A child’s brain grows at its fastest rate between birth and the age of three years old. This is an opportune time to capitalize on development, and the reason early intervention programs are so impactful to those served.
When discussing the development of speech and language, it is important to note that “speech” refers to the production of vocal sounds that compose words, “receptive language” refers to the comprehension of the meaning that words convey, and “expressive language” (what we most commonly think of as “talking”) refers to the use of speech within context to communicate ideas and needs.
Providing the foundation for building communication is required before speech and language develop. A child learns the reciprocal relationship between themselves and their environment through life experiences. In other words, a child builds connections between their actions and the environment’s response, and vice versa. These learned experiences then prepare them to engage in more advanced communication. We can nurture these experiences by reinforcing their connections with others.
Prelinguistic Skill Development
Early on, a child makes eye contact to gain information and attain basic wants and needs. They extend their attention to others, and in turn, gain more information. Helping a child remain connected (i.e., extended attention with others) can be foundational for building additional pre-linguistic skills, including imitation and joint attention.
In the early months, a child may copy the facial expressions of their parents, such as smiling. Eventually, their imitation extends to copying sounds and gestures like waving, pointing, and clapping. The imitation of everyday actions typically prequels the imitation of speech. Teaching a child to take turns in actions and social exchanges paves the road to conversation, which is the back-and-forth, or turn-taking nature of talking. When we first prioritize supporting a child in their pre-linguistic foundational development, it can provide future success for the child’s interactions.
The pre-linguistic skill of joint attention is established when a child initiates or follows an eye gaze, pointing, or a vocalization to intentionally bring focus to an object or action in a shared moment. When we set up opportunities for this to occur, we extend their attention beyond the interest of the item to connect with others, and as a result, provide an ideal time to present vocabulary for language development. An example of this is when a child attempts to draw someone else in, such as looking at Daddy when they see a dog to see if the dad sees what the child is viewing. This creates a shared experience, and as a result, the child gains more information. In this example, Dad may then name what he sees or the action of the dog and in turn the child applies that information to their lexicon. After a series of times hearing words in contexts, meaning is attached to the words, thus building receptive language. The child gains the idea that listening and attending to others is important. It should also be noted that joint attention may look differently in different instances. It can apply to additional shared sensory experiences such as hearing, tasting, smelling, etc. As the child learns from listening and attending to language, they are then able to expand their connections in communication. Supporting them in listening and attending is vital to assisting in their pre-linguistic development.
Strategies To Inspire Talking
Once the foundational pre-linguistic skills are developed, there are a number of evidence-based strategies we can employ that may help support a child learning to talk.
There is power in connecting with others in a moment. When you have the opportunity to connect with a child, get on their eye level to help them feel you are truly present. Follow their lead and use words for the things they are naturally interested in.
In place of asking a series of questions to stimulate language (e.g., What color is this?; What’s that called?; What’s this?), alternate asking occasional questions with providing the words that you would expect a child to say in the moment if they were talking. Whether it be for objects or pictures, intentionally name items in the moment of a child’s interest. This stimulates analytical language learning processing. When a child points to desired items or to things they see in their environment, name the item, pause, then name it again before expanding the phrase. You may also say a familiar phrase and leave the intended word off to help stimulate a verbal response (e.g., Ready, set,…. “Go!”). This is a positive, effective method to develop a child’s language.
When a child is beginning to use phrases to communicate, model the phrase you want to help them learn in the appropriate moment, keeping the interaction unpressured and fun. Sometimes we see phrases develop first in gestalt language processing, as opposed to single words, which typically develop first in analytic language processing. Both are means of learning to use expressive language.
Use pause time after modeling a word or phrase to provide the child with the opportunity for turn taking as they develop the confidence to imitate verbally. Vary your vocal pitch and stretch out the words you model to help keep talking interesting and fun. Present opportunities in everyday routines as unrushed and unpressured, allowing space for both neural and relational connections to grow.
Below is a list of evidence-based strategies for developing expressive language:
1. Follow your child’s lead/interest.
2. Be responsive.
3. Model words and phrases.
4. Use pause time to allow processing for responses.
5. Balance turn taking with talking.
6. Use carrier phrases or fill in the blank statements (e.g., I see a ___.; I hear ___.; One fish, two ____.; etc.)
Purposeful vocalizations, words, and phrases develop once a child learns that their speech can be powerful in their environment. By implementing these strategies into a child’s natural routines, we can assist them in discovering this communicative power within themselves.
By Joanna Wiebe, M.S., CCC-SLP
