The language center in your baby’s brain begins to develop all before they start talking. Giving your little one all the necessary tools they need to build language and comprehension skills starts early.

How you can help build speech and language development in infants and toddlers

Narrate

All the sounds your baby hears is going to their brain. Simply talking to them, telling them what you’re doing, provides them with a great deal of language input.  According to the latest research published in Scientific America. 

At birth, the infant brain can perceive the full set of 800 or so sounds, called phonemes, that can be strung together to form all the words in every language of the world. During the second half of the first year, research shows that a door opens in the child’s brain. The baby enters a “sensitive period,” as neuroscientists call it, during which the infant brain is ready to receive the first basic lessons in the magic of language.

The built-in capacity for language does not on its own propel the child past the first utterances of “mama” and “dada.” To learn this most important of social skills requires that a baby pay careful attention to countless hours of parent-speak.

Sing

Music and movement are a traditional way to calm a baby. It can be just about anything, from Holiday tunes to folding the laundry. Putting language to rhythm promotes calmness and development, according to the latest research. 

In a new study from the University of Montreal, infants remained calm twice as long when listening to a song, which they didn’t even know, as they did when listening to speech. Professor Isabelle Peretz, of the university’s Center for Research on Brain, Music and Language. “Emotional self-control is obviously not developed in infants, and we believe singing helps babies and children develop this capacity.”

If you are concerned about your child’s speech and language development, keep a notebook of what they are doing or saying and bring it to your healthcare provider or speech pathologist

If you have any questions or concerns about your child, we encourage you to contact Orlando’s First Words Therapy. We take a holistic approach to speech-language-therapy to help your child communicate more effectively.

Our therapists have extensive clinical experience and training, ensuring your child receives the highest level of care.