With the arrival in my second child in October I have been reminded of how quickly babies develop early communication skills and the importance of tapping into those early.
Many of you know that I use a tree as a symbol for my practice. There is a reason for this as the tree is a great symbol for how speech and language skills develop. See the picture below:
The Language Tree
Babies communication starts in the first step, or the roots of the tree. They specifically are starting with non-verbal communication skills such as eye contact, turning to a speaker or noise, sustained attention and starting on their journey towards verbal spoken language by practicing backwards and forwards communication through babble and vocalisations.
As babies develop into their first year they start on the second step or the trunk of the tree. At this stage babies start to develop their understanding of language. This initially starts with single words and as they get older, two step instructions then three step and so forth.
As understanding is developing babies and toddlers start on the third step or the branches of the tree. At this stage their spoken language starts to develop. They move from babbling to single words and as their vocabulary increases they start to move to two word phrases and upwards into short phrases, and sentences.
In the fourth and final step or the leaves of the tree a child starts the final phase of their communication development. Their speech sounds become clearer, they use longer and more complex sentences and develop their grammar to make their language more complex.
Each step needs to develop in turn in order for a child's communication skills to improve. Without each step in place the other levels will not be achieved.
How to support your babies language skills
From around 4 or 5 weeks you will start to see babies turning towards your voice and looking directly into your eyes. When you start to notice this hold their eye contact and speak to them. Sing them a song. Hum a tune. Anything which allows them to hear you and supports them to sustain their attention for a short period of time. This could be as much as 30 seconds or as little as a few seconds. The more you do it, the more your baby will learn these early communication skills.
As your baby gets bigger they will start to vocalise or babble more and more. When this starts to happen spend some time copying their vocalisations or speaking to them in the gaps which they leave. See a video of my older daughter below doing exactly this.
Take opportunities throughout the day to spend some time practicing these skills with your baby. The more you spend time practicing eye contact, backwards and forwards communication and supporting them to extend their joint attention will help them in the longer run with their verbal communication. It can be really fun and rewarding watching your child develop their early language skills (see my blog post of spoken language skills for older children and how their language develops over time). Check out my other blog posts on developing children's language as part of my lockdown series. The link to the first one is here.
What if I am worried?
If you are concerned that your baby isn't developing its early communication skills initially speak to your health visitor - they will be able to provide with you with some strategies. You can also use ideas from my other blog posts.
Once your child is around 2 years of age they should have around 50 single words in their vocabulary. If you do not feel your child has that level of language then you can always seek support from a Speech and Language Therapist. This can be via the NHS or independent support. Contact your local NHS service to find out their referral policy or look on www.asltip.com for independent speech therapy support.
If you are in Devon and require support please feel free to contact me directly for a free 20 minute telephone consultation to get some initial advice and determine if you require support at this time or later.
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