What Can I Do To Help My Child Talk?
Dr. James MacDonnald
a professor of Speech and Language pathology and Developmental
disabilities
at the Ohio State University
I’ve worked with hundreds of parents and professionals whose main
desire was they wanted their child to talk. Many of them thought
that since their child had delays, getting her to talk meant
teaching her, like teaching numbers and other school-like things.
However, we have found that there’s a great deal of play, turn-
taking, and nonverbal communication needed before words are ready
to come. But for now, lets look at what parents can do once
their child is ready for words.
Use the guide below to prepare your child to be a frequent and
enjoyable talker.
PLAY FREQUENTLY in ways your child plays
BALANCE your times together; be sure both of you do about as much as
the other
WAIT FOR YOUR CHILD TO TALK; avoid doing all the talking
MATCH your child’s actions
MATCH your child’s communications, communicate in ways your child
can do
TALK AS MUCH AS YOUR CHILD DOES; then show him a next step
RESPOND to your child’s little sounds and actions as communications
at first
RESPOND MORE to your child’s words than gestures or sounds, after
he’s talking regularly
SHOW HIM WHAT TO SAY in one or two words
MAKE TALKING TIMES MORE PLAY THAN WORK
TRANSLATE your child’s own language of sounds and movements into A
WORD
DON’T RUSH YOUR CHILD TO WORDS; communicating with sounds come first
REDUCE YOUR QUESTIONS; show your child what to say instead
ACCEPT ANY PRONUNCIATIONS AT FIRST, he won’t talk like an adult
until he practices a lot
BECOME MORE OF A PLAY PARTNER THAN A TEACHER; your child will stay
and learn more
BE A LIVING DICTIONARY; put words on your child’s experiences as they
happen
