Strategies To Build Your Child’s Speech And Language During Play 

Children learn through playing, this offers an excellent opportunity to apply speech and language strategies. These experiences encourage your child while they are playing and having fun.

Offer choices 

Providing choices for your child acknowledges their needs. It is a non-threatening way to model words. It is also an opportunity to teach concepts, such as colors. For example: Do you want the “big red truck” or “small blue truck”?

Use happy sounds and voices 

There is no mistaking the sound of children playing. They use fun voices and sounds to get into character. From the low rumble of a truck to the squeaking of the breaks before it knocks down a wall of blocks. Playing while imitating sounds and words is a great way for a toddler to learn language skills. 

Use gestures 

Act out your words with your body, for instance: Ask them if they want to play with the big blue truck in a “big” voice, stretching your arms big, or the small green truck using a “squeaky” voice, demonstrating how small with two fingers. Learning concepts and words with gestures give that extra boost. It also helps build verbal vocabulary through communication. 

Use an assortment of words 

Modeling an assortment of words will help build your child’s vocabulary and give them the tools to combine words. Use adjectives such as the bunny is “soft” or the train is “fast”. Action words such as “run” and “jump”. Pronouns such as “you” and “I”.

Be patient, we’re in this together 

It isn’t always easy to be patient, but it is a very powerful strategy. Instead of immediately helping, give your child the chance to communicate, they may surprise you. If they start to get upset, model how to use appropriate context, such as “help” or “want”

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.