When you have a child with language delay who has not yet said their first words, these three Ps are really important to remember.
Parallel talk, persistence, and pause.
Parallel Talk: Describe the toys/objects/actions your child is engaged in. For example, you are eating; you are playing with a car; you see a truck, etc.
Persistence: Keep it simple, short, and consistent. Be persistent with your parallel talk and repeating the same sentences and singing the same songs.
Pause: When you repeat the same phrases/songs, pause to give your child a chance to finish the phrase or the end of the sentence. Pausing is a great way to encourage eye contact and joint attention.
When working with kids, use simplified and short sentences and phrases to describe what they are doing or playing with. Start with just labeling the objects in their hand, such as car, ball, dog, etc., and use one word for the action they are doing: eat, walk, open, close, up, down, etc. When you use repetitive parallel talk with persistence and pause to give them an opportunity, you will see them use the target words.
Speech-Language Pathologist • Playdate Speech Therapy