20 Sep Parent Handouts DV Language
Verbal Routines
Why are they helpful?
● Verbal routines create opportunities for the child to participate in activities, using
sounds, words,
● gestures, etc.
● They are a natural way to work on receptive language as the words are
associated with actions.
● They provide opportunities for turn-taking.
● They are predictable and help the child to know what to expect during an
activity.
Examples of Verbal Routines To try at home
Play:
● Pushing cars, rolling balls, playing chase, etc- “Ready…set…go!”.
● Playing with bubbles- “Wow.. Bubbles!.. Open, dip in…Blow!”.
● Water play- “Scoop… scoop… pour!”.
● Sand play- “Scoop… scoop… tip!”. Building a sandcastle- “fill it up… turn over… pat,
pat, pat… ta da!”
● Singing nursery rhymes and songs.
● Saying goodbye to toys when you have finished playing.
Daily Routines:
● Bedtime- “It’s bedtime, night night, love you”.
● Diaper (nappy) changes- “Wipe, wipe, wipe… all clean”.
● Washing hands- “Wash your hands… all clean”.
● Washing the dishes- “Let’s wash the dishes… ready?… Wash, wash, wash”.
● As you walk up the stairs- “Up, up, up the stairs”.
● As you walk down the stairs- “Down, down, down the stairs”.
Tips For using Verbal Routines
● Say the same words, during the same activity each time you do it.
● Keep the words simple and repetitive, to support language skills.
● After you have done the verbal routine a few times, you can pause before
finishing the phrase, to give the child an opportunity to fill in the blank.
How to Reduce Questions
How to reduce Questions?
Instead of… | Try… |
---|---|
What have you got? | Telling them what they have, Ex. “You have a blue car” |
What’s that called? | Telling them the name of the item, Ex. “Red Bricks” or “Big Bricks” |
What color is it? | Tell them what color it is, Ex. “That’s a red cup” |
What are you doing? | Telling them what they’re doing. (Talk about the toy!) Ex. “You’re feeding the baby” |
Also try the 3:1 Rule. For every one question you ask your child, make
three comments or statements.
Example: Playing Cars:
Comments:
– I’m a red car!
– I am stopping at the stop sign.
– The car is moving fast!
Question
Which is your favorite?
Copy & Add Language Strategies
Example: Child said “Ball”
Type of words to model | Examples |
---|---|
Verbs | “Yes, your rolled the ball”, or “roll the ball”. |
Attribute- Size | “It’s a big ball” or “A little ball” |
Attribute- Color | “The yellow ball”. |
Comment | “You’re playing with the ball.” |
Add a quantity | “You have one ball.” |
Add a pronoun | “That’s your ball.” |
Add feelings | “I like the ball.” |
Add an “owner” | “This is Mommy’s ball.” |
Tips:
– This list just gives an idea of words you can use to expand your child’s language skills. Focus on modeling functional vocabulary.
– Copy (repeat) what your child has said and add another key word on. The adult’s utterance should be simplified, but still grammatically correct.
– Ex. “I like the ball.” not, “Me like the ball.”
Alternate Ideas for Common Toys
Instead of | Try using. |
---|---|
Blocks | Cans, boxes of food (such as small cracker boxes), or Tupperware tubs with lids. |
Bubbles | Whisk up some bubble bath and blow those bubbles. Use a feather, a small piece of paper, or a tissue, and blow that. |
Musical Instruments | Use wooden spoons and bang on pots and pans. Put dried rice or pasta inside an empty bottle and shake it. Make a guitar with elastic bands over an empty box/tissue box. |
Nesting cups | Empty Tupperware tubs, OR Use the caps from laundry de |
Sandbox | Make a dry sensory bin- Use dry cereal (if the child still puts things in their mouth), or dried rice/pasta/beans (if |
Shape sorter | Cut various holes inside an empty box. Holes can either be the exact shape of the items you want to sort, or varied and large. |
Stacking Rings | Use bracelets or hair scrunchies and slide these onto paper towel stands. Handles of utensils, or paper roll tubes. |
Water table | Fill large pans or empty plastic boxes with water. Fill up the sink/basin or bathtub. |
Expressive Vocabulary
Development
Older Children
42 months
48 months
54 months
60 months
6 years
12 years
1200 words
1,600 words
1,900 words
2,200-2,500 words
2,600-7,000 words
50,000 words
Supplemental Information
What Counts as A Word?
A word is anything that is consistently produced and holds the same meaning. These
can be word approximations, animal sounds, or sound effects.
Examples:
Word approximations: “ba” for ball
Animal sounds: “oink oink” for pig
Sound effects: “beep beep”
Phrases such as “all done”, “thank you”, and “night-night” are considered one word.
They are learned as one chunk and hold one meaning.
Early Core Vocabulary Words
Examples of common first words:
go, stop, more, turn, get, on, off, up, down, that, this, me, you, open, close, play,
fast, slow, push, give, look, big, little, I, my, mine, need, want, read, colors, feelings,
help, here, some, what, yes, no, come, it, like, make, not, now, again, all, finished,
away, bad, mama, dada, eat, care, milk, hi, bye, ball, baby, jump
The Difference between an Average and a Milestone
An average is what 50% of children can do at a specific age.
A milestone is what 90% of children can do at a specific age.
Often times milestones are interpreted as averages, which is misleading when
looking at a child’s development.
EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE
Language a person is able to use.
Examples of Expressive Language Skills
● Putting words together to
formulate complete thoughts
and/or sentences
● Use of appropriate grammarincluding word order, pronouns,
and verb tenses
● Organized thoughts and stories
● Providing appropriate label or
name for people/items
● Describing an event that has
happened in real life or in a
sotry with appropriate detail
● Persuading someone to do
something
● Requesting an item or
assistance
● Sharing feelings about
something
● Putting thoughts into writing
RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE
Language a person is able to understand.
Examples of Receptive Language Skills
● Understanding what words
mean
● Learning and retaining new
vocabulary
● Comparing new, unfamiliar
words to previously learned
words
● Following directions
● Answering WH questions
● Understanding concepts such as
first/last, big/small, next to,
before/after, above/below, and
full/empty
● Sorting items into categories (i.e.,
understanding places and birds
are both things in the sky)
● Understanding concepts such as
cause/effect, problem/solution,
and author’s purpose