As you may have seen from my last video blog, I am seriously committed to helping your child make a leap in his/her communication.
Last week I spoke about the fact that the single area that parents want to help their children with most (no matter what age or stage) and, interestingly, feel the most stuck is…communication development.
What are you missing in helping your child make communication breakthroughs?
The answer is simple- a communication road map.
Here is what you may not know…
Within this road map is a crucial set of skills. I call these skills ‘stepping stone skills’.
Stepping Stone skills are the skills your child needs to acquire in order to achieve a larger goal.
Before your child can speak in single words or have a back and forth conversation- there are a slew of ‘stepping stone skills’ that need to be developed FIRST.
Without focusing on these skills, in a very specific order, your child will likely get ‘stuck’- consistently not reaching his/her communication goals- causing unnecessary frustration for you and your child.
You might be thinking- how am I supposed to know what stepping stone skills are needed for specific communication goals?
No worries- I’ve got that covered (one less thing for you to have to worry about!)
Read below to learn more about some of the key ‘stepping stone skills’ for the 5 major communication stages I have outlined in my ‘communication road map’.
I take the guess work out so you can have clarity and a renewed momentum in your child’s communication growth.
***Of course, there is so much more to the communication road map, like what other ‘stepping stone skills’ does my child need to acquire, how do I help my child acquire each skill, etc. I will reveal a brand new program that I will be launching so you can get in depth answers to ALL of these questions in just a couple of days- BUT, I wanted to give you clear guidance to jumpstart the process- so here you go!***
First, identify which stage your child is in…
*Stage 1: “Getting needs met- Part I”
Goal: Using partial words/ single words
Key Stepping Stone Skill:
-Language comprehension (follow 1 step direction with common objects that are present, with prompts/gestures).
Example: Bring me cup
*Stage 2: “Getting needs met-Part II”
Goal: Using 2-3 word sentences
Key Stepping Stone Skill:
– Language comprehension: Nouns +verbs/adjectives (Follow 1 step directions including discrimination with verbs or adjectives with common objects that are present with prompts or gestures. )
Example: Bring me big/red/ hat
*Stage 3: “Functional Conversation Loops”
Goal: Functional Conversation Loops (1-2 loop conversation to get needs met or answer fact based questions).
Key Stepping Stone Skill:
-Answer choice questions with visual prompts (such as “Do you want a cracker or a banana?” while holding a cracker and banana).
*Stage 4: “Expressive Conversation”
Goal: Expressive conversation (expressing curiosity, experiences and understanding).
Key Stepping Stone Skill:
– Asking what/where/who questions
*Stage 5: “Emotive conversation”
Goal: Emotive conversation (expressing feelings, sharing and seeking personal information).
Key Stepping Stone Skill:
-Answering personal questions (such as, “who do you like to play with?”).
Of course, each stage has a slew of ‘stepping stone skills’ that need to be acquired, in a specific order, to truly get the communication skills flowing. However, identifying which stage your child is in and the key ‘stepping stone skill’ to focus on is the first step.
And, as I said, more details on my newest intensive communication program to be revealed in just a couple of days so you can know exactly what to do to learn more…
I would love to hear from you- what are you taking away from this article?