Suggestions for Building Language

1. Be a good speech and language model:

Parallel Talk: talk about what your child is doing (“Wow, you’re pushing the car!”)

Use Description: describe what your child sees (“It’s a big, red car”)

Use Expansion: expand your child’s utterance (Your child says “It’s a car” you say ("It’s a red car”)

Explain: talk about the function of objects ("We drive a car to school")

Pretend: use imaginary play to help expand language ("Lets push this block like a car")

2. Be a good listener:

Keep your own speech rate slow

Use correct grammar and correct word order

Leave “pause time” in your speech so your child can insert comments

Talk to your child at his or her eye level

3. If you do not understand your child:

Repeat what you did understand

Ask your child to show you want he/she wants

Take advantage of clues in the environment

4. If your child understands but speaks very little:

Use short, simple, clear sentences

Ask questions that require more than a “yes-no” response. Give a choice of response (“Do you want milk or juice?”)