Practical Tips To Elicit Speech/Language Skills In Young Children at Home

Presentation by Rhonda Colen, MS-CCC-SLPSpeech and Language Pathologist

• Introduction• Vocabulary• Spatial Concepts• Language Comprehension (WH ?s)• Grammar/Syntax• Articulation/Sound Development• Reminders• Contacts

Introduction

• Objectives

• To provide parents with ways in which to further develop vocabulary skills, language understanding, and grammar skills at home.

• To provide parents with a better understanding of sound development and what to listen for at home.

Vocabulary

• Receptive vocabulary and language skills refers to the child’s understanding of words and concepts;

• Expressive vocabulary and language skills refers to the child’s ability to apply the words and concepts in real-life applications.

Vocabulary

• Choose a room (kitchen) and label the different objects in that room.• Use of categories is helpful in developing vocabulary as appliances,

furniture, fruits and vegetables• Sit at the kitchen table and take out some catalogues or Sunday circulars.

Choose a category or two to look for and cut out pictures of toys and clothing for example. Store the pictures in separate envelopes and refer back to them at another time.

• In conversation, mention what materials objects are made from (i.e. metal, wood, plastic, glass and/or paper).

• Functions of objects. Discuss this with your child while you are making dinner.

I have to get the peeler to scrape the skin from the carrot. I need the colander to drain the spaghetti. I need a potholder to get the brownies out of the oven so that I won’t burn

my hands.

Vocabulary

• Part-to-whole concept

Doorknob-door Handle-pot Cap-toothpaste Legs-chair Eraser-pencil Buckle-belt Cushion-sofa Receiver-telephone Collar/cuff/sleeve-shirt Wrapper-candy bar Frame-picture Bouquet –flowers

Windowsill- window Strap-sandals

Vocabulary..Sequencing

Don’t assume that your child knows the label for an object.Talk through the sequence of activities that you areinvolved in.

Changing the sheets on your bed.

Let’s take the comforter and blankets off your bed. Strip the sheets.Put the dirty linens in the laundry basket. Carry it downstairs. Fill upthe washing machine with water. Pour in the laundry detergent.After the clothes are washed, put them in the dryer. When they aredry, fold them and put them back in the drawers in your dresser. PutDaddy’s shirts on hangers and hang them in the closet.

Vocabulary

• Labeling pictures in library books is very helpful and has a high interest level for the children.

• If a child is having difficulty retrieving the label of an object, prompt them with the initial sound or syllable of that word while putting it in context. This helps with recall. (i.e.. Mom made hamburgers on the gr-ill. Daddy keeps his money in a wa-llet).

Vocabulary..Be More Descriptive

Be descriptive when labeling common objects in your home.• Loaf of bread• Block of cheese• Bunch of bananas/grapes• Book of matches• Pair of shoes/socks• Stick of butter• Spool of thread• Tube of toothpaste• Head of lettuce• Head/foot of the bed• Roll of toilet paper/paper towel• Carton of milk

Spatial Concepts

The understanding of spatial concepts will help your child to understand

his/her own position in space and will help your child follow classroomdirections for physical activities, such as lining up when leaving theclassroom as well as paper and pencil tasks.

In front Top Middle Ordinal positioning (ie. first,2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.)

In back Bottom In between Right

Next to Above Through Left

Beside Below Underneath Center

Spatial Concepts

Assign your child the task of setting the table for dinner.

Receptive Language activity: After the plate is placed on the table, give your

child specific directions for the placement of the utensils. Put the fork on the

left side of the plate. Put the spoon next to the knife. Put the napkin under the

fork.

Expressive language activity:Ask the child “Here is the plate, where is the knife?” Parent says, “The

fork is on the left side of the plate, the spoon is on the….”

Spatial Concepts

Using a collection of toy cars, dinosaurs, or dolls, have your child line them up according to yourdirection. Put one item in place as your reference point for the activity. Tell your child that you’regoing to line up these friends in a special way.

Receptive language activity: Put the T Rex in back of the Stegosaurus. Put the Brontosaurus in between the 2nd and 3rd dinosaur.

Expressive language activity:The child tells you where he put the dinosaur. If the child is struggling with where to begin say “Here is the T Rex. Where is the Stegosaurus?”As the child helps you fold clothes on the bed, give him/her directions using spatial concepts.Put the black socks next to the striped socks. Put the towels in the middle. Put Mommy’s sweater Beside Daddy’s undershirt.When the clothes are being put away in the dresser say, “Put the socks in the top drawer. Put your PJ’s in the bottom drawer. Put your shirts in the drawer above your pants.”

Vocabulary

• Community Helpers

• Be sure your child knows what your profession is and where you

work. • Label the jobs that people have as you meet them.

Bank Teller Pharmacist Seamstress

Pediatrician Gardener Hairdresser

Secretary Butcher Waitress

Cashier Florist Mechanic

Vocabulary

• Label the buildings and stores as you visit them:

Post office Bank

Pharmacy Library

Bakery Doctor’s office

Grocery store Movie theater

Dry cleaners Laundromat

Hair salon Ice cream parlor

Department store Restaurant

Language Comprehension

• WH questions help children to organize their thoughts in a sequential manner.

• WHO? WHAT? WHERE? WHEN? HOW? WHY?

Grammar/Syntax

• A variety of grammatical errors will be noticed as young children begin to communicate in sentences. You, the parent, are your child’s primary role model for proper and effective communication. My best advice to you when speaking with your child is to speak slowly, keep your responses short and clear, and emphasize in your speaking tone, skills that need to be included or changed. The most common errors in grammar that are noticed in young children are:

• Pronoun confusion (“her” instead of “she”)• Omission of auxiliary and copula verbs (am, is, are) (“He goin.”)• Noun verb number agreement ( “He walk home” instead of “He

walks home”.)• Use of has/have• Use of do/does

Grammar/Syntax

• Formation of interrogatives (questions)• Misuse of irregular past tense of verbs• Misuse of irregular plural form of nouns.

Many of the children will be too young to understand andapply the actual rules of grammar. At a young age,modeling these grammatical constructions for the child willbe the most effective means of teaching them these skills.If errors are heard in conversation, validate what the childhas said, but repeat it back to them using the propergrammatical constructions. Use complete sentences andextend your responses whenever possible.

Grammar/Syntax

• Child says: “Him throwing the ball.”• Parent responds: Yes, He is throwing the ball to the dog. • Child says: “Why don’t they has none?”• Parent responds: “Oh?” “Why don’t they have any?” “Well, they

don’t have any because…”• Depending on the age of the child, you may want to introduce them

to sight words, which will provide them with both the auditory and visual input for learning. Index cards with the words “he, she, they, is, has” printed on them can be used while working with some picture cards at the kitchen table.

Articulation/Sound Development

• One term that an SLP will use often is stimulability. This refers to the child’s ability to accurately imitate and produce a sound that is being mispronounced or misarticulated. Being stimulable for a sound allows a therapist to move to the next step of therapy quicker, because additional time does not have to be spent on teaching the child how and where to make the sound.

Articulation/Sound Development

• It is helpful to show the child in the mirror how and where the sound is made.

• Describe where the articulators (tongue, teeth, lips) should be to produce the targeted sound accurately.

• Be descriptive: [k] sound kicking sound, kick it from your throat• [sh] sound quiet sound• [p] sound popping sound• Choose a high frequency word that contains the targeted sound and

provide a fun drill for the child. Example: [l] sound…”like”. Open the grocery closet door in your kitchen and have the child name the cereals, cookies, and snacks that he likes or doesn’t like. I like potato chips. I like Fruit Loops. I don’t like cranberries. This type of activity brings that targeted sound into context for them.

Articulation/Sound Development

• Some tricks of the trade for finding the correct position for a sound are as follows:

• [f] Put peanut butter on the bottom lip and have the child scrape it off using his top front teeth. This allows the child to “feel” where the sound is made.

• [l] Put a cheerio on the tip of the tongue and lift it behind the front teeth (alveolar ridge).

• [er] sound Put mini marshmallows in back of the top molars and make a chewing motion.

• Gargling can also provide the child with the correct placement of the [er] sound.

Reminders

• Label items in your home.• Speak slowly and clearly.• Speak in complete sentences. • Expand your child’s responses by adding descriptive words or

prepositional phrases.• Talk through the sequence of daily activities (making a salad,

brushing your teeth).• Validate what your child says before you correct with modeling.• Provide exposure and re-exposure to skills and concepts.• Reinforcing language skills at home is a “win-win” situation.

• Your child will reap the benefits of your attention and loving efforts!!

Contacts

• Rhonda Colen, SLP, Hampton Elementary

E-Mail: rcolen@bcps.org Ofc: (410) 887-3205

• Debbie Henninger, Infant & Toddler Program

Ofc: (410) 887-5423

• Blair Morgan, Child Find Office

Ofc: (410) 887-5382