Supporting children’s speech, language

and communication developmentShona Crichton– Professional Advisor

The Communication Trust

14th November 2013

www.unitetheunion.org/health

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Unite in HealthThinkingThursday UiHTT

The Communication Trust

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This session will provide

• An overview of the importance of adults (both

practitioners and caregivers)supporting

speech, language and communication

• A summary of approaches, information and

resources to support children and young

people’s speech, language and

communication development

Learning outcomes: you’ll

1. Understand the importance of adults supporting the speech,

language and communication development of children

2. Be aware of a range of simple approaches to support speech,

language and communication development

3. Be aware of ways to work with parents to support their

child’s speech, language and communication development

4. Be aware of information and resources which are useful in

supporting children’s speech, language and communication

development

Previous Thinking Thursdays

Previous Thinking Thursday sessions have covered:

- Understanding speech, language and communication development

- Identifying children with speech, language and communication needs

How do children and young people develop their speech, language

and communication skills?

The positive effects of adults supporting

speech, language and communication

� Speech, language and communication

� Play

� Learning

� Social development

� Literacy

� Behaviour

� Emotional development

� Self confidence

� Thinking and problem-solving

A model of support

What affects speech, language and communication

development? Research evidence shows…

• The more they hear, the more time their parents

spend talking with them and the more types of

words they are exposed to, the more children use

• Children seem to develop strong language skills

when parents ask open-ended questions, ask

children to elaborate, and focus on topics of

interest to the child. Responding to what the child

is talking about and having familiar routines also

promote shared understanding.

• Conversations about how people feel and how that

affects what they do, are important in learning

social communication skills

• The amount of language children hear is important

• What adults say to children is also important

• Co operative interactions are very important

What affects speech, language and communication

development? Research evidence shows…

• Communication Environment is key:

– The Communication environment is a stronger predictor

for a child’s language skills at 2 years old than a child’s

social background

– The number of books and toys available to a child and

attendance at preschool are all important predictors for a

child’s language skills at 2 years old

When can you support speech,

language and communication?

• Any time – all the time!

• In everyday routines and conversations

• In all activities, play and social times

• Set up specific opportunities/ activities

• 1:1 and in groups

• When children are talking with you or with

other children

Key principles to support speech,

language and communication

• Listen to and value the contributions of children and young

people

• Consider their level of development – where they are now

and where next

• Model good communication

• Make language learning fun

• Work with parents and carers

• Make the most of opportunities throughout the day

• Keep an eye and make a note

Supporting the speech, language and

communication of BABIES

• Attachment is crucial to support communication development

• Give babies time to process and respond

• Opportunities for early communication – eye contact, sound-

making, turn-taking

• Using ‘parentese’

• Rhymes and songs

• Shared attention

• Running commentary for every day events

• http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/talk_to_your_baby

Supporting the speech, language and communication of YOUNG CHILDREN

Learning to Talk, Talking to Learn has 10 top tips:

1. Get the child’s attention first

2. Make learning un

3. Use simple repetitive language

4. Build on what the child says to you

5. Demonstrate rather than criticise

6. Imitate the child’s language

7. Use all the senses to teach new words

8. Give the child time to respond

9. Be careful with questions

10.Use the full range of expression

Supporting and extending children’s

SPEECH – a few ideas

• Develop awareness of sounds in the

environment

• Encourage good listening skills

• Play around with rhymes

• Make sound pictures or have a sound table,

with pictures or objects which start with the

same sound

• Model the right response rather than

correcting their speech – “I taw a tat” – “you

saw a cat? How exciting..!”

Supporting children and young

people’s LANGUAGE

• Language includes talking and understanding.

Adapting your language – key things to

think about

Adapting

your

language

How much you

talk – what

spaces are there

for children to

talk?

Length and

complexity of

your sentences

Any new or

complicated

words

How much

time is given

to the child to

respond?

How many and

what questions

do you ask – the

balance of

comments and

questionsYour speech

rate – try

speaking a little

slower

Demonstrating

, modelling and

expanding

Use of praise –

make it specific

Adapting your language - questioning

Too many questions and certain types of questions can

inhibit language and communication

Adapting your language - questioningInteraction style Example What was

child’s

language like?

Explanation

Enforced repetitions Child says: ‘biscuit’

Adult says: ‘say “please can I have a biscuit”

Child says: ‘biscuit’

No different The adult’s language was too complex for the child

to copy

Two-choice questions Adult: Is that an elephant or a giraffe?Child: ‘Giraffe’

Only one word

answer

The questions are very restricting, but can be useful

for children with very limited language where you

are trying to elicit a verbal response

Wh questions Adult: ‘Who’s that?’

Child: ‘daddy’

One word –

directly

answers

question

Can make child passive

Useful if child understands question words

Personal contributions Child: I played on the swingsAdult: oh, I’m a bit too big for the swingsChild: not me, I can go so high

Longer

sentences

More involved

Child was interested and had time and space to

make contribution

Phatics Adult: Hey, look at that…Child: It’s a princessAdult: aha…Child: she’s gonna get eaten by the dragon

Child says more

than adult

Lots of space for child to lead

Adult leaves options open for child

Starts to sound like a story

Scaffolding children and young people’s

language

Scaffolding describes how adults provide support to enable

children to achieve and develop their skills. There are

many ways to do this; some examples are:

• Adding to, or extending what a child says

• Modelling examples

• Encouraging children to rehearse and practise

• Breaking tasks or skills down into smaller steps

• Teaching and helping children to learn new words

• Providing structures for giving information or telling

stories

• Using visual prompts or props

Some examples of extending a

child’s talking

Child/young person says

• There’s a bus

• I can see a big spider

• I can’t play football today.

My leg hurts

Adult says

• Yes, it’s a big bus

• Me too – he’s enormous

• Oh, you can’t play football

because your leg hurts

Supporting children’s COMMUNICATION

Communication skills can often be taken for granted. Some

ideas:

� Model and demonstrate good communication skills

� Try group work to support early social skills like turn taking,

waiting, listening and responding

� Ensure there are opportunities for children and young people

to communicate with each other

� An adult may need to facilitate play between peers to support

communication

� Learning through play

• Children’s language develops best in a parent-child

relationship

• Parents know their child better than anyone. They know

what motivates their child to communicate

• There are lots of opportunities for developing speech,

language and communication skills through everyday

activities and routines at home

• Supporting speech, language and communication skills at

home means everyone can be involved, including dads,

grandparents etc

• Children spend most of their time at home or out of school

A parent’s role in developing speech, language

and communication

Working with parents, carers and families some

ideas

Ways to work with parents

Share ideas, advice, information

Talk about how their child is progressing

Listen to their ideas and concerns

Invite them to come and watch communication in

action

Offer workshops, sessions or events

Model ideas and examples in practice

Examples of practical ideas you could share with parents

• I spy games with descriptions rather than sounds ... “something you can

cut with”

• Listening Walks– what can you hear?

• Story telling activities – make up your own stories, having as much fun as

you like. What would happen if the Gruffalo bumped into Snow White

whilst he was out on a walk?

• Do some baking – talk about what happens first, next, last. Which

ingredients are heaviest, lightest? Talk about sequences and consequences

“what happens if the cakes are in the oven for too long?”

• Talk about food items as you unpack the shopping

• Play a memory game with adults asking children to find different objects in

the house (this could range from just one thing for very young children, to

more objects as children’s understanding develops)

Developing and maintaining a parent’s confidence in supporting

their child’s speech, language and communication development

Parents will be more confident if:

• They understand why they are doing something

• They know what to expect from their child’s speech, language

and communication skills

• They feel that they have access to support if they need it

• They have had a demonstration, or have observed what they

are being asked to do

• They have had the right amount and type of feedback from

those they are working with

Useful tools and resources

• The Communication Trust www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/resources

• Talking Point www.talkingpoint.org.uk

• www.literacytrust.org.uk/talk_to_your_baby

• http://www.btplc.com/Betterfuture/ConnectedSociety/LearningandskillsF

reeresources/Freeresources/ResourceView.aspx?id=2 (free resources for

supporting speech, language and communication)

• The Speech, Language and Communication Framework (SLCF)

www.talkingpoint.org.uk/slcf

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joqVklnnPoY

(Learning to Talk, Talking to Learn DVD clip with tips for practitioners)

What next?

Get in touch

• enquiries@thecommunicationtrust.org.uk

• SLCF - www.communicationhelppoint.org.uk

• You might be interested in...‘Supporting Children and

Young People’s speech, language and

communication’ – level 3 CPD qualification.

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CPHVACPD

At our 2012 Unite/CPHVA conference we launched #CPHVACPD, and are

currently in ‘beta testing’ on the Community Practitioner Journal website.

CPHVA members will be able to undertake a #CPHVACPD module as part

of today’s training session which they will be able to access next week at

http://www.communitypractitioner.com.

This will include some multi-choice questions and an area for reflection.

Once completed, members will be able to store or download their

certificate.

We plan to launch this #CPD resource to the wider health sector in the

coming months.

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