New Resource: How to Build Sentences with Your Child

Without question, the following line is one of the biggest challenges I hear from parents: “My child isn’t speaking in sentences.” After all, building sentences is central to a child’s communication success. This skill develops as babies listen to adults around them having conversations. Then over time, babies slowly start to emulate adults by first producing single words and eventually short phrases. As language skills grow, their sentences become more and more sophisticated.

Unfortunately, this process isn’t quite as simple for children. A lot of my clients might be able to repeat words or phrases, but they are mostly using scripts and aren’t formulating their unique thoughts and ideas into sentences.

This is where I find visual supports to be incredibly helpful.

5 Signs Your Child Needs Augmentative/Alternative Communication

“You were a late talker too,” your mom says as she sips her latte. “I wouldn’t worry about it. Look at you. You turned out fine. Just give him time. He’ll talk when he’s good and ready.” Your well intentioned, reassuring mother might be absolutely right. Your child might begin talking (or talking more) any day now. But what if she’s not right? What if speech doesn’t develop like you hoped it would? While you wait to find out, might valuable time be slipping by when your child could be learning tools that could help him to communicate?

"Inspire, Don't Require" When Teaching Children How to Communicate

We don’t have the capacity to force verbal children to talk… so why, then, would it be acceptable to take a child’s hand and activate their words on their device or tell them what to say in any given situation?

And more importantly... how does requiring a child to say specific words actually translate into autonomous communication? Spolier alert: it doesn’t.

That’s where the “Inspire” piece of this catch phrase comes into play.

Rachel Madel Speech Therapy Inc.