your child’s speech and language are both for familiar and unfamiliar partners. Familiar partners, such as parents or siblings, often have a higher level of understanding for the child than less familiar or unfamiliar partners. Speech intelligibility is impacted by the development of individual speech sounds, how your child combines sounds, and your child’s expressive language skills.
Speech Intelligibility
Expectation for children starting at 19 months – 25-50% understandable
What if I Don’t Understand?
Get down on your child’s level to show you are listening. Say “hmmm”, smile, or say “I hear you” to create a calm moment where you can work together.
Imitate what you heard the child say or what you think they are trying to say in single words. Encourage your child to try to show you what they mean through pointing or guiding.
Show your child your best guesses through pointing or actively and calmly looking for clues around you. Ask “yes” or “no” questions to your child to try to get more information.
Whether you can get to the bottom of what your child is trying to tell you or not, your child will respond to your active listening and demeanor. They are less likely to get frustrated if they feel seen and heard and will benefit from all the language you are modeling for them in the process.
Praise all along the way! Praise for the effort they make in trying to communicate with you, regardless of the result. Your child may feel these moments are less difficult and less frustrating when they feel they are successful. We can show them they have been successful by just sitting in those moments with you and trying to sort it out, even if we don’t ultimately find the word they were looking for.
Imitation Strategies
- Draw attention to your face
- Get down on their level
- Create a predictable routine
- Pause & create space
Speech Sound Development
Common speech sounds
Early speech sounds are often those that are more visible, such as “p”, “b”, “m”, or “w”.
Play sounds
It’s also wonderful (and important) when your child can use playful sounds, such as blowing raspberries, making animal or vehicle sounds, or just generally playing around with their sounds and voices. This allows for exploration, expanded imitation, and emerging awareness and control over sounds and how they are made.
Contact us if you have any concerns about your child’s speech sounds, development, or intelligibility!