Now that we are reacting to the things around us, 

it's time to react to the PEOPLE who talk & Play us!

COMMUNICATION ALWAYS TAKES  2 PEOPLE!!!

In order to learn communication skills, children have to respond to people who are trying to communicate with them.

This is going to be hard to hear, but toddlers NEED 20 hours a week to learn communication skills.

AND THOSE HOURS HAVE TO INCLUDE ANOTHER PERSON!

Anytime a child is alone or isolated, that time is not going towards those needed 20 hours.

Do these activities count towards the hours a child needs to learn to communicate?

-Watching TV alone? No.

-Being alone in the playroom? Nope, but if they are getting into everything, they are exploring items.

-Sleeping? No. (And as kiddos need 10-12 hours of sleep daily, we gotta make their waking hours count!)

-Eating a snack that you set up at their little table in the dining room, as your child doesn't like it when others are around them? Still no!

• Getting dressed with your help? Yes! While dressing your child, you are helping them move their body to get the clothing off and on, hear words that go along with the routine (shirt, shorts, pants, diaper, socks, shoes, arms, legs, up, down, sit down, stand up)

• Putting on shoes to go outside? Yep! Whether it's you starting the conversation by planning to go outside and walking your child through steps to getting the shoes, or whether your child goes to the door patting on it to express "Hello people, I wanna go outside!" And you say, "You need your shoes to go outside," leading your child to go get their shoes- this counts as they are responding to another person. 

• You walk into the room and wave "Hello" to your child? Yes! If your child looks up when you greet them, even if they do not wave back, that is reacting to a person. 

• Having snack time in their chair while you hang out with them? Oh yeah! This is the time for modeling words and sounds! Names of foods, chair, sit, eat, mmm-mmm, yum-yum, uh-oh when they drop an item. It's a time to chat and enjoy each other's company.

• Wait, what about grazing? (Grazing is when a child comes to get a bite, then takes off, only to come back for their next bite. Grazers do not sit for snack time but understand where the snack is to pause their exploration to get a bite at a time.) 

Well, that depends! Do you have their snack, and they come to YOU to get the next bite from you? Then, yes! 

Do they put their own snack down and go to it without human interaction? Then, no, this is not responding to people. 

Strategies To Try:

At this stage, the goal is for the child to REACT to people who talk and play with them.

It is GETTING the child's attention, meaning we may not keep their attention yet.

Here are some tips & strategies:

Get face-to-face with your child during playtime. If you have a kiddo who is not yet responding, we cannot expect them to start responding when you are across the room from them. 

Place yourself where your child is likely to look. 

Emphasize interactions including eye contact, closeness, and the sense that you want to be with your child.

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Use speech that is repetitive and rich in melody, expression, and rhyme

Use attention getting words

Avoid long sentences. Stick with silly words and lots of actions. 

At this stage, when a child is not responding to people who talk and play with them, we should avoid long sentences, asking questions, and expecting a child to listen and follow directions. (These skills come later!) For the next few weeks, pick small amounts of time during play and daily rotuines to JUST use simple words, silly sounds, and lots of actions.

When playing with cars avoid saying "Look. I see the blue card. Do you see the blue car? Can you put the car on the ramp? Look, Look, Put the car on the ramp. Hey, look at it. Put the blue car on the ramp." 

Instead, try this: 

Have other items put away. 

Put out the ramp and 2-3 cars only. 

Wait to see what your child does. If they pick a car up, you imitate them- pick a car up. If your child turns the car over to spin the wheels, turn your car over, spin the wheels (matching what the child did) and add a SOUND, not a bunch of words, like "whoosh". 

After copying your child's actions, pick an action you will do such as rolling your car down the ramp. Don't announce it. Just go to the ramp, put your car on the top, say "Ready.... whoosh" rolling the car down the ramp. Look at your child, then repeat your action.  

You are looking for your child to watch YOU (not just look at the toys). With few items out it will be easier to get your child to look at you, watch you, and want to engage. You should not use the word "Look!" at this stage- If you find yourself saying "Look, Look, Look at this!" that means you either have too many items out (you cannot get your child's attention when they are overwelmed or distracted) or you are not doing anyting interesting enough to get their attention. (Oof, I know this hurts to hear. I am so sorry- but sometimes caregivers are doing something so boring, not being animates, and at this stage a child does NOT understand what words mean, meaning they have no item what "Look" means but they know you say it all the time without real meaning to them.) But, don't worry! Before you know it, they WILL start responding to you, start mastering the rest of the Pre-Verbal skills, and will UNDERSTAND communication. You will be able to using lots of words, sentences, and give direction, just not the next few weeks as we are teaching your child to respond. 

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