How can I help my child’s language development at home?

What is language? AA socially shared code to express thoughts and concepts. (ASHA.org)

Componenets of Language  Semantics – “What does a word mean?”

Components of Language  Morphology – “How to make a new word”.  “Happy”  “Unhappy”  “Unhappiest”  “Happiness”

Components of Language  Syntax – “How do we put words together to convey meaning”  We will discuss violence on TV.

Components of Language  Pragmatics – “What word combinations do we use in certain social situations.”  ‘Excuse me.’ vs. ‘Get out of my way!’

What is Speech? (ASHA.org)  The verbal means of communicating. Speech includes:  Articulation – How speech sounds are made, and the rules that govern how they are combined (phonology).  Voice – The use of the vocal folds and breathing to produce sound.  Fluency – The rhythm of speech (hesitations or stuttering can negatively affect fluency).

Language Development Birth through Three: (Owens, 1996) CChildren’s first words are used to fulfill specific intentions. They can be used for: LabellingRepeating AnsweringRequesting (action or answer) CallingGreeting Protesting (NO!)Practicing

A Representative List of Early Words: JJuiceMamaAll Gone CCookieDadaMore BBabyDoggieNo BBye-ByeKittyUp HHiDirtyGo CCarHotDo WWaterShoeMilk EEyeNoseHat

6 Months  Vocalization with intonation  Responds to his name  Responds to human voices without visual cues by turning his head and eyes  Responds appropriately to friendly and angry tones

12 Months  Uses one or more words with meaning (this may be a fragment of a word)  Understands simple instructions, especially if vocal or physical cues are given  Practices inflection  Is aware of the social value of speech

18 Months  Has vocabulary of approximately 5-20 words  Vocabulary made up chiefly of nouns  Some echolalia (repeating a word or phrase over and over)  Much jargon with emotional content  Is able to follow simple commands

24 Months  Can name a number of objects common to his surroundings  Is able to use at least two prepositions, usually chosen from the following: in, on, under  Combines words into a short sentence-largely noun-verb combinations (mean) length of sentences is given as 1.2 words  Vocabulary of approximately words  Volume and pitch of voice not yet well-controlled  Can use two pronouns correctly: I, me, you, although me and I are often confused  My and mine are beginning to emerge  Responds to such commands as "show me your eyes (nose, mouth, hair)"

36 Months  Use pronouns I, you, me correctly  Is using some plurals and past tenses  Knows at least three prepositions, usually in, on, under  Knows chief parts of body and should be able to indicate these if not name  Handles three word sentences easily  Has in the neighborhood of words  Verbs begin to predominate  Understands most simple questions dealing with his environment and activities  Relates his experiences so that they can be followed with reason  Able to reason out such questions as "what must you do when you are sleepy, hungry, cool, or thirsty?“

Changing Meaning by Changing Whole of Parts of Words (Some Early Morphemes): ‘‘-ing’ endings: 19 – 28 months ‘‘In’ – 27 – 30 months ‘‘On’ – 27 – 30 months PPlural ‘s’ – 27 – 33 months IIrregular past tense (i.e. ‘brought’) – 25 – 46 months. PPossessive “ ‘s “ :26 – 40 months ‘‘is’ – 27 – 39 months ‘‘a’, ‘the’ – 28 – 46 months  Past tense ‘ed’:26 – 48 months

Developmental Sequence of Some Basic Concept Words: ‘‘In’ and ‘On’ :24 months ‘‘Under’36 months ‘‘Next to’40 months ‘‘Behind’, ‘In back/front’, beginning to use ‘above’, ‘below’, and using kinship words. AApprox. 48 months ‘‘Before’ and ‘After’60 months

Development of Pronouns: (Owens, 1996) II, it:12 – 26 months MMy, me, mine, you27 – 30 months YYour(s), she, he, we31 – 34 months TThey, us, her(s), his, them35 – 40 months IIts, our, him, myself, yourself, ours, their(s) 441 – 46 months HHerself, himself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves:47 + months

48 Months  Knows names of familiar animals  Can use at least four prepositions or can demonstrate his understanding of their meaning when given commands  Names common objects in picture books or magazines  Knows one or more colors  Can repeat 4 digits when they are given slowly  Can usually repeat words of four syllables  Demonstrates understanding of over and under  Has most vowels and diphthongs and the consonants p, b, m, w, n well established  Extensive verbalization as he carries out activities  Understands such concepts as longer, larger, when a contrast is presented  Readily follows simple commands even thought the stimulus objects are not in sight  Much repetition of words, phrases, syllables, and even sounds

60 Months  Can use many descriptive words spontaneously-both adjectives and adverbs  Knows common opposites: big-little, hard-soft, heave-light, etc  Has number concepts of 4 or more  Can count to ten  Should be able to repeat sentences as long as nine words  Should be able to define common objects in terms of use (hat, shoe, chair)  Should be able to follow three commands given without interruptions  Should have simple time concepts: morning, afternoon, night, day, later, after, while, tomorrow, yesterday, today  Should be using fairly long sentences and should use some compound and some complex sentences  Speech on the whole should be grammatically correct

Tips for Parents on Learning at Home Source: Schrader, Margaret. Communication Skill Builders  Talk to your child - even if your child does not seem to understand at first. Talk often about what you are doing or what you see around you.  Give you child time to respond.  Eye level – Get down to your child’s eye level and look at your child as you are listening. Show your child that you are sincere.

Tips for Parents on Learning at Home  Observe your child’s attempts to communicate. Appreciate any attempt to communicate as a step towards language development.

Activities for Language Development from Richman, Linda G. Communication Skill Builders  Walk and Talk –  Walk and Talk – Take an ‘eye spy’ walk around your town. Talk to your child and ask about what’s going on (dogs running, children playing baseball, construction, shopping, etc.) As you talk your child will learn words for different experiences.

 Play Follow the Leader –  Play Follow the Leader – as the leader, you can model actions along with language;  “I am jumping!”  “I am clapping!”  “I am marching!”

 Food Talk –  Food Talk – Eating and meal preparation are language-rich moments:  Have your child tell you what’s needed for lunch. Model words he/she doesn’t know.  Have your child explain the steps for making a sandwich.  Have your child help you write a grocery list. Have him/her name the things in the flyer.

Create Shared Experiences (Manolson, 1992)  Recognize your child’s interests and try to add a new element.  Engage in a “high interest” activity – ball, wind up toy, balloons, bubbles.  Acknowledge subtle attempts to communicate.  Scripted play – help your child anticipate what will happen next and then wait for a response.

Daily Routines – Language and Experience (Manolson, 1992)  Waking up  Brushing teeth  Getting dressed  Picking up toys  Taking a bath  Getting ready for bed  Putting away groceries  Raking leaves  Washing car  Making beds  Getting into the car

Add Information:

Add Information: (Manolson, 1992)  When your child shows interest  When something out of the ordinary happens:  When things go wrong:  Why, What, How to make the experience better.

Adding Information (Manolson, 1992)  Imitate your child and add a word:  Interpret – Provide the adult model of what your child meant to say.  Expand on your child’s utterance

Ways to Help Your Child Understand: (Manolson, 1992)  Use gestures  Show the object you’re talking about  Name and label people and things  Talk in simple sentences  Vary your pitch and tone  Repeat

Thank you for coming!!

References:  Manolson, Ayala. (1992). It takes two to talk: A parent’s guide to helping children communicate. Toronto: Hanen Centre Publication.  Owens, Jr., Robert E. (1996). Language development: An introduction: fourth edition. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.  ent/ ent/