Activities for Language Development and Q&A with a SLP
Ever wondered how to best support your child’s speech and language development at home? We sat down with Megan Meyer, a Speech and Language Therapist in the School District of Reedsburg, to get some expert insights.
In this Q&A session, she addresses common questions asked by parents and shares valuable tips for nurturing your child’s communication skills through engaging activities right in your own home. Read on for tips on how to create a language-rich environment and discover practical strategies to support your child’s language journey!
Preschool Language Development Activities
Promoting language development in preschoolers is essential for their overall cognitive growth and future academic success. Here are some language activities you can incorporate into their daily routines to encourage language skills:
- Reading Aloud: Read age-appropriate books to your child regularly, discussing the pictures, characters, and storyline. Ask open-ended questions to encourage them to express their thoughts and feelings about the story.
- Storytelling: Encourage your child to tell their own stories, either from imagination or personal experiences. You can start a story, and let them continue it, fostering their creativity and language skills.
- Singing Songs and Rhyming: Sing songs, nursery rhymes, and fingerplays together. These activities help children recognize sounds, patterns, and rhythm in language, which are important for phonological awareness.
- Conversation: Engage your child in meaningful conversations throughout the day. Ask simple questions about their day, interests, and opinions, and actively listen to their responses. Respond thoughtfully and expand on their ideas.
- Role Play: Encourage imaginative play with toys, puppets, or dress-up costumes. Pretend play allows children to practice language skills as they communicate and negotiate roles and scenarios.
- Word Games: Play word-related simple games like “I Spy,” “Simon Says,” or “20 Questions.” These classic games help children build vocabulary, comprehension, and critical thinking skills in a fun and interactive way.
- Labeling Objects: Point out and label familiar things in your child’s environment, such as household items, toys, and foods. This helps them make connections between words and objects, expanding your child’s vocabulary.
- Art and Crafts: Encourage your child to describe their artwork or craft projects, including colors, shapes, and actions taken. Provide opportunities for them to talk about their creative process and express themselves verbally.
- Outdoor Exploration: Take nature walks or explore the outdoor environment together. Encourage your child to describe what they see, hear, smell, and feel, building descriptive language skills.
- Puzzle and Board Games: Play simple puzzles and board games that involve following directions, taking turns, and communicating with others. These activities promote social interaction and language development.
- Animal Sounds: Introduce animal sounds during playtime or while reading books about animals. Encourage your child to mimic the sounds of various animals, such as “moo” for a cow or “meow” for a cat. This activity not only enhances language skills but also fosters auditory discrimination and creativity.
- Scavenger Hunt: Make a list of items for your child to find, such as specific toys, colors, shapes, or objects related to a theme. As your child searches for each item, encourage them to name objects or use descriptive words for what they find. For example, if the list includes finding something red, your child might identify a red ball or a red book. This activity promotes vocabulary development, observation skills, and expressive language as your child communicates their findings.
By incorporating these activities into your child’s daily routine, you can create a rich language-learning environment that supports their communication skills and fosters a love for language and literacy.
Common Questions in Speech and Language Development
Megan shared common questions that she hears parents ask regarding speech and language development of their child. You can read them with her answers below.
Q: How much should I be able to understand my child?
Megan: It depends on their age! The general rule of thumb is that by the age of 2, we should understand our child about 25-50% of the time. By the age of 3, we should understand them at least 50% of the time, by the age of 4, they should be approaching 75% intelligibility. Beyond the age of 5, they should be closing in on 100% intelligible!
Q: What speech sounds should my child be developing at what age?
Megan: In the English language we have 44 different speech sounds (including vowels). Some of the first speech sounds children develop are typically: P, B, M, T, and D. The speech sounds that develop the latest are ‘th’ (like in ‘that’) and R. These sounds are not typically mastered until 6 – 7 years of age!
Q: How many words should my child be able to say?
Megan: On average, we expect a baby to have their first word around their 1st birthday. Typically between 18-24 months, toddlers go through a language leap where we see their vocabulary explode and they start trying to combine 2 words together.
Q: How can I best support my child’s language skills and speech at home?
Megan: There are so many simple (and fun) ways to support your child’s language!
- Narrate your daily activities! Talk about what you’re doing, what your child is doing, and what your child sees. As your child gets older, use longer sentences
- Use a lot of different words with your child. Don’t worry about using big words. Children enjoy unusual and new words.
- Have your child’s hearing tested if you find yourself repeating a lot or using a loud voice.
- Tell stories to your child a lot. Read to your child as much as you can.
- Ask questions and talk about what happened in the story.
- Don’t interrupt your child to correct their speech sounds. It’s okay if your child makes some mistakes with sounds. Say the sounds correctly when you talk.
- Ask questions that need more than a yes or no answer. Encourage your child to ask you questions.
- Setting limits for screen time is a good idea. Use that time for talking, reading, and playing together.
Most importantly, don’t wait to get help if you’re concerned. You know your child best. Getting help early is one of the best ways to stop later problems with behavior, learning, reading, and social relationships.
Q: If I have concerns about my child’s speech and/or language skills, where can I go?
Megan: This will depend on their age to some extent. If your child is under the age of 3, talk to your child’s doctor about your concerns and ask for a referral for Birth-to-Three services or an evaluation from a clinic (consider your insurance).
If your child is 3 years of age or older, you can also reach out to professionals in the school district you reside in- this would include a school psychologist, speech and language pathologist, or your child’s teacher!
Q: What is a speech and language therapist?
Megan: A speech-language pathologist, also called an SLP, is an expert in communication.
SLPs work with people of all ages, from babies to adults. SLPs treat many types of communication and swallowing problems. These include problems with:
- Speech sounds—how we say sounds and put sounds together into words for effective communication. Other words for these problems are articulation or phonological disorders, apraxia of speech, or dysarthria.
- Language—how well we understand what we hear or read and how we use words to tell others what we are thinking.
- Social communication—how well we follow rules, like taking turns, how to talk to different people, or how close to stand to someone when talking. This is also called pragmatics.
- Voice—how our voices sound. We may sound hoarse, lose our voices easily, talk too loudly or through our noses, or be unable to make sounds.
- Fluency—also called stuttering, is how well speech flows. Someone who stutters may repeat sounds, like t-t-t-table, use “um” or “uh,” or pause a lot when talking. Many young children will go through a time when they stutter, but most outgrow it.
- Cognitive-communication—how well our minds work. Problems may involve memory, attention, problem solving, organization, and other thinking skills.
- Feeding and swallowing—how well we suck, chew, and swallow food and liquid. A swallowing disorder may lead to poor nutrition, weight loss, and other health problems.
