AMINA GRACE SPEECH/LANGUAGE PROGRAM
Mary Lee Walls, Speech Language Pathologist
The Hanen It Takes Two to Talk® parent guidebook provides many practical ideas and strategies for supporting your child’s communication skills at each developmental stage, and for helping them progress to the next stage. The Hanen stages are as follows: Discoverer Stage, Communicator Stage, First Word Stage, and Combiner Stage. This month, the focus is on the Communicator Stage.
Communicator Stage / Join In and Play using Fun Sounds and Words
Following your child’s lead by Joining In and Playing is a great way to show your child you are interested in what they are doing and communicating about. Joining In using fun sounds and words that match your child’s interests makes it easier for them to understand what you are saying. For example, you might use the fun word “pop!” if your child is playing with bubbles or the fun sound, “moo!” if your child is playing with a toy cow. Because these sounds and words include an excited voice, gestures, and facial expressions, they are fun to hear, and your child may be motivated to try and use them too!
How to Join In and Play Using Fun Sounds and Words
Step 1: Observe, Wait and Listen™ to see what your child is interested in or what they might want to send a message about:
- Get face-to-face with your child, and observe what interests them – are they looking at the ceiling fan? Are they interested in the light coming from the window? By paying close attention to your child, you will see what has captured their attention.
- Wait to see if your child sends you a message – do they look at you? Smile? Move their arms? Treat any action, look, or facial expression as though they are trying to tell you something.
- Listen for any sounds your child makes – do they babble when they spot a favorite toy? Do they giggle when their big brother makes faces at them? Again, treat any sound as though they are trying to tell you something.
Step 2: Wait for your child to send you a message.
Step 3: Follow your child’s lead. Join In and Play the way your child is playing. While you play, use fun sounds or words and lots of animation in your voice to keep the interaction interesting. Add a gesture to your fun sound or word and wait for your child to take another turn
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