Hear & Talk

The development of communication skills begins in infancy, before the emergence of the first word. Any speech or language problem is likely to have a significant effect on the child’s social and academic skills and behavior. The earlier a child’s speech and language problems are identified and treated, the less likely it is that problems will persist or get worse. Early speech and language intervention can help children be more successful in reading, writing, schoolwork, and interpersonal relationships.

(Birth-1 Year) What should my child be able to do?

What can I do to help?

• Check your child’s ability to hear, and pay attention to ear problems and infections, especially when they keep occurring.
• Reinforce your baby’s communication attempts by looking at him or her, speaking, and imitating his or her vocalizations.
• Repeat his or her laughter and facial expressions.
• Teach your baby to imitate actions, such as peekaboo, clapping, blowing kisses, pat-a-cake, itsy bitsy spider, and waving bye-bye. These games teach turn taking that is needed for conversation.
• Talk while you are doing things, such as dressing, bathing, and feeding (e.g., “Mommy is washing Sam’s hair”; “Sam is eating carrots”; “Oh, these carrots are good!”).
• Talk about where you are going, what you will do once you get there, and who and what you’ll see (e.g., “Sam is going to Grandma’s house. Grandma has a dog. Sam will pet the dog.”).
• Talk about colors (e.g., “Sam’s hat is red”).
• Practice counting. Count toes and fingers.
• Count steps as you go up and down them.
• Teach animal sounds (e.g., “A cow says ‘moo'”).

(1-2 Years) What should my child be able to do?

What can I do to help?

• Talk while doing things and going places. When taking a walk in the stroller, for example, point to familiar objects (e.g., cars, trees, and birds) and say their names. “I see a dog. The dog says ‘woof.’ This is a big dog. This dog is brown.”
• Use simple but grammatical speech that is easy for your child to imitate.
• Take a sound walk around your house or in the baby’s room. Introduce him/her to Timmy Clock, who says “t-t-t-t.” Listen to the clock as it ticks. Find Mad Kitty Cat who bites her lif and says “f-f-f-f” or Vinnie Airplane who bites his lip, turns his voice motor on and says “v-v-v-v.” These sounds will be old friends when your child is introduced to phonics in preschool and kindergarten.
• Make bath time “sound playtime” as well. You are eye-level with your child. Play with Peter Tugboat, who says “p-p-p-p.” Let your child feel the air of sounds as you make them. Blow bubbles and make the sound “b-b-b-b.” Feel the motor in your throat on this sound. Engines on toys can make a wonderful “rrr-rrr-rrr” sound.
• Expand on words. For example, if your child says “car,” you respond by saying, “You’re right! That is a big red car.”
• Continue to find time to read to your child every day. Try to find books with large pictures and one or two words or a simple phrase or sentence on each page. When reading to your child, take time to name and describe the pictures on each page.
• Have your child point to pictures that you name.
• Ask your child to name pictures. He or she may not respond to your naming requests at first. Just name the pictures for him or her. One day, he or she will surprise you by coming out with the picture’s name.

(2-3 Years) What should my child be able to do?

What can I do to help?

• Use clear, simple speech that is easy to imitate.
• Show your child that you are interested in what he or she says to you by repeating what he or she has said and expanding on it. For example, if your child says, “pretty flower,” you can respond by saying, “Yes, that is a pretty flower. The flower is bright red. It smells good too. Does Sam want to smell the flower?”
• Let your child know that what she or he has to say is important to you by asking him or her to repeat things that you do not completely understand. For example, “I know you want a block. Tell me again which block you want.”
• Expand on your child’s vocabulary. Introduce new vocabulary through reading books that have a simple sentence on each page.
• Name objects and describe the picture on each page of the book. State synonyms for familiar words (e.g., mommy, woman, lady, grown-up, adult) and use this new vocabulary in sentences to help your child learn it in context.
• Put objects into a bucket and have your child remove one object at a time, saying its name. You repeat what your child says and expand upon it: “That is a comb. Sam combs his hair.” Take the objects from the bucket and help your child group them into categories (e.g., clothes, food, drawing tools).
• Cut out pictures from old magazines and make a scrapbook of familiar things. Help your child glue the pictures into the scrapbook. Practice naming the pictures, using gestures and speech to show how you use the items.
• Look at family photos and name the people. Use simple phrases/sentences to describe what is happening in the pictures (e.g., “Sam swims in the pool”).
• Write simple appropriate phrases under the pictures. For example, “I can swim,” or “Happy birthday to Daddy.” Your child will begin to understand that reading is the oral language in print.
• Ask your child questions that require a choice, rather than simply a “yes” or “no” answer. For example, rather than asking, “Do you want milk? Do you want water?”, ask, “Would you like a glass of milk or water?” Be sure to wait for the answer, and reinforce successful communication: “Thank you for telling mommy what you want. Mommy will get you a glass of milk.”
• Continue to sing songs, play finger games (“Where is Thumbkin?”), and tell nursery rhymes (“Hickory Dickory Dock”). These songs and games introduce your child to the rhythm and sounds of language.
• Strengthen your child’s language comprehension skills by playing the yes-no game: “Are you a boy?” “Is that a zebra?” “Is your name Joey?”

(3-4 Years) What should my child be able to do?

What can I do to help?

• Cut out pictures from old catalogs. Then make silly pictures by gluing parts of different pictures together in an improbable way. For example, glue a picture of a dog to the inside of a car as if the dog is driving. Help your child explain what is silly about the picture.
• Sort pictures and items into categories, but increase the challenge by asking your child to point out the item that does not belong in a category. For example, a baby does not belong with a dog, cat, and mouse. Tell your child that you agree with his or her answer because a baby is not an animal.
• Expand vocabulary and the length of your child’ s utterances by reading, singing, talking about what you are doing and where you are going, and saying rhymes.
• Read books that have a simple plot, and talk about the storyline with your child. Help your child to retell the story or act it out with props and dress-up clothes. Tell him or her your favorite part of the story and ask for his or her favorite part.
• Look at family pictures, and have your child explain what is happening in each one.
• Work on comprehension skills by asking your child questions. Have him or her try to fool you with his or her own questions. Make this game playful by pretending that you have been fooled by some of his or her really hard questions.
• Expand on social communication and storytelling skills by “acting out” typical scenarios (e.g., cooking food, going to sleep, or going to the doctor) with a dollhouse and its props. Do the same type of role-playing activity when playing dress-up. As always, ask your child to repeat what he or she has said if you do not understand it completely. This shows that what he or she says is important to you.

(4-5 Years) What should my child be able to do?

What can I do to help?

• Talk about spatial relationships (first, middle, and last; right and left) and opposites (up and down, big and little).
• Offer a description or clues and have your child identify what you are describing.
• Work on forming and explaining categories (fruits, furniture, shapes).
• Follow your child’s directions as she or he explains how to do something.
• Give full attention to your child when he or she is speaking, and acknowledge, praise, and encourage him or her afterward. Before you speak to your child, be sure to get his or her undivided attention. Pause after speaking, allowing him or her to respond to what you have said.
• Build on your child’ s vocabulary. Provide definitions for new words, and use them in context: “This vehicle is riding on the highway. It is a car. A bus is another kind of vehicle. So are a train and an airplane.”
• Encourage your child to ask for an explanation if he or she does not understand what a word means.
• Point out things that are the same or different. Play games incorporating these concepts that he or she will encounter later in the classroom in reading readiness.
• Sort items into categories. Now try to sort them by pointing out more subtle differences between objects (e.g., smooth rocks vs. those that are rough, heavy vs. light, big vs. small). Again, have your child identify the object that does not belong in a given category, but now ask him or her to explain why the item does not belong.
• Expand on social communication and narration skills (telling a story) by role-playing. Play house, doctor, and store using dialogue, props, and dress-up clothes. Do the same with a dollhouse and its props, acting out scenarios and making the dolls talk.
• Read stories with easy-to-follow plots. Help your child predict what will happen next in the story. Act out the stories, and put on puppet shows of the stories. Have your child draw a picture of a scene from the story, or of a favorite part. You can do the same thing with videos and television shows, as these also have plots. Ask “wh” questions (who, what, when, where, or why) and monitor his or her response.
• Expand on your child’ s comprehension and expressive language skills by playing “I Spy”: “I spy something round on the wall that you use to tell the time.” After your child guesses what you have described, have him or her give you clues about something that he or she sees.
• Give your child two-step directions (e.g., “Get your coat from the closet and put it on”). Encourage your child to give directions to explain how he or she has done something. For example, ask your child to explain how he made a structure out of Lego blocks. When playing doctor, ask your child to explain what she did to give the baby a checkup. Draw a picture, and write down your child’s story as he or she tells it. Your child will soon grasp the power of storytelling and written language.
• Play age-appropriate board games with your child (e.g., “Candyland” or “Chutes and Ladders”).
• Have your child help you plan and discuss daily activities. For example, have him or her make a shopping list for the grocery store, or help you plan his or her birthday party. Ask his or her opinion: “What do you think your cousin would like for his birthday? What kind of fruit do we need to buy at the store?”

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American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2010). “How Does My Child Hear and Talk”. Available at http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/chart.htm. Reprinted by permission.