HOW I GROW UP AND DEVELOP

ATTENTION AND LISTENING

• Attend to joint activity for around 5 minutes.
• Listen to a story with pictures.
• Listen and attend to simple conversations.
• Recognises familiar sounds in their environment e.g. animal noises, noises in the home.

PLAY AND INTERACTION

• Takes turns in simple games e.g. rolling a ball.
• Participates in pretend play e.g. give teddy a drink.
• Beginning to use objects imaginatively e.g. pretends that a box is a car or bed.
• Likes to watch other children play and will play alongside them.
• Still learning rules of interaction.

RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE (UNDERSTANDING)

• Follow simple instructions in context e.g. put teddy on the bed.
• Beginning to understand some longer instructions without help e.g. give some juice to teddy.
• Can give you objects without you pointing to it.
• Can understand what objects are used for eg which one do we sit on?
• Starts to understand concepts such as: in, on, under, big, little, more.
• Can point to body parts.
• Understand simple action words e.g. drink, sleep - can do a simple action when asked e.g. jump up and down.
• Can understand simple who, what, questions.

EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGES (USE)

• Uses from 50 to 300 words.
• Rapidly learning new words all the time.
• Beginning to link two words together.
• Sing parts of familiar nursery rhymes.
• Starting to build short 2-4 word sentences. 

SPEECH SOUNDS

• Speech may not be clear- child may use - p,b,t,d,n,m,w,h.
• A familiar adult understands speech most of the time.
• At this stage the child may occasionally repeat words at the beginning of a sentence. They are usually trying to share their ideas before their language skills are ready.

LOOK OUT FOR

• No attempts at single words.
• Has less than 50 words, no attempts at joining words together.
• Doesn’t show understanding of simple commands e.g. ‘don’t touch’ or simple questions – where’s your shoe?
• No response to name.
• Lack of interest in communicating with others.
• Lack of response to adult initiation of social interaction.
• Lack of use of eye contact in interaction.
• Doesn’t pretend with toys e.g. feeding doll.
• Regression of skills.
• Speech is very difficult to understand, even to a familiar adult-
• e.g. numerous vowel errors, frequent deletion of initial consonants, frequent use of ‘h’ for a variety of sounds, backing (e.g. ku for two) and deletion of final consonants.
• Parental concern.
• Hoarse voice.
• Dysfluency (stammer).

Promoting Interaction:

• Children will communicate more when they are face to face with an adult.
• Following a child’s interests encourages them to communicate about what is important to them.
• Allowing time for children to respond. Pausing for a few seconds to allows time for a child to communicate.
• Using a slow pace allows time for a child to respond and to copy you.
• Takie turns when playing games and singing rhymes.
• Be careful with questions - Asking too many questions or questions to ‘test’ a child can affect the interaction e.g. ‘what colour is that?’
• Praise attempts at communication. Correcting a child’s speech may affect the interaction. Focus on what the child is saying, not how they are saying it. Provide a correct model for the child to hear.

Promoting Language

• Repetition is very important to the acquisition of language. Infants and young children need to hear words over and over again before they will attempt to use them.
• Recognising and responding positively to a child’s attempts at communication is vital.
• Repeating words back shows you have understood and so the child hears good models.
• Help extend your child’s language by adding and extending on what they are saying. Add one or two words to the child’s sentence. If they say ‘car’ – you could say ‘red car.’
• Point, name and describing a variety of vocabulary that a child shows an interest in.
• Provide labels and descriptions for things the child shows an interest in. Try to put into words what the child is trying to communicate. This will build vocabulary development.
• Use short, simple sentences. Talk about what your child is doing and what they are interested in.
• Name a variety of vocabulary. Emphasise and stress important words.

Opportunities

• Reading provides opportunity for interaction, communication and sound play. Look out for the Bookbug Explorer Bag (gifted at age 3 through nursery or early years setting) and spend time reading the books together. Take time to look at the pictures and point and name what you see.
• Singing rhymes and songs: wait at times to see if the child will fill in the action or word.
• Play provides many opportunities for communication development.
• Routines (such as bed, bath time) provide good opportunities for children to anticipate what is happening next and develop the language around this.
• Activities which promote sound play are particularly important for young children who are learning how words and phrases work, and the fine speech discrimination skills necessary for linking sounds to meaning.

Environment

• Try to control/minimise distractions/background noise – eg turning off tv. It can be helpful to have a quiet time each day for communication where your child can tune into your voice.
• Avoid excessive use of dummies, especially when your child is trying to talk.
• Consider how screen time is influencing a child’s opportunities for interaction, making sure there are plenty of opportunities for listening and talking.

• At two years old, children’s understanding and use of vocabulary can be a predictor of their performance when they begin primary school.
• Working early with parents is vital to help parents understand the importance of early language, interaction and communication opportunities in the home environment
• Pre-school provision can provide new experiences and increased opportunities for communication

Which factors are associated with better and poorer SLC outcomes? | Early Speech, Language and Communication Development: Which Factors are Associated with Better or Poorer Outcomes? | Resources | Education Scotland

Health visitors and family nurses play a key role in promoting early language development and in the prevention and early identification of speech, language and communication needs. Below are some suggested ways of supporting families:

• Promote positive interaction skills by role modelling talking, listening, playing and reading with baby.
• Consider other family members who might be able to help – grandparents, older siblings – and give them key messages around talking, singing, reading and interacting.
• 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 a tuneful voice – but encouragement to try this even a little can be a great help.
• Parents with communication support needs may require additional support in communicating and interacting with baby. Ensure you are aware of individuals communication preferences.
• Signposting: Attending local Bookbug sessions, infant massage or other community resources can support the attachment and communication process and can be a great source of support for families.
• Bookbug Sessions in libraries and community venues are a great way for families to spend quality time together and meet other families. They also help to build children’s social skills and support their speech and language development.
• Parents have access to developmental guidelines relating to early communication skills through the Red book, Ready Steady Baby, Ready Steady Toddler and Parent Club

For professionals

• Parent Club website is the host for the Chatting Together messages for bumps to babies, and toddlers to young children and has accompanying videos to share with families.
• Chatting Together Messages | National Early Language and Communication (NELC) Project.
• Bookbug for the Home training: Fully funded training available for midwives and health visitors who are working closely with families and would like to use stories songs and rhymes on a one-to-one basis to support families. 
• Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library: If children are Looked After when they are born or are care-experienced at any point between birth and 5 years, they will be eligible for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Professionals can make families/carers aware or ensure that children are signed up through their local social work department. 
• The Scottish model of infant participation: Key Messages for Best Practice: 2 - Voice of the Infant: best practice guidelines and infant pledge - gov.scot.

For parents

• Parent Club website is the host for the Chatting Together messages for bumps to babies, and toddlers to young children and has accompanying videos to share with families.
• Chatting Together Messages | National Early Language and Communication (NELC) Project
• CBeebies Parenting  Activities for babies, toddlers and children.
• You can also find books and resources in the baby bookbug bag and many recordings of popular songs and rhymes on the free Bookbug app.
• Ready Steady Baby has lots of information and resources to support early development.
• Solihull free resources for parents (using code TARTAN) inourplace | Solihull Approach – Scotland | inourplace.
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