You will develop the habit of responding to your child’s actions as if they have meaning. This is the first step in shaping your child’s use of meaningful gestures.

Over time, your child will learn to use an action or gesture to express that meaning. After months of practice with reaching, your child can refine this gesture into pointing.

Observe your child’s attention and movements that indicate they want something. When you give a desired item, you can say, “Want milk.”

Visit www.TheInteractionCoach.com to see the directory of speech-language pathologists licensed in your area. If you can’t find one in the directory, contact me at [email protected] and I’ll track down someone for you.