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Speech and Language Skills in the Season of Fall: Fun, Simple Language Activities

Fun Fall Activities to Promote Speech and Language Skills at Home

As the leaves change color and cooler weather arrives, we eagerly anticipate the transition to fall. With the changing of the seasons, there are new opportunities to target speech and language skills using fall-themed activities. 

 

Boost Speech and Language Skills with a Fall Nature Walk!

Choose your outdoor location, whether it be a backyard, park, or nature trail. Before you go outside, brainstorm a list of items that you hope to see or collect once you find them! Some ideas include: a rock, a yellow leaf, a red leaf, a twig, acorn, bird, pinecone, etc. As you walk, describe what you see, feel, and hear to provide your kids with models of descriptive words. As you discover items on your list, describe the location where you found it! For example, “I found a small, yellow leaf on the rock” or “there’s a pinecone under the tree!” This activity is an exciting and motivating way to encourage descriptive language and multi-word utterances. Once you’ve collected all your items, you can put them all in a bin/bowl to make a fall-themed sensory bin.  Your kids can enjoy their discoveries again and have more opportunities to engage with fall-themed vocabulary.

 

Use Fall-Themed Books to Enrich Speech and Language Skills

Your local, public library is likely stocked with many seasonal books to enjoy this time of year! Fall-themed books are great for exposing kids to relevant vocabulary. Reading to and with your child is a great way to provide meaningful language exposure, which cultivates strong language skills. Reading promotes comprehension of language and gives children great examples of vocabulary and grammar! If your child is working on specific speech sounds, chances are there are words in the book containing their sounds that can be practiced while you read! Some favorite fall-themed books are listed below.

 

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves by Lucille Colandro

Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Park 

When the Leaf Blew In by Steve Metzger

Fletcher and the Falling Leaves by Julia Rawlinson

We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger

 

Play Games that Promote Speech and Language Skills

Grab a game and play together! Playing a game is a great way to encourage social language skills such as turn-taking, perspective-taking, and interpreting nonverbal communication. They also provide practice following directions. There are many great toys and games that incorporate fall-themed vocabulary. Check out the links below for some ideas!

 

Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Board Game

Alphabet Acorns

Spike the Hedgehog

Acorn Soup

 

Speech and language skills can be targeted in any context and with any materials! We hope these ideas encourage you and your family to enjoy the beauty of this fall season.

 

How Carolina Therapy Connection Supports Speech and Language Skill Development?

Do you have concerns or questions regarding your child’s communication skills or play skills? A Speech-Language Pathologist can help support your child’s speech, languagehttps://www.understood.org/, and play skills, and provide parent education that empowers you to support their communication development!

 

By: Laura McCall, M.S., CCC-SLP

 

Let’s PLAY!

Why is Play Development Important for Children? 

An essential component of a child’s learning is through play. Play builds the foundation of teaching children how to communicate with others, solve problems, and develop new motor skills. Play often involves spending much time on the floor being silly, making animal noises, or acting out your child’s favorite nursery rhyme songs. Play appears too fun to be therapeutic in speech therapy sessions, right? However, that’s when the magic truly happens! Understanding why and play development for children’s communication skills is helpful.

 

Different Types of Play Development for Children’s Communication Skills:

  • Functional Play

    • Begins before two years old. It is the most common play among infants, toddlers, and young children. Functional play is when toys or objects are used according to their intended function, such as rolling a ball, pushing a car on the floor, banging blocks, etc. 
  • Relational Play

    • Also, it can begin before two years old. Children who engage in relational play often use (manipulate) items to discover how they relate to one another. Examples of relational play include feeding a teddy bear, stacking blocks, or grouping objects. 
  • Self-Directed Play

    • Begins before two years old as well. Self-directed play is when children use toys or objects toward themselves. They determine and control the content and intent of their play by following their own ideas and interests. Toys or objects offered to children are simple and can be play-doh, crafts, pretend food/clothes, etc. 
  • Parallel Play

    • Begins around 2 to 3 years old. This play involves children independently playing with the same toys/objects next to each other. However, they are being very observant. At this point, the child is more aware of their presence around others. The child has increased interest and acknowledges that the other person is playing similarly to them. Most often, they will begin to imitate based on peer modeling. Thai type of play can be seen when two children are playing with their own farm animals, making animal sounds but not interacting.

Now That We Know Play Development, How Do We Help Children Improve Their Communication Skills at Home?

  • Set up your environment so that the child can better focus   
  • Engaging and joining in on the child’s interests
  • Follow the child’s lead
  • Gradually introducing new toys and sensory experiences
    •  Some children need exposure to a new toy over time before initiating a purposeful interaction on their own 🙂
  • Modeling how to play with the toy and gradually fading support  
  • Providing rewards with successful attempts at play
  • Encouraging the child to imitate sounds and words (e.g., go, uh-oh, neigh, etc.)
  • Ask open-ended questions like “What should we make?” “Where should this go?” “What should we feed the dog?” by using toys such as animals, blocks, and/or cars.
  • Incorporating play based on various contexts (e.g., Play with a sibling and/or peer) 

Activities to Try at Home:

  • Bubbles
  • Cars, trains
  • Books
  • Blocks, Legos, or Nesting Eggs
  • Baby doll/dollhouse 
  • Magnetic Tiles  
  • Ball
  • Singing nursery rhyme songs 
  • Farm set / Kitchen set 
  • Potato Head
  • And MUCH MORE 🙂 

“Play is our brain’s favorite way of learning,” said Diane Ackerman.

How can Carolina Therapy Connection Help?

Further questions or concerns regarding play development for children’s communication skills? A Speech-Language Pathologist can support your child and provide parent education/training to best support your child’s communication development. Play in speech therapy increases the child’s motivation, increases communication opportunities, strengthens the development of other developmental skills, and more! 

 

24-Month-Old Milestone

What speech development will my child be doing at this time? 

At 24 months, most children have developed a vocabulary of at least 200 words or more. They can now use simple two-word phrases and may even begin to form simple phrases. These sentences may not be grammatically correct, but they convey meaning and reflect the child’s attempts to express themselves more elaborately. For example, a 24-month-old might say “big truck” or “mommy book.”

One notable aspect of language development at this age is the emergence of pronouns. Many toddlers start using pronouns such as “I,” “me,” and “you” to refer to themselves and others. This marks a significant step in their ability to express personal experiences and interact with others. 

In addition to vocabulary expansion and sentence formation, toddlers are refining their articulation skills at this stage. While their speech may still be unclear to unfamiliar listeners, families can usually understand their child’s words and phrases. Sound errors are typical at this age, and most children gradually improve as they continue to practice and refine their speech sounds. 

What else should my child be doing for Speech Development?

Another exciting 24-month-old milestone in language development is the ability to follow simple directions. Toddlers can often understand and respond to basic instructions, such as “give me the ball” or “come here.” This newfound skill contributes to their growing independence and ability to engage in simple tasks.

Social communication skills also make significant strides at this age. Many 24-month-olds enjoy engaging in simple conversations and sharing their thoughts and observations with those around them. They may imitate adult speech patterns and gestures and even attempt to participate in back-and-forth exchanges. Furthermore, imaginative play also begins to blossom. They might pretend to play with dolls or stuffed animals, using words to narrate their play and express creativity. 

What Can I Do at Home? 

It’s important to note that while there are general milestones for speech and language development, each child is unique and may progress at their own pace. Regular exposure to language-rich environments, positive interactions with caregivers, and engaging activities that stimulate language development all contribute to a child’s linguistic advancement.

The 24-month mark is an exciting stage in a child’s speech and language development. It represents a time of significant growth in vocabulary, sentence structure, and social communication skills, laying the foundation for more advanced language abilities in the future. Parents and caregivers play a crucial role in fostering this development through supportive and enriching interactions with their toddlers.

 

By: Lindsey Bryant CF, SLP

 

Hearing Loss in Children

About 2 to 3 out of every 1,000 children in the United States are born with a detectable level of hearing loss in one or both ears! Hearing loss can occur gradually over time and parents may not even realize their children have it. Children may simply adjust to the changes in their hearing and not realize they are missing out on important speech sounds and words. 

What is a hearing screening

Pediatric Audiology 101: Your Child's Hearing Health

A hearing screening is frequently used to check a person’s ability to detect the loudness and pitch of sounds. You can either “pass” or “fail” the screening. If your child passes and there are no other concerns, then you can continue with your child’s regularly scheduled hearing screenings. If your child “fails”, or if you have other concerns about their hearing, then an appointment for more in-depth testing may be necessary to see if there is a hearing loss and what treatment options are best to help support your child. These hearing screenings can help identify people who may need a more thorough hearing evaluation that can be completed by medical personnel such as ENTs or audiologists. Pediatric hearing screenings may take place in early intervention, school audiology, medical, and/or home settings. 

How can I tell if my child has hearing loss? 

  • Difficulty recognizing familiar voices
  • Delayed or absent speech sounds (not making cooing noises, babbling less, few words, distorted speech sounds, etc.)
  • Not turning head toward interesting or startling sounds
  • Delayed language (difficulty understanding simple words, following directions, etc.)
  • Delayed or absent emergence of first words as by two years old children should start combining words into 2-word phrases)
  • If child is older, they may frequently asks others to repeat themselves for clarification
  • Child is speaking louder than others
  • Lack of attention to others, conversations, environmental surroundings
  • Struggles with academics

 

What causes hearing loss in young children? 

  • Frequent ear infections (otitis media; most common)
  • Measles or meningitis
  • Head injuries
  • Exposure to loud noises 
  • Genetic disorders

Interesting Fact… 5/6 children experience ear infections (otitis media) by the time they are 3 years old!

 

What should I do if I suspect my child has hearing loss? 

If you suspect your child has hearing loss, speak with your healthcare provider and discuss your child’s current hearing abilities and address your concerns if you suspect signs of hearing difficulties at home. Early hearing detection and a formal evaluation completed by an audiologist, ENT and/or other qualified medical professional can help determine specific needs and appropriate treatment goals to further support your child’s success. It is important to regularly check on your child’s hearing health to monitor potential changes in hearing!

 

How can Speech therapy help?

Speech-Language Pathologists can play a role in your child’s hearing health by completing hearing screenings as a part of a formal speech and language assessment. If your child does not pass a hearing screening completed by the Speech-Language Pathologist, then a referral will be made for further evaluation with audiological/medical professionals to provide the best of care to your little one. Language acquisition is an essential component of your child’s overall development. Significant hearing loss, if undetected early, can lead to a speech and language delay, further putting your child at risk of falling behind same-aged peers. Given that our hearing plays a significant role in living our daily lives, it is crucial to have your child’s hearing formally evaluated at key milestones, beginning at birth to help lead them to better speech, language, and educational outcomes in the future!

Schedule a screening at Carolina Therapy Connection today!

 

Blog By: Lindsey Bryant, SLP