You may have noticed that a child’s first words are usually the names of people or things, like “Mama”, “Dada”, “ball” or “car”. But by the age of two, young children should also be saying verbs. In fact, verb use at this age has been linked to more advanced grammatical skills six months later. Here are some tips for helping young children learn and use verbs.
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Parents are often advised to “talk a lot” to their child to help him learn language. But recent study shows that the number of words a child hears is not what’s most important. Rather, it’s the quality of the interaction between the parent and child that makes the biggest difference. Find out what you can do to encourage the kinds of quality interactions that help your child learn best.
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Every parent is eager to hear their child use words and start putting sentences together. But did you know that there’s a long list of things a child must learn about communication before he can begin to communicate with words? Find out what these “pre-language” skills are, and how you can promote them during everyday interactions with your child.
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Pretend play skills are closely linked with the development of language, social and emotional skills. Children with autism may need extra help to learn to pretend, but just showing them how to do pretend play actions isn't enough. find out how to add that one critical ingredient your child needs to truly pretend – fun!
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Did you know that the ability to use gestures is an important precursor for language development? Children who produce more gestures early on have been shown to have larger vocabularies and better story-telling abilities later on. Find out what you can do encourage your child’s gesture use during everyday interactions.
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Mothers are often more involved than fathers in early language intervention for children with autism. But should that be the case? Studies show that Dads play a critical and unique role in supporting their child's communication development, and their involvement should always be encouraged.
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When children start school, they’re suddenly expected to use and understand a very different kind of language from the one they’re used to hearing. Parents and childcare providers can give children a good head start by exposing them to “school talk” early so that they’re well prepared when they start school.
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Though studies continue to show that children learn best from interacting with people, not screens, the fact is that media is large and unavoidable part of our lives. The good news is that children can learn from a limited amount screen time as long as parents follow a few important guidelines...
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Researchers have identified three critical skills that are connected to better communication skills later in life for children with autism: joint attention, imitation and toy play. Why are these skills so important for communication, and what can you do to help your child develop them?
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Having a ‘theory of mind” means understanding that other people’s thoughts and feelings may be different from your own. Children with autism have difficulty developing theory of mind, which can make social interactions difficult. Find out what you can do during everyday interactions with your child to help him tune in to the thoughts and feelings of others.
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