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MRS POP-INSFAMILY COACH

1. Communication - What is it all about? 2. Talking. What skills do we need?3. Communication, it’s all about sending messages…4. Listening & attention skills 5. Learning to talk6. Developing Speech Sounds7. Play development8. Helping children to develop language skills

Communication -What is it all about? 1MRSPOP-INSFAMILYCOACH• Screaming • Crying • Whining • Tantrum • Slence • Looking• Gesture • Tone Of Voice • Signing • Photos, Pictures Or Symbols • Speech • Pulling/Pushing • Ringing An Object • Pointing 1A ‘way’ of communicating Communication is anything that your child does to show you what they want, need or are interested in.At an early stage, communication will be a response to something that is happening.Later, children develop the ability to actively involve an adult: Ultimately, we hope that children will learn to use a form of ‘language’ to send their message: To communicate successfully, a child needs to have all 3 of the following:

• To get attention • To ask for information• To show what they want or need • To show or tell you something • To protest • To make choices • To show feelings • To get help• To socialise • Someone to communicate with; your child can’t do it alone! • To be in the same place at the same time • A shared ‘language’. (verbal, non-verbal, signing, symbols, speech, dialect, language)• A shared interest or something to talk aboutWithout a ‘way’ we cannot express YourselfWithout a ‘reason’, there is no point in communicatingWithout ‘opportunities’, communication fails2A ‘reason’ to communicate3An ‘opportunity’ to communicateMoney, D. & Thurman, S. (1994) Talkabout Communication, Bulletin of the College of Speech and Lan-guage Therapists, 504, 12-13.The Speech, Language Communication Company acknowledges Kate Biss Independent Speech and Lan-guage Therapist for working in partnership to produce this information.

Talking.What skills do we need? 2MRSPOP-INSFAMILYCOACH• Type of message • We would interpret it as: • Protest • don’t like it, don’t want it’ • Request repetition of an action ‘more/again’ an item (person or object) ‘I want’ to be included ‘my turn’ for something to happen ‘and me’ ‘me too’ informaion ‘what’s this?’ • Rejectan object or person ‘don’t want’ • Want attentionto stop something ‘stop’ for communication ‘talk to me’ • Correctingwhen given the wrong thing ‘not that one’ • Informingsomething has changed ‘uh oh’ ‘it’s gone’ Why do we send messages?We send messages to infl uence and control our world and the people around us. What types of messages does your child communicate? A child can communicate their messages non-verbally, using their behaviour and body language. They may also use sounds, signs, words or short sentences. Money, D. & Thurman, S. (1994) Talkabout Communication, Bulletin of the College of Speech and Lan-guage Therapists, 504, 12-13.The Speech, Language Communication Company acknowledges Kate Biss Independent Speech and Lan-guage Therapist for working in partnership to produce this information.

pointing out someone or something ‘look! It’s a bus’ naming someone or something ‘Granny’ ownership ‘it’s mine’ linking information ‘Granny’s got cakes’ describing ‘big, sticky cakes’ imitating ‘mmmm’ greeting ‘Hi Granny’ answering ‘yes’ ‘no’ asking questions ‘can I have a pink one?’ commenting ‘It’s yummy’ • xpressing feelings and emotions ‘I like/dislike this’ physical needs e.g. pain ‘it’s sore’ How does a child communicate these messages? • At an early stage, children spontaneously react to an event (whether an adult is pres-ent or not). The adult notices the child’s reaction and interprets it, giving it some sort of meaning. We call this non-intentional communication. • Over time, a child becomes aware that when they do something, the adult responds and interacts with them. • The child then begins to direct their communication to an adult e.g. pushing, pulling, pointing, gesture, vocalisation, use words. This is called intentional communication. When does your child communicate and send messages? Does your child communicate more at a particular time of day, with specic people or in a particular activity or routine. e.g. at mealtimes/bath time/when playing tickling games.

LEVEL 1The child’s attention is extremely distractible. Attention fl its from one object, person or event to another. LEVEL 2• Single-channelled attention: The child uses all his concentration on an activity of his own choosing. He cannot tolerate any adult joining in or talking. LEVEL 3• Attention is still single-channelled. The child cannot listen to an adult’s direc-tions whilst he is playing. The child can shift his whole attention to the speaker and back to the game. LEVEL 4• The child is able to move his full attention from the adult to his activity. He is able listen and look without the adult focussing his attention.LEVEL 5• The child now has two-channelled attention; he understands verbal instructions about the activity whilst continuing to play. Concentration span may still be short, but can be taught in a group.LEVEL 6• The child’s attention is well established. He can listen, look and complete and activity simultaneously.Attention control may be affected by the following: • Physical illness, emotional or behavioural problems. • Environmental distractions. • Activities beyond the child’s ability. • Lack of understanding. This may be evident as: • Avoidance of eye contact. • Focussing attention elsewhere. • Behaviour: throwing, frustration, running away, withdrawn.A child begins to develop their attention and awareness of sound from birth.Communication,it’s all about sending messages... it’s all about sending messages... it’s all about sending messages... it’s all about sending messages... it’s all about sending messages... it’s all about sending messages... it’s all about sending messages... it’s all about sending messages... it’s all about sending messages... 3MRSPOP-INSFAMILYCOACH

Listening & attention skillsListening & attention skillsListening & attention skillsListening & attention skills5MRSPOP-INSFAMILYCOACHLearning to talk is exciting and starts right after birth, but it is not always easy. The process of talking involves listening, un-derstanding, thinking, wanting and needing to speak, and learn-ing to co-ordinate the right muscles. Before words emerge, children are developing their understanding of the world around them. For the  rst 12 months of life, babies learn to communicate or ‘talk’ using their behaviour, gesture and vocalisations. Words only begin to emerge around the age of 12-18 months. Children will be developing their understanding of words long before using them in speech. In the same way, when we learn a foreign language, we understand more than we can ever say. It all takes time! By saying the words again and again and again, children will gradually learn what they mean. When we use words in different places, with different people and in doing dif-ferent activities we can help children to build a picture of what the word is all about and how to use it. The Speech, Language Communication Company acknowledges Kate Biss Independent Speech and Language Therapist for working in partnership to produce this information.

General/Social understands Words18 MONTHS Uses real objects and toys appropriately; points to familiar objects and people on request.Simple requests eg. ‘pick up your teddy’Can use 10 words; tries to copy new words; talks non-sense to him/herself.2 YEARS Recognises simple object pictures and can match them to toys. Anticipates/joins in actions in songs.Can point to parts of the body, acts on simple commands eg. put the paper in the bin. Can use at least 20 words. Joins two words together eg. ‘want drink’2 1/2 YEARS Watches others at play and may join in or copy.Simple shor Uses three words to-gether; begins to ask questions; joins in rhymes and songs.3 YEARS Understands activity in picturesWords like ‘in’, ‘on’ and ‘under’Four to ve word sentences which most people can understand. Asks ‘what? ‘where?’ and ‘who?’4 YEARS Plays ‘pretend’ games with other children eg. doctors and nurses. begin-ning to understand numbers.Can identify some colours.Uses complete sen-tences including link words like ‘and’, ‘but’. Asks ‘why?’ and ‘when?”5 YEARS Can play in groups A simple story with-out picturesSpeech is easy to understand and child can explain simple meaning of thingsMoney, D. & Thurman, S. (1994) Talkabout Communication, Bulletin of the College of Speech and Lan-guage Therapists, 504, 12-13.The Speech, Language Communication Company acknowledges Kate Biss Independent Speech and Lan-guage Therapist for working in partnership to produce this information.

Devloping Speech SoundsDevloping Speech SoundsDevloping Speech SoundsDevloping Speech Sounds6MRSPOP-INSFAMILYCOACHAGE SOUNDSUp to 1 1 /2 yearsA range of sounds are used in babble from 6 months 1 1/2 -2 years m,p,b,w,n,t,d2 - 2 1 /2 yearsm, p, b, w (k, g, ng) n, t, d,h by 2 1 /2 years parents should understand most of what the child says. Strangers might have diffi culty.3 1 /2 -4 1 /2 yearsm, p, b, w, f, v, k, g, ng, n, t, d, s, l, z (r) ch, sh, j , h, j by 4 1 /2 years the child should have only occasional diffi cul-ty being understood.4 1 /2 - 6 yearsAll of the above sounds are present, th is develop-ing. Combinations of sounds (eg sp in spot, pl in plate) are emerging6 - 7 yearsBy the age of 7 years all sounds should be present and clearly articulated.New sounds may take a while to be used reliably. In the chart below, the sounds which are underlined are are the new sounds at each stage. These may not always be used all the time, in all words. Sounds in brackets may not develop this early. The Speech, Language Communication Company acknowledges Kate Biss Independent Speech and Language Therapist for working in partnership to produce this information.

Play Development7MRSPOP-INSFAMILYCOACHPlay and language develop alongside each other. Children learn about themselves and the world around them. Make believe play enables children to express their emotions, develop ideas and be creative. Adults can help their child to develop language through play. Playing alongside (par-allel play) increases a child’s imaginative skills, strengthen and extend concentration and provide opportunities to model words and language. It is very important to follow your child’s interest and not dominate their play. Money, D. & Thurman, S. (1994) Talkabout Communication, Bulletin of the College of Speech and Lan-guage Therapists, 504, 12-13.The Speech, Language Communication Company acknowledges Kate Biss Independent Speech and Lan-guage Therapist for working in partnership to produce this information.All children learn through play; they develop skills in movement, hand-eye co-ordination, social skills and language.

Exploratory play Babies and small children explore their environment using all of their senses: mouthing, shaking, hitting, dropping, throwing. Relational play Using two hands to bang objects together, put objects in and out of containers. Stacking rings, rolling a ball, cause and effect toys. Self related pre-tend play The child understands that he knows what objects are used for; feeding himself pretend food, brushing his hair, sleeping on the dolls pillow. Self-centred symbolic play The child is aware that objects can be represented by symbols e.g. dolly represents a person, a toy cup represents a real one. He feeds himself with the toy spoon and cup. This stage helps a child learn that words can be used to represent objects. Large toy play The child makes the toy (or another person) the main object of the play e.g. feeding teddy with a spoon. (De-centred pretend play) Miniature toy play Symbolic play continues to develop with the child recognising that miniature objects and people represent real objects and people. Children may play alongside, but not with other children. Children at this stage also recognise familiar pictures. Make believe play The child develops make believe play relating to real life events e.g. going to the park. These experiences move into play sequences with small miniature toys. More complex make believe play included inventing objects, dressing up and acting out scenarios/role play. is may include playing alongside and co-operating with other children.

Communication -What is it all about? 8MRSPOP-INSFAMILYCOACHUse these ideas in your everyday lives and routines e.g. meal times, bed time, bath time. Ask your relatives and Nursery to join in too. If you can use one idea regularly through the day this will give your child a consistent model of language and will help them learn words. Give children opportunities to communicate We all look after our children so well, that often we have unknowingly removed oppor-tunities for communication. We predict when they will be hungry; give them a variety of snacks on their plate, enough juice to keep them going all morning. We help them zip up their coat before they even have a chance to ask. By changing the way we organise a situation, we can open up more opportunities to communicate. This could be by providing an opportunity for your child to request “more juice” by giving them just a small amount to start with. You could provide an opportunity for your child to ask for ‘help’, by giving them a snack which is visible inside a box, but they can’t undo it by themselves. It might seem a little bit mean, but doing this gives your child a reason to communi-cate, which is what life is all about. It doesn’t matter if your child communicates using words or body language or gesture. Just accept that they have communicated their message to you and follow it through. As time goes on your child is likely to begin to imitate your words but never insist they copy you.

We all look after our children so well, that often we have unknowingly removed opportu-nities for communication. We predict when they will be hungry; give them a variety of snacks on their plate, enough juice to keep them going all morning. We help them zip up their coat before they even have a chance to ask. By changing the way we organise a situation, we can open up more opportunities to communicate. This could be by providing an opportunity for your child to request “more juice” by giv-ing them just a small amount to start with. You could provide an opportunity for your child to ask for ‘help’, by giving them a snack which is visible inside a box, but they can’t undo it by themselves. It might seem a little bit mean, but doing this gives your child a reason to communi-cate, which is what life is all about. It doesn’t matter if your child communicates using words or body language or gesture. Just accept that they have communicated their message to you and follow it through. As time goes on your child is likely to begin to imitate your words but never insist they copy you. Avoid asking questions. Instead try to offer choices. This provides your child with the vocabulary; the name of the things on offer. Hold up two items of food for snack. Hold them near to your child, but just out of reach. Get his/her attention rst then say “Connor, do you want a banana or raisins?” Put emphasis on the word for ‘banana’ and hold it a little closer, then do the same for ‘raisins’. You are looking for your child to to reach for the one he/she wants, or perhaps ask for it using signs or words. Then you say “banana” “I want a banana” and give it to them. You can offer choices of toys, pictures of activities or places to go; or anything else that motivates your child. Don’t make your child repeat the word after you. Wait and give them extra time to say something, only if they want to though. Focus on the topic of conversation Always remember that your child is trying to tell you something. It really doesn’t mat-ter about mistakes as long as they get their message across. Encourage your child to