Whether on time or delayed, hearing baby’s first word is
always a tremendous source of pride and enjoyment for parents. Babies and toddlers learn quickly that their
words can be powerful tools to influence others. When that happens, the words tend to come
quickly ~ more, ball, bottle, NO!, up, eat, etc. It’s easy for some children to become content
at this level. They are able to
communicate basic wants and needs with their parents and are happy with
that.
Most experts will tell you that children typically begin to
combine words into two word phrases around 18-months of age. Many will take until closer to 24-months to
achieve this milestone, and some beyond that.
As parents and SLPs, there are some VERY SIMPLE tricks you can use to
encourage the journey toward 2-word phrases:
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| Source: WikiMedia Commons |
Mind Your Manners!
Adding “please” to a simple request is one of the easiest
ways
to build length of utterance.
“Cookie” becomes “Cookie please.”
Color His World
Teach your child basic colors. By doing this alone, you will build his vocabulary
by up to 10 words. Once your child knows
colors, encourage him to use them to request and describe:
When getting dressed:
Do you want your blue shirt or your red shirt?
While coloring:
I have a yellow
crayon. What do you have?
Little Helpers
Encourage your child to help with household tasks like
sorting or “folding” laundry. Yes, it
may end up being a tiny bit more work for you in the long run, but it’s a great
language building experience with lots of opportunities for expanding words
into phrases:
Shorts -->
Daddy’s
Shorts
Shorts
Shirt --> Pink shirt
Socks --> Two socks
(And you’ve just targeted possessive and plural markers as a
bonus!)
More You Say?
Snack time can be a great time for language expansion
(between bites, of course). If your
child likes to snack on small items (goldfish crackers, fruit chews,
dry cereal, grapes, blueberries), start by giving her only one or two
items. This is a great way to encourage
requesting. Once she is good at asking
for “fish” or “cereal,” encourage her to add the word “more” (“more fish” or
“more cereal”). These are just a few of the simplest tricks to help children become more effective communicators and build length of utterance. I’ve created a parent handout for SLPs to provide parents that contains the information from this post. Feel free to download and distribute. If you download, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think.
What are your tried-and-true ways to increase utterance length?
