HOW I GROW UP AND DEVELOP
WHAT I NEED
FROM PEOPLE WHO LOOK AFTER ME
MY WIDER WORLD
SUPPORT
THE HEALTH VISITING PATHWAY
6 - 8 WEEKS AND 3 MONTHS
NHS EDUCATION FOR SCOTLAND
SPEECH, LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION
GIVING CHILDREN THE BEST POSSIBLE START IN LIFE
Social smile (between 6 - 8 weeks) emerges.
Demonstrates disengagement cues that they are ‘ready for a break’ in interaction by turning away, whimpering, frowning.
May cry differently, for different needs.
Baby makes pre-speech mouth movements which seem as if the baby is trying to talk, plus a range of facial expressions.
May coo in response to parents voice.
Vowel-like vocalisations (oo, ah).
Eye contact is being maintained for longer.
Will begin to recognise/turn towards familiar voices and sounds.
Pre-Intentional Communication - not yet able to send messages directly to another person to get what they want.
May attempt to copy facial expressions e.g. sticking out tongue.
SPEECH, LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION DEVELOPMENT KEY
LOOK OUT FOR
- Baby not smiling back if a face is smiling at them by 3 months.
- Baby does not seem to react to noises, particularly mum’s voice. (consider hearing assessment).
- Parental concern
PROMOTING INTERACTION
- Responsiveness to newborn cries and any attempts at communication will reward their communication and build connections in the brain.
- Proximity: Babies will communicate more when they are face to face with an adult.
- Using a sing-song intonation, called ‘parentese’ will help babies tune in to an adult’s voice.
- Waiting- Allowing a short time to pause after talking to baby eg pause and wait for up to 10 seconds or more to allow them time to communicate back.
PROMOTING LANGUAGE
- Imitating: copying a baby’s facial expressions or sounds.
OPPORTUNITIES
- Looking for the best times to interact when baby is calm, bright eyed and alert.
- Talking to baby as often as possible will help them to feel safe. Talk to baby as if they can understand you.
- Singing songs - babies love the regular beat, rhythm and tune of music
ENVIRONMENT
- Having a quiet time each day for interaction, avoiding background noise where possible.
RCSLT parliamentary group review of evidence (2013) found:
- The development of a child’s communication ability has an impact on their literacy, school performance and employment prospects as well as on their emotional wellbeing and behaviour.
- The way parents talk to children and the way they give children opportunities to talk influences children’s early language development - the richer the opportunities provided the faster language develops.
- Levels of stimulation in socially disadvantaged families tend to be lower and thus these children are at greater risk of developing Speech, Language and Communication Needs.
- Around half of children in socially disadvantaged areas will experience a delay in their language development.
Health Visitors and Family Nurses play a key role in prevention and early identification of Speech, Language and Communication Needs. Below are some suggested ways of supporting families and signposting them to relevant support services.
- Consider any support a parent with Communication Support Needs may require. Parents with CSN may be less able to access additional supports and information that could assist with their child's development. Ensure you are aware of the parents communication preferences and can respond appropriately.
- Discuss and demonstrate positive interaction skills
- Parents with mental health issues, including postnatal depression and postnatal post traumatic stress, may need more support and encouragement to talk with their babies and use parentese – but trying this even a little can be a great help to them. Be aware that postnatal mental health issues can affect both mothers and fathers.
- Where there are capacity issues for parents, consider other family members who might be able to help – grandparents, older siblings – and give them key messages
- Signposting: Attending local bookbug sessions, infant massage or other community resources can support the attachment and communication process.
- Tips and advice on how to support language and social development for sharing or signposting with parents can be found on the bumps to bairns website
- Parents have access to developmental guidelines relating to early communication skills through the Red book, Ready Steady Baby and Ready Steady Toddler.
- Play at home book contains lots of activities which promote communication.
- Play, talk, Read website contains many ideas and examples of positive interaction.
- Consider Motivational Interviewing/ Health Coaching Strategies. For more information: Health Behaviour change e-learning suite
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Using the Elicit-Provide-Elicit model of sharing information and checking understanding.
- Elicit - what the parent/carer knows already
- Provide - fill in any gaps or misconceptions
- Elicit - Explore what fits with family life
- Using open-ended questions, active listening, reflecting back and summarising. (For more information on these techniques- see NES Motivational Interviewing resource)
- Using a collaborative communication style - working in partnership with families, empowering them to solve issues and make decisions
RESOURCES
FOR PROFESSIONALS
FOR PARENTS
Words Up – parent-friendly posters explaining development and key messages
Quick Tips: Talking to your baby: Available in 13 languages
Through the Eyes of a child for parents age 0-6 months (video clips)
REFERENCES
All Party Parliamentary Group on Speech and Language Difficulties. 2013. The links between speech, language and communication needs and social disadvantage. London: Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists
NHS Education for Scotland
102 Westport
Edinburgh
EH3 9DN
www.nes.scot.nhs.uk
OTHER LINKS
- NES website
- The Portal
© NHS Education for Scotland 2018. You can copy or reproduce the information in this document for use within NHSScotland and for non-commercial educational purposes. Use of this document for commercial purposes is permitted only with the written permission of NES.