Expressive language involves using gestures, sounds & words to convey meaning to other people. It involves naming objects, describing actions & events, using grammar correctly and asking & answering questions.
Encourage performance sounds during play – When playing use action words and sounds in a meaningful way e.g. ‘brmm brmm’ as you push the car. Accompany these with varied intonations and gestures.
Comment on what your child is doing during play e.g. “ your digging a deep hole”
Leave silences in play this enables your child to initiate a ‘communication’.
Keep your sentences short use 1 and 2 word utterances initially, as your child is more likely to attempt to copy 1 word as opposed to a long sentence of 6 words.
Add on to your child’s productions if your child consistently says a production which you know means ‘drink’, add another word in your response to show your child what they could have said e.g. ‘yummy drink, more drink, big drink’.
Offer your child choices when you are not sure what they want (with or without object prompts). eg. if your child wants a toy – you can say ‘car or ball’.
Expect your child to provide you with an attempt at a word or sound. Encourage your child to give a response and not just take you to the desired object. You may encourage this by verbally asking your child to tell you what they want, by not responding to gestures, getting the wrong object, or giving your child a choice. Ensure you reinforce speech production specifically e.g. ‘great telling Mummy you wanted a ball’.
Read to your child everyday labelling pictures in the book, this increases vocabulary skills.
Engage in pretend play with your child using props eg toy telephones, toy kitchen, shops, puppets etc. Research has shown that dramatic play activities create the most complex language interactions.
Model a range of different word types
naming words e.g. car, bottle
location words e.g. in, on
action words e.g. run, jump
describing words e.g. big, little
This enables your child to construct word combinations and form sentences more easily. It is beneficial to model words when your child is attending to the objects or playing with them. Praise all attempts at communication and most importantly, have fun!
This App teaches cognitive, language and fine motor skills through the use of rhyming and sequencing games, syllable identification and following directions
2. Teach Your Monster to Read
This is a fun interactive, engaging game that practices essential reading skills such as matching letters to sounds, blending and segmenting letters and more. Play this game on your computer and it’s free.
3. Rhyming Bus
A great app to develop rhyming skills in young children and engage early readers.
4. Pronouns with Slingo
A great app that allows a child to practice their use of pronouns in a fun interactive game.
5. Sequencing
A great app to develop sequencing and storytelling/narrative skills in young children.
Approximately 10% of school aged children have problems with reading and writing. Research has shown that in order for children to learn to read and write they need to be able to understand these concepts:
that words are made up of sounds
that letters represent sounds
writing in a particular order can make different meanings.
Research has shown that getting help for literacy problems early can prevent those problems becoming more severe.
Speech Moves has helped many children over the Newcastle and Port Stephens regions to become competent readers through addressing the fundamental phonological awareness skills needed to master reading.
Receptive language is the ability to understand spoken, written or sign language. It involves making sense of the words we here, following directions, understanding questions, learning new vocabulary and interpreting the meaning of conversations.
Strong receptive language skills form the foundation for communication, learning, social interaction, and literacy. Before children can use language affectively to express themselves, they first need to understand the language they hear around them.
Why are Receptive Language skills so important?
Children rely on receptive language skills to:
Follow instructions at home, school and in the community
Learn new concepts and vocabulary
Participate in conversations
Answer questions appropriately
Enjoy books and stories
Build social relationships
Solve problems and think critically
Understand classroom teaching
Develop reading and writing skills
As language develops, children also learn to understand more complex questions that require reasoning and inference.
Receptive language also includes understanding how words fit together in sentences. Children learn the meaning of grammatical markers such as: plurals, tense, pronouns, negatives, comparatives and prepositions.
Signs a child may be experiencing receptive language difficulties
Every child develops at their own rate, but some signs may indicate that additional support is needed. A child with receptive language difficulties may:
Appear not to listen
Frequently ask for information to be repeated
Have difficulty following directions
Become confused when several instructions are given together
Need visual demonstrations to understand tasks
Answer questions incorrectly or off topic
Have difficulty learning new concepts
Have difficulty understanding new vocabulary
Misunderstand classroom instructions
Struggle to understand stories or conversations
Become frustrated when communication breaks down
Seem inattentive when, in fact, they have not understood what has been said
These difficulties may vary and may become more noticeable as language demands increase with age.
Speech Pathologists work closely with families, educators, and other professionals to help children develop their receptive language skills across every day environments.
When should I seek help?
It may be helpful to consult a Speech Pathology if your child:
Has difficulty understanding language compared to children of the same age
Regularly struggles to follow instructions
Has ongoing difficulty answering questions
Appears to misunderstand conversations
Is experiencing difficulties with learning that may be related to language
Becomes frustrated because they do not understand what others are saying
Has concerns raised by teachers, educators, or health professionals
Early intervention helps children develop the skills they need to participate confidently at home, school and in the community.
Our Speech Pathologists provide comprehensive assessment, evidence based intervention, and practical strategies to empower children and families to build confidence and achieve their communication goals.
So bloody girl makes me want to go there languageWe work collaboratively with parents, educators, and other professionals to ensure children receive consistent support across all environments, helping them develop the understanding and communication skills to live their best lives.
If you have concerns about your child’s communication skills, please give us a call, we would love to chat with you.
Speech sound development refers to a child’s ability to produce speech sounds accurately so that others can understand them. As children grow, they learn to pronounce sounds, combine them into words and develop clear, intelligible speech.
While it is normal for young children to make some speech sound errors or substitutions as they learn, persistent difficulties can impact communication, learning, confidence and social interactions.
Some children may have trouble producing certain sounds, while others may find it difficult to organise sounds into words. These challenges can make it hard for family members, teachers and peers to understand what they are saying.
Signs a child may have speech sound difficulties:
A child me:
Be difficult to understand
Substitute one sound for another (e.g. saying “tat” instead of “cat”)
Delete syllables in words (e.g. say “nana for “banana”)
Add extra sounds to words
Distort sounds, such as producing a lisp
Become frustrated when others cannot understand them
Avoid talking or answering questions
Have difficulty learning to read and spell as they get older
If you notice these signs, an assessment by a Speech Pathologist can determine whether your child’s speech development is progressing as expected.
If intervention is needed, an individualised plan is developed that is evidence based, engaging and tailored to your child’s age, strengths and interests. Intervention incorporates games, play-based activities and meaningful practice to keep children motivated while achieving their communication goals.
Why early intervention matters
Clear speech helps children participate confidently at home, pre-school and in the community.
Early intervention can reduce frustration, improve communication and support literacy development.
Addressing speech sound difficulties early leads to better long-term outcomes.
Research has shown a clear link between speech sound disorders and slower literacy development at school.
Whether a child has a mild speech delay or a more complex speech sound disorder, we are here to help them develop clearer speech, greater confidence and the communication skills they need to succeed.
