Communication is the Key

Can you imagine being in a room full of people, whilst you are the only one wearing headphones that drowns out all the noise.

Can you see yourself watching people's mouths move as they chat, sing, communicate and you can't hear what is being talked about. This can make you feel isolated, cut off from the world and alone.

It's difficult to imagine isn't it. We rely heavily on communication to make our feelings, thoughts and beliefs known, as well as helping us to understand others feelings, views and opinions; allowing us to make sense of the world around us.

Now whilst you are in that room, you may get an idea whether someone is happy, excited, cross or miserable just from their facial expressions, movement of their bodies, nods or shakes of their head, yet this is only one part of communication. The non-verbal communication plays a part alongside the verbal (this could be by using BSL, Makaton, verbally or a mixture of all of them), without these parts of communication, most people would struggle to understand and put conversations into context.

Now imagine what this is like for your children. Children develop speech and language at differing ages. They go through certain patterns of language acquisition before the verbal communication is embedded. Before they undertake any verbal language skills, firstly they must understand what is being spoken.

When your child was a baby and you perhaps played 'Peek A Boo' your child would most probably smile, giggle and even copy you. This act of copying and smiling, giggling with you ,shows that they have understood the game, they have understood what this means and they have understood you.

There are five stages of communication:

Pre-linguistic is when babies, cry, fuss, growl and later coo. This stage lasts up to 6 months of age and is the beginning of vocalising their needs.

Babbling occurs between the ages of 6-9 months of age, during this time, babies will make sounds using their vocal chords such as bababa, nanana, this stage is where you see them interact with their caregivers and is the start of shared communication.

One Word Stage develops between 9-18 months old. Babies and toddlers learn to develop this through touching, feeling and exploring their surroundings. At this stage, one word utterances such as 'bye, hi, ooh' are used as a precurser to using phrases, it is an important aspect, as it helps children begin to put two words together.

Two Word Stage starts around 12-18 months of age and can last up to 24 months of age. These short phrases such as 'more juice, car please,' show that children are developing an ability to understand how words can be structured together. This helps them to intonate their desires and preferences in more detail.

The last stage the Telegraphic Stage occurs between 24-30 months. By this time, children should have begun to use between 3-5 words per phrase to show not only understanding, but also to enable them to communicate more effectively with those around them. Phrases such as 'Mummy drink juice' or 'Daddy eat tea' is common, it shows that your child can recognise and explain what is happening around them.

Each of these stages from the Pre-linguistic to the Telegrahic stage is important in helping to shape your child's communication as they grow.

On average, by the time your child reaches 3, they should be able to understand between 200-500 words and speak around 300 words; often using longer sentences to convey meaning.

As Early Years practitioners, we often get asked about children who copy or repeat singular words or phrases. Whilst copying is good and is a form of communication. By the time your child reaches 2 years of age, they should be able to communicate with you with phrases and sentences, rather than just copying from the television, what you have asked of them, or even repeating nursery rhymes and songs when it is out of context to the situation they are in.

Copying above the age of 2, could be a sign of echolalia, it is important to understand what echolalia is and why your child maybe displaying this sign. Our link to echolalia is a good place to start.

Echolalia.pdf

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The key is that Communication is the Key. This is so that our children are able to express themselves, able to help them communicate to others, help them to make sense of the world around them and to make sure their voice is heard.

Getting early help for your child who may have a delay in their communication is not a sign of weakness or that you are in some way to blame. It proves that you as your child's biggest advocate, you are giving them the best opportunity to expand their vocabulary skills and in turn improve their life chances.

Why not look at our useful documents and links page, where you will be able to find lots of resources surrounding speech and language.