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Speech Ready: The skills our preschoolers need to transition to school

It’s that time of year again…when our preschool aged children will soon attend Kindergarten orientation programmes and transition to school!

Is your child, a child you care for, or a child you educate ready for school?

Do you have concerns or confusion about what skills are important to nurture in order to give your child the best chance of a successful start to his or her schooling?

Look no further. When it comes to speech, language and communication skills we have you covered.

As parents and early childhood educators, we play a crucial role in preparing our children for the exciting transition to kindergarten.  Among the many essential skills required for this milestone, strong speech, language, and communication abilities are particularly vital. In this blog, we will explore eight key areas that will help children thrive as they embark on their kindergarten journey.

Here are our handpicked top Kindy Readiness Skills and ways that you can support your child, a child you care for or a child you educate develop them over the next 6 months!

Get your free School Readiness speech and language checklist here

Learn2Communicate School Ready!

Initiate and Sustain Conversations

Encouraging children to start conversations with others and to keep these going back and forth over multiple turns  fosters social interactions and builds their confidence in expressing their thoughts and ideas. Be sure to give your child many opportunities to engage in meaningful conversations with you with opportunities for active listening and turn taking.

Answer a Range of Open Ended WH – Questions

Incorporate open ended WH-Questions into your daily conversations, asking your child about their day, their favourite activities, or their interests.  Questions starting with ‘what’ ‘where’ ‘who’ ‘when’ ‘where’ ‘how ‘ and ‘why’ will help conversations to keep flowing with your child and will encourage your child’s understanding and recall to develop.

You can also develop these skills when sharing story books together.  It is important to mix these questions naturally amongst other types of language such as comments and statements so that your child doesn’t feel pressured or ‘tested’.  Keep it fun and playful.

These skills are important for children when starting school to respond to questions from their teacher and during activities such as ‘show and tell’ when other children may ask questions or seek clarification about your child’s news item.

Understand and Follow Spoken Instructions

This is a big one!  One of the most important and obvious differences between home, early childhood settings and a Kindergarten classroom is that your child will now be in a large group of children with 1 teachers.  Your child will need to far more listening than ever before. He or she will need to tune in, listen to, understand and follow many spoken instructions throughout the day.  You can help you child by providing your child will opportunities at home to follow simple instructions.  They can gradually increase in complexity as your child becomes more adept.  Break the instructions down into smaller steps to make them more manageable and use visual cues such as gestures […]

2023-07-08T04:24:02+00:00
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When children just don’t seem interested in communicating with us

Many children who struggle with communication find it challenging to respond to the topics, questions and interests of others.

The more we try to seek their engagement, the more it seems they try to disengage from us.  Some children will dip further and further into their own interests, topics and scripts.  Others will turn away from us and seemingly ignore or not even seem to hear our attempts to engage them in conversation.  Other will find our constant efforts quite dysregulating and may either shut down or exhibit challenging behaviours.  What to do when your child or a child you educate struggles to engage in back and forth conversation or interaction?

The Power of Declarative Language

The day a parent of one of my young clients suggested I read The Declarative Language Handbook by Linda K Murphy really turned things around for me.  This brief but incredibly insightful and helpful little guide provides adults with a range of simple tools that have the power to really transform the way we interact with children who some would describe as ‘disinterested’, ‘daydreamers’ or even ‘non compliant’.  Since making a concerted effort to implement the strategies that Lindy recommends I have seen incredible results.

It all starts with taking the perceived pressure to communicate OFF the child and establishing a lovely connection.

Declarative Language put simply means to make simple comments about what one can observe (see, feel, smell, taste) and what one thinks whilst interacting with a child.  Instead of asking questions, change your language into simple comments.

Using words that include 1st person pronouns such as I, We, Let’s, My and cognitive verbs such as “I wonder”  “I know”   “I am thinking that…” really does open the child up to considering different possibilities and ideas and tempt them to enter the world of their interaction partner and tune in even if just for a moment.

Interested in Learning More?

I would highly recommend purchasing the text of course but, to start, you can look no further than this lovely summary blog here where Linda provides a free to download Declarative Language Cheat Sheet. https://www.declarativelanguage.com/sunday-snippets-of-support/declarative-language-cheat-sheet

Speaking from experience, it does feel awkward at first when you start intentionally using this type of language, but stick with it.  It really does yield some pretty amazing results with many children and is a good reminder that sometimes it is not the child we need to change but the environment in which that child is growing and interacting.

Declarative Language techniques can be used with children of all ages.  Give it a try.  You won’t be disappointed.

2023-06-26T10:49:36+00:00
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The Power of Playful Imitation

Imitation is how young children learn many skills; including how to communicate

What a child is not talking, there is a fair chance that he or she is not yet imitating

Imitation is an important skill to teach a late talking toddler.

Imitation is a foundational skill that serves as a precursor to language development in toddlers. We can help our children to develop speech, language and communication skills via engaging in playful imitation.  In this week’s blogpost we will delve into the significance of imitation as a vital precursor skill for language development in toddlers. By understanding the link between imitation and language, you can facilitate the development of your child’s language skills in a fun, playful way.

The Skill of Imitation Develops in Stages

First young children will start to imitate your actions upon objects. For example, your child might imitate you patting a dog, drinking from a cup, washing hands, popping bubbles, building a tower with blocks or pushing buttons on a musical toy.

Next young children will start to imitate actions and gestures that they see demonstrated. This is when children start enjoying simple songs that involve actions.

Soon after, children may start to imitate your simple vocalisations and sounds that they hear in the environment such as trucks, sirens and animal sounds.

Finally, children start to imitate words and short phrases.

Tips to help your child learn to imitate gestures by 12 months

If your child is imitating actions with objects and playing appropriately with a variety of toys, it is time to make yourself the toy and encourage your child to imitate your gestures.

Start with some simple body actions and gestures in games like ‘Give me Five’ ‘Peekaboo’ ‘Round and Round the Garden’, clapping, waving hi/bye and banging on a table with your hands.

Some simple gross motor actions like jumping, marching and dancing to music are other fun ideas to help your child imitate actions during play.

Once your child can imitate these types of simple actions, you can teach some simple natural gestures or key word signs to help your child communicate.

Some Helpful Natural Gestures and Key Word Signs to teach young children

Only teach signs when your child is imitating earlier gestures.  Model  / Demonstrate these signs 3-5 times in natural situations and play and then look expectantly at your child…giving him or her time to attempt to imitate.  Here are some good signs to start with:

up

more

eat

drink

all done

mine

help

open

Imitation can help your child to learn:

How to engage in back and forth reciprocal conversation

How to use verbal and nonverbal communication for a range of social purposes with others

Vocabulary

How to combine words using grammar and syntax to build combinations of words in phrases and short sentences

Speech Sounds

Imitation is a fundamental precursor skill for language development in toddlers.

By incorporating opportunities for playful imitation into your interactions and activities, parents and carers can create a rich learning environment that supports their child’s speech, language and communication skills to grow.

Through imitation, toddlers acquire vocabulary, grasp sentence structure, develop conversational skills, […]

2023-06-17T06:10:26+00:00
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When Should I Seek Help for my Toddler’s Talking?

Have some questions or concerns about your Toddler’s Talking?  Not sure if he or she is on track?

We often have concerned carers contacting us with questions about their little ones’ development.  It can be an unsettling feeling to hear and see other little toddlers in your mother’s group meetings who are talking in sentences whilst your child is yet to say much at all.

When should I seek some Speech Pathology support?

What can I do if my child is late to talk?

Why is my child later to talk than others his or her age?

Should I be worried?

Does this mean that my child may be on the Autism Spectrum?

The list of questions goes on and on…let us answer a few for you now.

Speech and Language Delays are very common among children with Autism but also very common amount children without Autism

Autism seems to be in the back of many carers’ minds when they contact us with concerns about their child’s development so let’s address this early.

The cause of your child’s delay in speech, language and/or communication may be Autism or another underlying diagnosis such as Intellectual Disability.

Far more common, however, are children who are late to talk because of fluctuating hearing loss caused by Otitus Media (Glue Ear).  If you have any concerns regarding the development of your child’s communication skills, get a hearing test.  https://learn2communicate.com.au/tag/eustachian-tubes/

Irrespective of the cause of your child’s delay in speech, language or communication it is best to intervene early in order to get the best outcome for your child.  Early Intervention is super important.

So often we don’t know why a child is late to talk.  What is perhaps more important is knowing when to seek support and where to go to get the right advice.

When to Contact a Speech Pathologist

There is so much available now available via our keyboards and phones that it can get pretty overwhelming and difficult to sort fact from fiction.  Our simple checklists for parents are a great place to start https://learn2communicate.com.au/parents/

If you are wanting more detail, particularly for very young children, the HANEN website has some very good information for parents available here https://www.hanen.org/Helpful-Info/When-You-Are-Concerned/Warning-Signs.aspx

A few other red flags for when to contact a Speech Pathologist include:

Not combining words into short phrases by 2 years of age

Still difficult for others to understand by 3 years of age

Limited interest in responding to others and communicating

Be concerned but not alarmed if your child is late to talk or is showing signs of having a delay in their communication skills development.

Most speech, language and communication delays respond very well to early support and intervention.

Educate yourself about what ‘development’ looks like at different ages and stages and what the red flags are.

Contact us or your local Speech Pathologist if you have concerns.

There is plenty you can do to help your child and it sure beats sitting at home worrying about it!

2023-06-12T08:10:58+00:00
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Pop up Pirate

Ever wondered why every Speech Pathologist you have ever met has Pop up Pirate in the cupboard?

This little guy has a tough life getting nudged with swords of every colour on most days of the week until he finally pops out of the barrel!

Whilst it might just look like a fun, cheap toy, let me assure you that this this pirate is also a terrific therapy tool that is well worth adding to your toolbox if you are a parent or educator working with a child who has speech, language or communication difficulties.

Speech Sounds

Get your picture cards or real items ready.

Have your child either imitate the word after you with assistance or spontaneously say the word that includes your child’s target sound.

Encourage your child to say a word  –> before then selecting  a sword or (to get even more speech practice) encourage your child to say the word 5 times accurately before you give him/her a sword to stick into the Pirate.

Is your child working on ‘s-clusters’ ?  If so, Pop up Pirate is the perfect therapy tool and you don’t even need picture cards as your child can say ‘stick in’ each time a sword is stuck into the barrel.

The same is true if your child is working on the ‘s’ sound.  He / She can say ‘sword’ or ‘green /red / blue sword’ each time they have a turn.

If your child needs help with the /k/ sound, try incorporating a request into the activity e.g. “CAN I have a blue sword?”

The possibilities are pretty much endless when it comes to speech sounds and the use of Pop up Pirate.

For some children, the game can be played simply as a reward for completing a less preferred or more challenging activity.

Language Goals and Pop up Pirate

Pop up Pirate is not only helpful for making speech home practice fun. He can be used to help target a multitude of other goals including:

Taking turns with a play partner

Understanding the concepts of first –> next

Responding to questions such as “How many?” and “Where?”

Learning concepts of colour, number, sequence and location

Asking questions

Answering questions

Making predictions

Developing joint attention

There are so many ways to use Pop up Pirate to build communication skills.  Home practice can be fun!

So, keep your eye out for this fun toy and plenty of others like it which have so many uses and never fail to find a little one’s smile.

If you are wanting more tips on getting the most out of home / preschool / school practice, then please take a dive into the last couple of Chatterbox blogposts https://learn2communicate.com.au/i-dont-want-to-when-children-wont-do-their-speech-home-programmes/ and https://learn2communicate.com.au/struggling-to-fit-a-speech-home-programme-into-your-life/ and have some fun!

2023-05-15T09:12:59+00:00
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Struggling to fit a Speech Home Programme into your life?

So you want to help your child make steady progress towards improving his or her speech but…..

Another week has passed by and you haven’t managed to do much practice at home.

Most parents, carers and educators we work with as Speech Pathologists come to us with the very best of intentions for completing practice in between speech pathology appointments.

The truth is that very few manage to do so!

How do you fit a speech pathology home programme into your life?

If you want your child to get the most out of intervention and to work towards achieving their speech, language and communication goals…home practice is just an unavoidable ingredient in getting there.

Home practice doesn’t have to be something that both you and your child dread.

It can and should be a positive addition to your week.

Here are some tips to make it happen.

Be realistic

Start by taking a good look at your week and your ‘must do’ commitments.

Block out the times in your weekly calendar or diary where you are otherwise committed.

Now that you have a visual on your specific situation, decide how many home practice times you are going to commit to doing with your child.

Be realistic and remember that a small amount of regular, well-done home practice is a great place to start. You are more likely to be able to build upon this so start small.  Maybe look at 3 times/week and keep your practice times to 15 minutes.

Remember, even for our school aged children…speech pathology home practice needs to be guided and supported by a parent, carer and/or educator so resist the temptation to try and ‘squeeze’ home practice into too many days when you are unlikely to be able to provide your full attention and support.

Book those times into your calendar.  Choose the times of the day that will be more conducive to home practice.

Times where you are likely to be less distracted by other children. other tasks and other stimuli in your environment.

Ideally, the times for home practice are those where you can dedicate your entire focus and presence towards your child.

These times need to be positive.  That doesn’t mean that you need to pull out all of the bells and whistles but ideally these times are enjoyed by both yourself and your child.  For younger children, a box of stickers and stamps as rewards for effort can work a treat.  For slightly older children, there are plenty of fun cause/effect games that can be incorporated into therapy.

Pop up Pirate https://www.bigw.com.au/product/tomy-pop-up-pirate/p/4511045 , Greedy Granny https://www.bigw.com.au/product/greedy-granny/p/89891, and Phil the Fridge https://www.target.com.au/p/phil-the-fridge/60768933are some of our favourites.

Discuss what needs to be happening in your child’s home practice times in detail with your child’s speech pathologist.  It is really important that home practice doesn’t feel ‘too hard’ for your child and that you have some good strategies to assist at these moments in order to keep your child motivated and engaged.  We discussed some ideas to help encourage your child at these moments here https://learn2communicate.com.au/i-dont-want-to-when-children-wont-do-their-speech-home-programmes/

Most […]

2023-05-07T03:40:44+00:00
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Debunking some myths when parents ask questions…..

Let’s debunk some common myths about children and speech/language/communication development.

As an early childhood educator, you will need to be ready to accept a range of reactions from parents and caregivers when raising your concerns about a child’s development.

Every response from a parent or carer is valid and can be accepted without judgement.  These conversations definitely flow more smoothly, however, if educators are equipped with knowledge and helpful information for families.

Unfortunately, there is much available at our fingertips that is not accurate.  Let’s dispel a few of these common myths now.

My child has a speech delay.  Does this mean that something is ‘wrong’ with my child or that my child is not intelligent?

There is nothing ‘wrong’ with a child who has speech, language or communication difficulties and a delay or disorder in communication abilities does not necessarily also correlate with a child’s cognitive abilities.  We see many very bright children who just happen to have specific areas of their development requiring support.  If your child has a delay in the development of his or her speech, language or communication skills….we now know that early intervention is really key and that we can help them to make great progress if we start early.

I was late to talk.  Won’t my child just ‘grow out of it’?

Maybe.  Maybe not.  We cannot know the answer to this question.

What we do know though, is that communication skills underpin academic, social skills and are crucial to one’s quality of life.

The earlier we offer support to a child who is struggling to develop these skills, the better the outcome we can expect.

Some children will ‘catch up’ on their own but we don’t know who will and who will not.  Children who will not just ‘grow out of it’ usually respond really well to the support that a speech pathologist can provided.

Have I caused my child’s speech delay?

Speech delays are not caused by poor parenting, a parent working long hours, birth order, parents not talking enough to their children or the provision of screen time.  Instead, delays in speech, language and communication are caused by a range of factors including hearing loss and genetics.  Parents blaming themselves for their child’s delays is simply not helpful in any way.  Working towards acceptance of a child’s difficulties and developing a plan to support a child is far more positive and will result in better outcomes for all.

Isn’t my child too young to be concerned about this?

No!  The sooner we identify children who are lagging in their development of these vital skills, the better our chance of supporting them to make terrific progress.  Significant gaps are apparent in the vocabulary knowledge and use by the age of only 3 years of age.  These discrepancies tend to persist and even widen across a lifetime with implications across academic, social and emotional areas.  Early Identification and Intervention is so important.

Prepare for your conversation with families and answer their questions honestly, accurately and confidently.

If you […]

2023-04-09T19:37:16+00:00
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Considering Parent Perspectives when Discussing Speech and Language Concerns

“I was waiting for my child’s early childhood educator to tell me that they had concerns”

Too often, this is what we are told by parents and carers when seeing a child for the first time at age 8 in our speech pathology clinics.

By then, the child often dislikes learning….feels they are a poor reader….avoids participation in the classroom ….. is a challenge for parents to get any homework completed….is disinterested in the classroom.

The list goes on!

It is vital for children to be identified as early as possible with speech, language and communication difficulties in order for them to access the support they need.

Support provided in the early years can prevent the cascade of social and emotional difficulties that sadly, often follow, if these difficulties are left unaddressed until the early Primary School years.

Yes, it can be a difficult topic for Early Childhood Educators to broach with parents and there may be a range of reactions from parents.

That doesn’t mean the conversation should never happen.

Here are some tips for Early Childhood Educators when scheduling a meeting a family to discuss concerns about speech, language and communication skills.

Parent/Carers may have noticed some of these concerns themselves

If so, encourage the parent to share his or her observations and concerns with you.  Acknowledge these concerns and reassure the parent/s that you will work together to come up with a plan to support the child’s development.

Parents may feel defensive

Hearing concerns being raised about your child’s development can be overwhelming and may trigger defensive responses from parents.  Educators can assist by remaining neutral and positive in the interaction and listening to the parent.  Let the parent express their concerns and feelings and acknowledge their perspective.

Follow Up

After the initial conversation, follow up with families to see how they are doing and whether they have any questions or concerns.  Not all families will be ‘ready’ to hear the information that you need to share with them at the time you decide to share it.  If you are consistently available and have a positive relationships with the family, the parents/carers will know you are there to confide in when and if needed.

Be Informed

Educate yourself on what speech, language and communication skill development looks like, what the signs of delay may be and what are the most appropriate ways to support the child who shows these signs of delay.

Our Learn2Communicate website is the perfect place for you to start https://learn2communicate.com.au/ and our social media pages are also full of evidence based information and helpful tips for educators and parents. https://www.instagram.com/learn2communicate/

Beware of common myths https://www.thespeechdynamic.com/fact-or-fiction/

Arm yourself with information so that you feel informed and equipped to answer questions that parents may have.  Be honest when you do not know the answer and offer to find out for the parent by consulting with your local Speech Pathologist or contacting us via our website.

Having ‘that’ conversation can be challenging but…

It is so important.

Parents are often waiting for an educator to raise […]

2023-03-26T04:22:49+00:00
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So you have some concerns about a child you educate…..

The first step is always to start documenting your observations

As an early childhood educator, you cannot accurately identify and support children who have speech, language and communication difficulties without first collecting and documenting your observations.

Before you approach parents, it is essential to document your observations about the child’s communication skills.  To make it a little easier, we have a free comprehensive guide for early childhood educators that you can download from our website https://learn2communicate.com.au/product/identifying-speech-and-language-difficulties-a-practical-guide-for-early-childhood-educators/ or a quick cheat sheet if you want to opt for something a little quick simpler https://mailchi.mp/a872b26cca98/speech-and-language-milestones-0-5-years .

Schedule a meeting with the parents

Conversations with a parent about concerns you may have regarding their child should not be attempted during drop off / pick up times.  Instead, schedule a meeting with the parent.  This will allow for a more personal, detailed conversation and provides parents with notice so that they can prepare themselves emotionally.

It also goes without saying that such meetings and conversations can only be scheduled when there is a high element of trust and positive rapport between the early childhood educator and the parent.  The importance of pouring your energy into establishing these positive relationships with families cannot be understated!

Use Positive, Encouraging Language in the meeting but be HONEST

Framing your observations in more positive language whilst still clearly communicating your concerns is important.

Instead of “I am worried about your child’s development”  try “I have some observations that I would like to share with you”.

You can then share your observations and provide specific examples to help parents understand why you have concerns about their child’s development.  Encourage parents to also share their observations with you.

Listen more than you Speak

Make some open ended comments and questions to encourage parents to share information with you about their child.

Actively listen to this information.  Remember that the parent is always the expert when it comes to their child.  They can always provide us with more information to help us understand their child’s strengths and challenges as well as other factors which may be impacting their child’s development.

Be Empathetic

Remember that discussing a child’s development can be sensitive topic for many parents.  Try to understand and accept a variety of responses from parents and shown them that you are there to support them and their child.

Offer to Help

It is one thing to raise a parent’s awareness about a child’s developmental challenges.  It is another to have the parent understand, acknowledge and come to terms with this information.

Once these two first steps have been worked through, parents can feel very overwhelmed about where to start in order to help their child.  It is important for early childhood educators to have some helpful resources, contacts, service provider options and information at their fingertips so that parents feel supported in addressing their child’s developmental concerns.

Once again, our free resources (books, home programmes) can be of assistance https://learn2communicate.com.au/ as can our social media pages https://www.facebook.com/Learn2Communicate and https://www.instagram.com/learn2communicate/ .

Keep an eye out for next week’s Chatterbox […]

2023-03-26T03:32:26+00:00
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Speech Therapy: Is your child getting the right dose?

Dosage and Speech Pathology?  Isn’t dosage a term used when we are talking about medicines?

Yes, getting the dosage just right is really important when you are requiring a prescription from your doctor to manage a physical illness.

Getting the correct dosage of therapy is also really just as important for your child when managing his or her communication disorder.

What do we mean by dosage in Speech Pathology?

Dosage in Speech Pathology can refer to a few things.  It can refer to the number of planned sessions for your child, the frequency of those treatments, the time during therapy targeting a specific skill and the number of learning opportunities your child experiences during therapy, at home and at school / preschool.

Just like when medications are prescribed; different doses of treatment can be prescribed for different disorders to achieve better results.  There are also several factors that impact treatment dose.

Factors that Impact Dosage

Many factors require consideration by your child’s Speech Pathologist when prescribing dosage for your child.  These may include but are not limited to your child’s:

Disorder  / Diagnosis

Severity

Attention Level

Age

Co-morbid conditions

Other factors external to your child such as your other family commitments, work hours and access to services also need to be considered when making a decision about treatment dose.

What do we know about dosage in Speech Pathology?

This area of research in our profession is still relatively new.  We need to know much more about the optimal doses of therapy for various speech, language and communication disorders.  We perhaps know the most about treatment doses for children with speech sound disorders.  There is an excellent review of the literature here https://www.theinformedslp.com/review/everything-you-want-to-know-about-treatment-approaches-for-speech-sound-disorders

The evidence base for treatment dose when working with children who have language disorders is also growing.  Interestingly the ‘more therapy the better’ mantra is not necessarily true in this case.  Research is showing that children with language disorders may actually benefit mores so to low dose/high frequency or high dose/less frequency interventions than to high dose/high frequency approaches.

The bottom line?

Discuss treatment dose with your child’s Speech Pathologist today.

2023-03-12T05:44:20+00:00
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