The Interaction Coach

A speech-language pathologist should be involved with your child’s program if there is a gap in development between some of the domains (for example, language or social interaction is not developing …

Young children learn through their actions with objects. Books that incorporate textures with pictures help your child expand their understanding of the pictured object.

Today’s activity: Use a touch…

Your child learns how to handle a book from your examples and shaping their responses.

Today’s activity: Help your child turn pages by putting your finger under the next page to make it easier for yo…

Reading a book together can be like a conversation. You are both looking at and commenting on the same thing.

Don’t dominate the “conversation.” Give your child a chance to do or say something after …

At Level Three your child can explore books on their own, turning pages and looking at pictures. They can spend several minutes looking at a book together with you.

Gradually extend the amount of tim…

Your child is noticing the changes in meaning that can be expressed with your voice—intonation, loudness, speed, pitch.

Today’s activity: Play with your voice as part of vocal play. Add variety to yo…

Your child’s use of voice to call for you is shaped by your response. They learn to use a louder voice if you are out of sight.

They also learn they can control your action by using their voice—an im…

Skills that develop at Level Three include responding to sounds by making a sound back, using their voice to get attention, babble the same syllable, babble varied syllables, and copy your intonation…

Your child will use some meaningful gestures before they start to use words.

At Level Three you interpret your child’s action as if it has meaning, and then you tell the child the word you think they…

You will develop the habit of responding to your child’s actions as if they have meaning. This is the first step in shaping your child’s use of meaningful gestures.

Over time, your child will learn t…

Your child will hesitate or look at you when you say “No!” because of your tone of voice.

With more experience, your child will begin to learn that you want them to stop what they are doing.

Get in t…

Your child is learning that the word where means we have to look for it.

Today’s activity: When your child is looking at something, cover most of it or put it in a container and ask, “Where’s the bal…

Today we expand upon your activity of partially covering an object and asking, “Where’s the toy?” with your hands raised and looking around.

In the past you covered something the child was already lo…

A question from Anne in New Jersey: My child is getting ABA therapy. Does he need speech therapy from a speech-language pathologist?

Joyce’s opinion: SLPs are trained to understand all aspects of com…

Independent movement helps your child become an independent learner.

Help your child learn all kinds of words (not just the names of things). Say a verb to describe the action that is happening, like…

At Level Three your child learns to sit with some support, and use their arms to pull or push themselves on their tummy. Movement helps your child be independent in learning more about their world.

B…

Play helps your child develop thinking skills they need for using language.

Today’s activity helps your child learn about cause-and-effect relationships. It also helps your child recognize they can g…

Think ahead to things you want your child to do in the future. Model those activities now, to help your child get into the routine. You will be doing the activity. Your child can watch or participate…

Object permanence is the concept that things exist even when we can’t see them. Your child is starting to understand this idea when things are partially hidden.

Seeing something covered up and immedi…

Your child is learning about using a tool to accomplish a goal. (Down the road, they will use words for the same reason.)

Other animals use tools, too. The difference between other animals and humans…