Language Development

Header image- text reads "How and why to encourage playfulness in daily routines". There is a picture of a father pushing his young daughter on the grass in a laundry basket.

How (and Why!) to Encourage Playfulness in Daily Routines

As Early Intervention therapists, we know there are huge benefits to coaching parents and caregivers to use language facilitation strategies during daily routines. But we also know that children learn through play too. So I like to encourage playfulness during daily routines, as a way to maximise on the benefits of both! Benefits of coaching […]

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7 Adorable Books for Early Verbs

Books are a great way to target early language, especially early verbs, at home and in your Early Intervention sessions. You can target so many different goals with books. And you can coach parents and caregivers to use language facilitation strategies while reading books too.   Keep reading for the 7 books I think every EISLP

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Picture of a girl playing with a teddy bear. Text reads "5 goals to target using a teddy bear in speech therapy".

5 Goals to Target Using a Teddy Bear in Speech Therapy

I love using teddy bears in my Speech Therapy sessions. I often find them to be really motivating for little ones!  When I was a toddler I had a teddy bear that came everywhere with me. I carried it under my arm, so all the stuffing moved to its head and legs, with nothing in

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Picture of a father singing and clapping with his two children sat on his lap. The text reads "6 of the best songs for early language" Includes a free download.

6 of the Best Songs for Early Language Skills

As a Speech and Language Therapist that focuses on Early Intervention, I am often asked what are some of the best songs for developing early language skills.  Singing songs and rhymes with young children has so many benefits. And it is a great way to coach parents and caregivers to use language facilitation strategies with

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Picture of a set of 'That's Not My' books arranged in rainbow order on a shelf. The text reads "6 skills to target using 'That's not my' books".

6 Skills You Can Target Using ‘That’s Not My’ Books

I’m a huge fan of the ‘That’s Not My’ series from Usborne Books (written by Fiona Watt and illustrated by Rachel Wells). They’re great books to use to support early communication skills with your little ones. Here are ideas for 6 skills you can target using ‘That’s Not My’ books in your early intervention sessions.   1-

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5 Things to Consider when Choosing Target Words for Late Talkers

Do you struggle to choose target words to focus on in therapy with your little ones? Do you ever wonder if there’s a “better” way to choose target words for therapy, particularly for your late talkers? I got curious about all this myself and did a deep dive into approaches for choosing vocabulary for late

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5 Ways to Use Pumpkins to Support Early Language Skills

It’s that time of year again, and pumpkins are all around us! Pumpkins are a fantastic thing to use in your therapy sessions to support and develop early language skills with your little ones! Here are 5 easy and fun ways you can use pumpkins in your Speech and Language Therapy sessions to support early language skills,

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Why and How to use Communication Temptations to Support Early Language Skills

Communication Temptations are a great strategy to use to support early language skills. It is one of the main strategies that I coach parents/caregivers to use to support their child’s language skills.  This post explains why and how you can use communication temptations in your parent-coaching/early intervention sessions too. What are Communication Temptations? Communication Temptations is a

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Picture of a child playing with toy cars. Text reads "5 ways to use toy cars to support early language".

5 Ways to Use Toy Cars to Support Early Language

Toy cars are perfect toys to use to support early language skills with your late talkers, or preschoolers with language delays. You can target so many goals and use a range of language strategies with them during your therapy sessions and play-based therapy activities. I’m going to share 5 ways you can use toy cars

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Developmental Language Disorder- A Resource Round-Up

Today, 22nd September 2017, is DLD Awareness day. DLD, or Developmental Language Disorder is nothing new, but it is the new, internationally agreed term for Specific Language Impairment. But, you may be wondering what is in a name, and why did it need to change? I’ve gathered together a range of videos, blog posts and

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