You can facilitate language and communication skills in your children when they are as young as two years old. Engage your children in language development activities that will both reward them for each effort, as well as encourage them to increase their verbal expressions. Such activities at this age also may alert you to potential language and communication delays or disorders, which would give you information to provide to your child's pediatrician or speech pathologist.
Puzzles
Simple puzzles with a few large pieces and bright colors make excellent early language development tools. Most children love to work on puzzles and as they do, you can engage them in conversation about the puzzle. Ask simple, direct questions that the children can answer in a few words. You might ask about the colors or shapes in the puzzle, depending on its design, or ask the children to describe what is happening in the whole picture when the puzzle is completed. For instance, if it is a puzzle depicting animals on a farm, ask the children to tell you about the animals. Many children are imaginative storytellers and can easily create a simple story to accompany what they see in the puzzle.
Matching Games
Another easy activity that encourages language development is any type of matching game with appealing pictures, objects and colors. Whether you purchase or make your own set of matching objects or picture cards, or use a "concentration" type of game board designed for children, you can accomplish important learning tasks. You promote communication skills as you talk to children about the objects, pictures or the game. You also help children improve their eye-hand coordination, fine motor skills and brain development as children match similar objects or pictures or recall where they last saw a matching picture on a game board.
Books and Art Projects
Reading books to children and following up with a structured activity combine as a valuable language development strategy. Encourage children to listen carefully during story time and then give them time to ask questions or make comments about the story. After that, provide them with a related coloring sheet or "cut and paste" activity. At this age, usually you would cut out pieces, and then they would paste the pieces. Then you could facilitate an ongoing discussion about how the coloring or activity relates to the story.
PECS
A popular and effective language development tool used most often by speech and developmental therapists is the Picture Exchange Communication System, also known as PECS. Created in 1985 by Dr. James Bondy and speech pathologist Lori Frost, PECS has proved especially effective for children with communication disorders or who are nonverbal.
PECS software features a library of images that therapists, teachers or parents may print to create picture cards. PECS works on the principle of immediate reinforcement and gratification. When a child chooses a picture card of a ball, for example, he then hands that card to his "communication partner," who in turn rewards the child with the ball. During this exchange of the picture card for the object represented, the communication partner will facilitate language development by saying, "Tommy wants the ball." If the child is able to speak, the communication partner will encourage the child to respond in similar fashion by saying, "I want the ball."
References
- Judith Stebbins, M.A., CCC/SLP; Speech -Language Pathologist; Adams Speech Therapy; Augusta, Maine
- PBS Parents: Child Development Tracker- Your Two Year Old
- Healthy Children: Developmental Milestones -- 2 Years Old
- Pyramid Group Consultants: What is PECS?
- Talking About Curing Autism: PECS
