Children's Communication Q&A

I've just found out (on British Mummy Bloggers) that Tracey and Lisa (of Talking Tots) are going to be running a monthly Q&A on children's speech, language and communication skills at Totsy's Place - Tracey and Lisa, are paediatric speech and language therapists and experts in all aspects of early speech and language. So if you have any questions about your baby's communication, or how to help toddlers communicate better, then please read more here and ask your question.

Blog Roll - Totsy's Place

Totsy's Place is the blog from the founders of Talking Tots, Tracey and Lisa. It has all the news from Talking Tots plus other speech, language and communication news, ideas and product reviews.

We think it's definitely worth a read - let us know what you think.

Look Who's Talking - Talking Tots

We've been networking again (this time on Twitter) and we bumped into Lisa from Talking Tots who has provided us this article with an overview of the company and some ideas to get your children talking.

Somewhere around your child’s first birthday, they’ll amaze you with their first word. Chances are that word will soon be followed by a second and a third word – and before you know it, your little one will be chattering away so much you can hardly get a word in edgeways!

However, new research shows that almost half of all children arriving at primary school don’t have the communication skills they need to learn effectively. Common problems include children who can’t speak clearly and audibly, or children who struggle to listen to instructions or take part in group conversations.

The good news is that it’s possible to boost your child’s communication skills and social confidence through the right combination of encouragement, play and practice.

Talking Tots is a new pre-school activity group that helps children to communicate with confidence. The company was created by Tracey Park and Lisa Houghton, two experienced paediatric speech and language therapists, who saw an increasing number of children in their clinics with communication problems.

At Talking Tots, children take part in fun, interactive games and activities that build important communication skills such as telling stories, taking turns in a group and listening to instructions. The classes also help children to become more aware of sounds and words, which will help when your child learns to read.

Toddlers learn best through play, and so our classes are based on songs, rhymes and brightly-coloured props that the children find really engaging. The key is not to put pressure on children, and allow them to develop at their own pace.

There is a great deal you can do at home to encourage your child’s communication. From a very early age, Lisa recommends that parents should be amateur commentators. When you’re making dinner, tell your baby about all the delicious ingredients you’re preparing. If you’re walking to the park, make a point of naming all the shops and places as you pass them by. But don’t overdo it, says Lisa: “Leave space for your baby to respond, even before they can talk. They’ll gradually begin making noises in response to your questions and one day they’ll surprise you with an answer!”

Another great way to get your baby talking is to ask questions with options and don’t anticipate their needs. If your baby points to the fridge, don’t simply give them the milk. “Instead, say ‘Oh, I see you need a drink. Would you like milk or juice?’ which encourages them to talk to you,” says Lisa.

Of course, learning a whole new language is hard work, and most toddlers will make a few mistakes along the way. It might seem like a good idea to correct your child when he says “bik” for “biscuit” or “buddy” instead of “buggy” but try to hold back. Pointing out mistakes could dent your little one’s confidence and discourage him from trying out new words. “It’s better to be a good role model,” advises Lisa. “If your toddler asks for a ‘bik’, you can respond, ‘Oh, you want a biscuit’. That way he hears the correct word and eventually he’ll pick up the difference between his word and yours.”

Making language fun means your child will want to learn new words and try them out. A great way to do this is by sharing books with your little one. Very young children will appreciate animal stories, and you can both have fun making the appropriate noises! As your child gets older, rhyming stories with colourful pictures will encourage your child to join in with the story and guess what’s coming next.

Helping your child to develop confident communication may well give them a head start in the classroom, but the benefits can be life-long, says Lisa. “Communication is the bedrock of almost everything we do, from making new friends to learning new skills,” she says. “Giving our children good communication skills means you’re giving them the best start in life.”

Top Tips

• Chatter matters! From an early age, tell your baby what you’re doing, whether it’s changing his nappy or making his supper. But don’t forget to leave room for him to answer you, even if it’s just with a gurgle for now.
• Read as much as you can. Books and stories help build your child’s vocabulary and if Mum and Dad can join in with silly voices and sound effects, it will encourage your little one to try out new sounds too.
• Be descriptive. If your child points to a tree, talk about how big it is, what colour it is, what sound it’s making. Help your child to learn how to describe the world around them.
• Don’t correct children’s speech. Don’t tell your child when she gets something wrong, but don’t use baby talk yourself. Instead, use the correct words and gradually she will begin to copy you.
• Play games. Simple games such as “I spy” will help your child become aware of sounds, which will help him later on, when he learns to read.

Speech Testing

I've just been reading sbout the government-commissioned Bercow review of speech and language services which says improving communication skills is key to raising educational standards. The report suggests that all children should be assessed for speech problems at the start of primary and secondary school.

Up to half the children in some areas of England have significant problems, but many have to fight for support. Ministers accepted the points raised by the review and announced a £40m package for the training of early years staff and a further £12m will be spent on implementation and a plan would be published in the autumn, says the government's response.

Conservative MP John Bercow's review of services for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs suggests about 40,000 children, or 7%, are starting primary school in England each year with significant difficulties with speech and or language, but the rates are much higher in areas of social deprivation, with up to 50% having speech and language skills lower than expected for their age, the report says. Without the help they need these children will do worse at school, could develop emotional and behavioural problems and may descend into criminality, it argues. Mr Bercow said families faced a "postcode lottery" of provision and shortages of speech experts in most areas of the country. He said communication skills that were essential to life were not being prioritised in schools, especially in the early years. "This is severely hampering children's ability to develop the necessary life skills to participate in and contribute to society when they get older," he added. Experts argue, however, that with early intervention and the right support most communication problems can be overcome. Ministers accepted that more surveillance and monitoring of children's language skills were needed, but suggested extra training of early years staff would enable them to better pick up language problems.

The report also suggested that Sir Jim Rose should be asked to see how a speech and language focus could be put into primary schools as part of his review of the primary curriculum.
Children's secretary Ed Balls said it was clear that local services needed to improve and that he was convinced improvements could now be made.

The report also makes recommendations on how services best be provided. It finds that there is a lack of strategic planning and oversight of what is needed in many local areas, this should be better organised, so it suggests a named person should have the responsibility for commissioning communication provision in each local area. It also calls for a communication champion or tsar, charged with driving things forward, to be appointed and a communication council be established to develop over-arching policy and ensure the implementation of the review. There should be a significant national campaign on the issue building up to a national year of speech, language and communication.

The Bercow Review

John Bercow MP has been asked by the Secretary of State for Health and the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families to carry out an independent review of services for children and young people with speech, language and communications needs.

The review's call for evidence was launched on 16 October and will run until 18th January 2008. School staff, students and parents are invited to contribute. The evidence will contribute to an interim report to both Secretaries of State in March 2008 and a final report making recommendations in July.

Visit the Bercow Review page for more information and add your evidence to help make a difference.

Chatter Matters

I recently wrote about the Chatterbox Challenge which took place last week, I've just found out that 'I CAN' have launched Chatter Matters a DVD and poster set as part of their Make Chatter Matter campaign to help children with speech and language difficulties.

The DVD and posters inside explain how you can give children a great start in life by helping them grow into good communicators, by using everyday activities - from changing nappies and family mealtimes to shopping and getting ready for bed as opportunities for playing and talking together. Presented by Dr Tanya Byron (House of Tiny Tearaways, Little Angels ) the DVD offers dozens of brilliant ideas to help you develop your child's speaking and listening skills throughout their pre-school years. The pack also comes with a series of colourful mini-posters that help you to check the progress of your child's communication development. For your wall or fridge, they are packed with helpful tips. Produced in association with I CAN, the children's communication charity.

Parents can order a DVD and posters as a parent for just 49p postage, here. I hope this is useful for someone - let me know what you think of it!

Signing

We have just started attending Sing and Sign classes with our second son and the DVD that we were given when our first son was smaller has been dug out - having just watched the Sing and Sign DVD for what seems like the thousandth time this week I thought I would write about signing.

My first experience of signing was when I learnt the finger spelling alphabet when I was about six, I then learnt a few songs with sign during my time at Brownies and Guides but that was all just for fun rather than specifically about communicating. I then learnt more about using sign to support the spoken word when working on abstract concepts with a child with autism - the theory being that as he was a visual learner giving him the sign whilst giving the receptive instruction would make it more concrete.

In January 2005 I did a two day Makaton course and learnt a lot more signs, and a lot more of the research / theory behind signing. My new enthusiasm for sign supported speech led me to investigate baby signing (hence the DVD as my 'baby' was too old to start the classes) and we started signing at home. We also used the popular Makaton based children's television programme Something Special on CBeebies with Justin and Mr Tumble to increase our signing reportoire.

Baby Signing
As a part of typical child development babies naturally use gestures and sounds before speech is well established to help their parents understand them, for example they point, clap. shake their heads and wave. Baby signing involves introducing extra gestures to help your baby communicate. It's easy to do first signs often include milk, more, change nappy, and tired plus favourite animals and vehicles. Sing and Sign classes are one of a number of baby music classes that involve a mixture of teaching parents signs and music activities to entertain the babies.

Sign Supported English
Signed English (including systems such as Signalong and Makaton) have been developed for the same reason as the now popular mainstream baby signing - to assist those with speech and communication difficulties to communicate their needs alongside developing their speech. Signalong and Makaton were developed using British Sign Language (BSL) signs matched to the key words in a sentence, so that as you speak you sign and speak at the same time. Signs are often pictorial and convey the meaning more easily than words, which are more abstract.

For More Information
Makaton
Signalong
Sing and Sign
Chelltune’s Baby Sign Language Store- Books, DVDs, interactive ebooks, keepsake charts, etc for signing babies and children.