The Skills Before Speaking: Supporting Your Child's Language Journey
May 2023 | Lauren Pesta, SLP-CCC
What are the foundational learning skills and how do they pave the way for language development in children?
This blog will focus on:
What insights can a clinician and first-time mom provide on the development of language skills?
What are the five foundational learning skills crucial for early language development?
How can parents effectively support their child's foundational learning and language skills?
Who can provide professional guidance and assistance for children facing challenges in foundational learning and language development?
Looking at the development of language through the eyes of a clinician and as a first time mom has been a very humbling experience. When I was a new clinician without children, I focused on supporting the families through general foundational learning skills, language learning, and eventual use of either verbal or non-verbal communication modalities. As a new first-time mom, I have had the privilege and honor of observing my daughter first learn the foundational learning skills, and eventually work up the steps to be able to utilize her first words. This transition from solely a clinician to a clinician and parent has shown me the need to address foundational learning skills, or pre-linguistic skills, as they serve as a powerful foundation for learning language. This was a notion I always understood as a new clinician but did not fully comprehend the necessity of it as my daughter worked towards learning her first words. Foundational learning skills are the skills that provide a foundation for “connecting with others and learning new skills” as noted by Cari Ebert in her book The Learning to Learn Program (2020, p. 19).
The five foundational skills, as outlined by Ebert (2020, p. 19) are as follows:
Non-verbal imitation
Joint attention
Sensory processing and self-regulation
Play
Early language development
What are the Foundational Learning Skills?
There are five main foundational skills to learning, which can lead towards early language development within this context. Each of these foundational skills are learned over time with consistent repetition. The following table, as adapted from Ebert’s book The Learning to Learn Program (2020), outlines each of these skills.
How Can I Support My Child Learn These Skills?
While these foundational skills may sound daunting, there are things that parents and caregivers can do on an everyday basis to help support their child’s foundational learning and language skills. Here are some examples of ways to help support your child’s language and learning development:
Modeling
Children learn through imitation; therefore, model what you expect your child to do. For example, if you want your child to learn their first gestures, you can demonstrate raising your arms ‘up’, and subsequently pick them up. From there, encourage them to raise their arms for ‘up’. From there, repetition is key!
Decreasing screen time
I know that screen time is inevitable, as we live in a digital age where screens are in present in every room these days. However, “passive screen-based play… is all input. For learning and development to occur, there needs to be input and output” (Ebert, 2020 p. 81). While shows and apps can be marketed as educational, the truly educational experiences that can lead to functional communication are through play, where there is input and output into the experience. Again, screen time is inevitable, but it should not lead the learning, specifically the language learning, opportunities a child is exposed to. The more active engagement and play a child can engage with, the more they are likely to learn!
Encouraging gestures in songs
Song is a great way for children to learn language and engage with caregivers! While singing songs that include ‘fingerplays’ or ‘gestures’ such as Wheels on the Bus, Pat-A-Cake, or Five Little Monkeys encourage your child to watch your hands as you do the actions for the songs. For example, in Wheels on the Bus, move your arms in a circular motion for the wheels moving, and move your child’s arms along with the song after you model the motion! For Five Little Monkeys, you can show the number of monkeys jumping while moving your hand up and down, and pretend to talk on the phone for the doctor calling!
Narrating your day
As a mom, I know how hard it is to try to engage in specific play and language games after a long day of work. If today is one of those long days where you just need to get the dishes done, put the kids in the bath and go to bed, use those activities to narrate what you are doing! Use consistent language to narrate what you are doing such as “wash, wash, wash the dishes” or “splash, splash, splash the water” or even going “up, up, up the stairs”. Consistent modeling of words encourages language!
My child is having trouble learning these skills, now what?
If your child is having trouble engaging in joint attention, following non-verbal or motor imitation, or having difficulty with play, finding a Speech Therapist is a great place to start! Additionally, if your child is having difficulty with play, sensory processing, and self-regulation, finding an Occupational Therapist is a great place to start! Speech and Occupational Therapists work in a variety of locations, including Early Intervention for children under the age of three, within Private Practice (such as at Buttonloop Children’s Therapies!), or within outpatient departments at local hospitals. These therapists can help support your child learn these skills, as well as provide strategies of how to work on these skills at home as well!
For further information, check out the following websites:
https://www.readingrockets.org/pdfs/16x16-Gestures.pdf
https://childdevelopment.com.au/areas-of-concern/using-speech/talking-readiness-pre-language-skills/
https://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/01/
References:
Ebert, C. (2020). The learning to learn program: Assessment and therapy strategies for early intervention providers serving young children with autism spectrum disorder, suspected autism, and Social Communication delays. Summit Speech Therapy.
First Words Project. (2014). 16 Gestures by 16 Months. Reading Rockets. https://www.readingrockets.org/pdfs/16x16-Gestures.pdf