Helping your Child Make Choices

Snack time, bath time, book time and bed time....all provide opportunities for our children to make choices. These particular times of day can be some of the most frustrating times for children with difficulty communicating their wants and needs. To help increase successful communication exchanges, reduce the number of "Yes and No" questions with your child. Often, the ability to answer Yes/No questions is very reliable...we all know the sweet little toddlers who answer "yes" (or "No!") for everything! :-) So, as parents and caregivers, let's use fewer of the yes/no kinds of questions "do you want cheese?" Do you want crackers?"

Instead, let's....Offer choices.

For example: At snack time, hold out two options for your child. In one hand, I may have a Goldfish bag and the other hand, fruit puffs. I will say "What do you want?" and then label items as I hold each out. So it will look like this:

Parent: "What do you want? Goldfish?" (Show goldfish) "Fruit puffs?" (Show Fruit puffs)
Child: May point, gesture or verbalize word.
Parent: "You choose ____. Yum!" (And say item again).

This provide opportunities for children to practice labeling and requesting their wants/needs from a grown. It will alleviate frustration because the options are visible and ready to go.  Be patient with this new way of asking and work together with your child to have successful communication exchanges with you.

Have fun letting your child make choices!!

Many areas of language

When discussing language development in children, there are many areas to consider. As you dive into the realm of language, there may be words you see that do not make sense. Here is a brief description of the different areas of language you may find as you begin research in the area of language development!

• Receptive Language- the child's ability to understand information verbally
• Auditory comprehension, following directions, etc.
• Expressive Language-how the child communicates his/her wants and needs (i.e. verbally, gesturing, sign language, grunting, etc).
• Syntax or Grammar-How children put words together to form sentences
• Semantics or vocabulary-do they label, describe, use words appropriately.
• Pragmatic Language or social language.
• Does your child use language to gain the attention of others? Maintain attention? End "conversation" appropriately? Take turns?

A GREAT read for SLP's and parents is called Beyond Baby Talk by Ken Apel and Julie Masterson http://www.asha.org/public/beyond_baby_talk.htm

To Sign or Not to Sign...that is the question.

There is much debate on whether or not to use baby sign. As a birth to three therapy provider, some parents apprehensively agree to teach their child to communicate with sign. There is concern that their child will rely heavily on the "sign" itself and not begin to verbalize their wants and needs. As a speech pathologist, I am a strong believer in the Total Communication approach. Let's equip children with ways to communicate so that they decrease their frustration level and increase their ability to communicate their wants and needs with their family.  By using sign language, we empower children and families to communicate together. As we teach each sign, we always pair the word with the sign. The goal is to remove the sign all together and have the child use words only. Signing is a way to communicate in the meantime. I encourage families to combine signs and words as they work with their child. I also use the sign language with my own children. 

Work to incorporate basic sign throughout your child's day. Beginning signs may include: "More", "Eat", "Drink", "All Done". Always pair the verbal word with the sign. Again, as the child becomes more verbal the signs will be dropped from everyday use. Until that point is reached, signing gives each child a mode to communicate with their family.

Great resources may be found at your local library (books, DVD's). Or check out these great sites:

Baby Signing Time Videos- http://www.signingtime.com/shop/baby-signing-time#

For great books and/or DVD's http://www.amazon.com/

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Beginning Sign Words http://www.asha.org/uploadedFiles/ASHA/Publications/leader/2010/101102/Recommended-Choices-for-a-First-Sign-Lexicon.pdf

Question/Answer regarding Baby Sign Language from MS NBC http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8060750/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/t/can-baby-sign-language-delay-speech/

Let's begin now.

Welcome to the world, little one! Whether it is our own child or another significant person's new baby, we cheer and welcome new babies into the world with open arms. We dream of what they will look like, when will they have their first smile, first laugh...first word. But communication begins even before that first word. Communication begins with interactions early on between a baby and parent/guardian. The gentle touch of a Mom and/or Dad,  eye contact between baby and parent, facial expressions/smiling, cooing, babbling, singing to your baby. All of these are ways to develop the feeling of trust, safety and bonding with your child. 

Here are some ideas to encourage bonding/communication with your infant:

1. Spend some face-to-face time with your baby. Talking sweetly to him/her.  Making different facial expressions and smiling. You will find that as your baby grows they will start making similar facial expressions.

2. Sing to your baby. Lullabies, nursery rhymes, etc. Not only is it great for babies to hear a soft, soothing, and safe voice, it begins to teach vocabulary to children that can be expanded upon as they grow and learn.

3.  Read to your baby. There is nothing better than snuggling in with a sweet little one and reading a book. Not always reading each page word for word, but just describing pictures, labeling objects in pictures, stating action words that they may see. Again, it is all great for building core vocabulary as they continue to grow and learn.

4. Infant Massage. Spending time gently rubbing lotion or oil on their little bodies. Singing and labeling body parts as you go.

A great book resource is called I Love You Rituals By Becky Bailey. http://www.amazon.com/Love-You-Rituals-Becky-Bailey/dp/0688161170

Have fun bonding with your baby!!