My Top 5 Language Strategies!

There are SO many ways to target language throughout the day but these are a few of the strategies I use the most!

1. Narrate-The easiest is simply narrate your day to your child. It may feel odd at first-seemingly talking to yourself all day long while the child isn’t imitating or responding, but it works! They take in the receptive language first so you may see they start understanding more directions, identifying more objects in their environment or imitating new actions and gestures!

2. The Rule of 3-No one wants to see their child frustrated and while we might think that waiting them out will work, it doesn’t! The child will win every time, especially if the child isn’t READY to speak yet. But anyway back to the rule of 3!

a. In this example the child wants a cookie-who wouldn’t?! I model “Cookie!” Then I WAIT for a response. I model “Cookie” again and WAIT! I model a third time, and wait for it….I WAIT! Then I give the child the cookie. I acknowledge their attempts and reinforce, “YES! You want a cookie!” I make sure to always repeat the word correctly after their attempt to reinforce their production.

b. What is most important with this strategy is meeting the child where they are at! Kiddos do not need to communicate using words to tell us what they want! To start the child may simply LOOK at the item they want, the child may reach for it or use a sign, the child may vocalize with grunts, the child may vocalize with consonant and vowel sounds or a word approximation. Choose your goal and then decide what you will accept! In case this is not a given, once the child gives you the accepted response, you would stop~it does not necessarily need to be modeled 3x! If working on signs, you could also do hand over hand so the child signs.

c. The second most important part of this strategy is if the child is getting frustrated, adjust your expectations! You may need to model only 1x or decrease the wait time in between.

3. The Fill-in Model- This also goes along with waiting which is, in general, a great strategy to work on at home. How many times do you say “Ready, set go!” throughout the day? Maybe it’s just me, after all- I am a mom of 2 boys who love cars, racing and going fast! Use this as an opportunity to work on language! (Silly boys in picture above). Ready, Set…(WAIT!). Allow the child to gesture, vocalize, say a word, etc. Remember meet the child where they are at! This strategy also works well with silly games like “peek-a-(WAIT!)-Boo! Or “AHHHHH----(WAIT!) Boom!” I’m not always looking for the word! Sometimes I’m looking for eye contact to demonstrate they are attending. Other times a gesture or sign!

a. Examples of how to target this strategy: stop & go with running, swinging (before you push the child), ball ramps, car ramps, scarves. The opportunities are endless!

4. Imitate the child-I bet you're wondering, don't we want the child to imitate US?! Yes of course! This technique teaches the beginning stage of imitation. It looks like this-child claps, you clap, child claps again! Child is so proud of themselves and claps again. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. It works with gestures, sounds, signs, anything!

5. Give Choices-Choices are so powerful in many different ways. Besides language development, giving choices can be helpful in managing behaviors. Giving toddlers a sense of control reduces the power struggle with parents. Start with a choice of 2. If the child has trouble, use a preferred item (something they like!) and a non preferred item (something they don’t like). Making choices does not have to be verbal! A child can look at the item, reach for the item, reach and vocalize, imitate a word or use a word independently. It’s best to have the items present when giving choices.

a. Examples of how to incorporate: choosing clothes, choosing snacks, choosing a cup/bowl/plate/etc, choosing a toy and allowing child to choose what to do first then next (ex. Do you want to put on pajamas first or brush teeth?).