Today, Cathy (speech therapist) showed us a video of a mom communicating in different ways with her toddler. While watching the video, we had a group discussion about the communication between the mom and her child. After watching the video, Cathy explained the following:
1. Be repetitive (repeat the same words to your child so the child can get an idea of what you mean. for instance, if he takes a toy out of his bucket, say the word ‘out’. if he takes another toy out of the bucket, say the same word ‘out’)
2. Be consistent (if he takes the toy out of the bucket, don’t say remove, away or off otherwise the child will get confused learning too many different words. just continue to say ‘out’)
3. Be referential (you can use body language when communicating with your child. if your child wants to drink, pretend your hand is a cup and show him ‘drink’ with your hand)
4. Talk to your child at a physical level (don’t communicate with your child while your child looks up at you. go down to their eye level and engage in communication there. for instance, if your child is sitting, sit down with your child and communicate)
5. Talk to your child at a expressive level (if your child is clapping or waving or shows a surprise look on their face, you should do the same in order to engage in some type of communication. for instance, if your child is dancing, you dance as well and say the word ‘dance’)
6. Be at your child’s cognitive level (use simple words. the vocabulary of a 2 yr old is obviously not yet sophisticated. so instead of saying ‘remove’ or ‘twist’ to open something, just use something simple such as ‘open’)
I tried some of these at home with Nathan. I sat down on the floor with him while he was holding his bucket of toys. When I saw him taking his toys out, I imitated him by taking one of his toys out of the bucket. When I take the toy out of the bucket, I said ‘out’. After saying ‘out’ over and over again, he said ‘out’.
So far, whatever Cathy is teaching us is working.