Early Intervention
The process of developing language begins long before you hear a child’s first word!
What is Early Intervention?
Early Intervention… Is the term used to describe the services and supports that are available to babies and young children with developmental delays and disabilities and their families. May include speech therapy, physical therapy, and other types of services based on the needs of the child and family.
Early Development and Well Being:
All children are unique. Celebrating, nurturing, and supporting developmental milestones from birth to 3 years is one of the joys of parenting.
Learn about the skills and behaviors you can expect from your baby at every stage from birth to 3 and discover new ways of supporting this exciting growth and development. Subscribe to ZERO TO THREE’s monthly e-newsletter, which delivers research, parenting tips and tricks, and fun playtime activities right to your inbox each month.
Prelinguistic Skills
A child must master these 11 skills before they can begin talking:
Respond to events in the environment
Respond to the people around them
Begin taking turns
Develop a longer attention span
Joint attention
Consistently play appropriately with a variety of toys
Understand early words and follow simple directions
Vocalize Purposefully
Imitate actions, gestures, sounds, words then phrases
Use early gestures (e.g., point, yes/no, wave)
Initiate interactions with others
Every 30 Minutes
of daily screen use increased the risk of expressive speech delay in children ages 6 months to 2 years by almost 50%.
Speech+Therapy+for+Toddlers+Cheat+Sheet.pdfAnimal+Sounds+Play+Routine+Sample+PDF.pdfFavorite+Books+to+Encourage+Language+Development+in+Toddlers.pdf
Ultimate Toy Lists
When you are searching for the perfect toy to purchase, look for toys that will grow with your child. Many parents believe children will enjoy the toys that literally have all the bells and whistles the best. This isn't necessarily true, these toys don't inspire creativity and learning. A child's favorite toy tends to be the toys that teach them how to be creative, imagine and use social skills. A child's job is to play - this is the way they learn! Click the links below to help you find the perfect toy for your child that will help stimulate your childs's speech and language development:
busytoddler.com/best-toys-for-kids/
The Ultimate Toy Gift Guide (Birth-5) The Best Materials for Your Child's Development
Suggestions to practice communication in daily routines:
-Go for a walk and label objects and actions. Say/model “I see flower, bug, tree, sun!”, “Let’s walk, jump, run!”
-Play with Mr. Potato Head, dress-up doll, blocks. Say/model “red dress”, “blue hat”, “purple boots” as you take turns choosing items.
-Play with play food. Say/model “I like ____” and “I eat ____”, then say “mmmmm, yummy” or “ew, yucky”.
-While getting dressed, say/model “I wear____” for each item or just label each clothing item.
– Use lots of play sounds when playing- “guh, guh” for drinking, “sssss” for snake, “ch, ch” for train, etc.
-Sing simple songs, finger plays.
-Read, read, read. Read the book together. Go beyond the words and label/model objects, actions, colors, locations (in, on, under, over, etc.) in the book.
-During play set-up (i.e. dollhouse, blocks, etc.), say repeatedly “in” or “out”. Do the same for clean-up.
Communication is everywhere, just keep talking!
Social Media List
Ms Rachel for Littles, Raising Little Talkers, Speech Therapist Mommy, Tiny Talkers Speech, Speech Sisters, Talk with Toys, Beyond Babbles, Sensory.SLP, Talk Tea Speech, Cari Ebert, Peds_SLP
