11 Skills children must master before they talk
Learning to talk is a complicated process! As Early Intervention therapists it’s important that we understand the steps that lead up to this huge milestone so we know how to support the families and children we serve.
If you are a therapist working with infants and toddlers you have most likely heard parents say, “I just want my child to talk!”.
As much as we would love to see this huge milestone happen naturally for children, that’s not always the case.
What most caregivers do not realize or understand, is that language is extremely complex.
Language is more than just “words”.
The 3 components of communication development
Speech-Language Pathologists like to look at communication in three different ways:
Receptive language
Expressive language
Speech/Articulation
All three areas are equally important in helping communication come together and making it meaningful for others.
In typical development, a child will acquire skills in all three areas concurrently and by the time the child reaches their first birthday, they should be understanding simple language, beginning to use single words, and producing a variety of sounds.
It is incredibly important for all providers working with young children to understand why each piece of communication is important and how to support communication skills if something is delayed or missing.
What is receptive language?
Receptive language is:
the ability to understand words and language.
the ability to follow directions, identify objects or pictures, understand a story, and answer questions.
considered the “input” of information.
Why it’s important…
Receptive language is important because we need a child to understand a word's meaning before we can expect them to say it. If a child is showing a delay in their receptive language, there is a very good chance that they will also be showing a delay in their expressive language.
What is expressive language?
Expressive language is:
the ability to use words and phrases to create meaningful communication.
considered the “output” of information.
Expressive language is how people express their wants and needs and have social experiences with others.
Why it’s important…
Expressive language is important because it allows people to name objects, make comments, and ask questions.
There are many aspects to expressive language including:
“semantics” or meaning of words,
“syntax” or grammar
“morphology” the formation of words.
What is Articulation/Speech?
Articulation/Speech is the formation of sounds to make words.
There are 44 sounds in the English language and mastering all of them can be challenging.
Luckily, we don’t have to master all 44 sounds as a toddler, but we should have them mastered by the time we reach nine years of age.
Coordinating your articulators (lips, teeth, etc.) to produce sounds correctly can be challenging.
For example, if we want to name a picture of a “bee” we must first initiate the breath support from our lungs, make our vocal cords vibrate, briefly close our lips and then retract them, all while blocking air from going into our nasal passage. It is a wonder how anybody can coordinate all of that to have clear speech!
So how do we get kids to talk?
Luckily for us, Speech-Language Pathologist, Laura Mize, M.S. CCC/SLP, has broken down communication development even further to help us understand the 11 skills that children must master BEFORE words emerge.
11 Skills children must master BEFORE words emerge
(*Information adapted from “11 Skills Toddlers Master Before Words Emerge” from Let’s Talk About Talking at teachmetotalk.com)
1. React to events in the environment, as this is the foundation of communication.
2. Respond to people when they talk to or play with them because communication involves at least two people.
3. Take turns with you during interactions because communication is a back-and-forth system.
4. Develop a longer attention span so they can focus and learn.
5. Share joint attention with others so there is a shared object/interest to talk about.
6. Play with a variety of toys appropriately because kids learn through play.
7. Understand early words and follow simple directions because receptive “input” happens before expressive “output”.
8. Vocalize or make sounds purposefully because you cannot “talk” until you can produce sounds intentionally.
9. Imitate actions, gestures, sounds, and words because kids learn by watching/mimicking others.
10. Use early gestures like waving and pointing. These skills come right before words.
11. Initiate interactions with others to get needs met or to play because kids cannot always depend on others to anticipate their wants and needs.
If any of these 11 skills are missing or are not fully mastered, we cannot expect a child to be using spontaneous words.
Therapists already supporting young children and their families are the perfect people to help fill in the gaps and begin simple language intervention.
Once a child has mastered these 11 skills, be ready to have a “talker” on your hands!
Thank you to our guest blogger, Stacey Barnes, CCC-SLP for sharing her insights and expertise in working with children with communication delays. Stacey is the Assistant Director for Early Intervention at DDRC in Lakewood, Colorado. She is certified in PECS, has additional training for Therapeutic Listening, SOS feeding approach, and DIR Floortime. Stacey specializes in working with children with early communication delays, feeding difficulties, and cleft lip and palate.
Want to learn more from Stacey and join a supportive group of like-minded Occupational Therapy practitioners?
Join The Therapy Village, online membership for EI and preschool Occupational Therapists, where Stacey will be joining us to share more information about interventions Occupational Therapists can perform to support family’s goals around communication and strategies to promote these 11 skills of communication.
By joining The Therapy Village you’ll have on-demand access to a variety of content lessons, parent handouts, tons of teletherapy and in-person activity ideas, access to a supportive community to answer all your questions all while earning NBCOT renewal credits each month.
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