Your child can recognize pictures of familiar objects. Looking at pictures is a good way to practice listening to and understanding the words that name these objects. It helps to focus your child on the most important information.

Today’s activity: Make a small album of photos of people, pets and favorite objects. Use one or two words to label the picture as you point at it. If the picture album is on your phone, set a timer to signal when it’s time to be done.

Send your questions to [email protected].

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.

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Your child learns to understand words through their experiences in meaningful contexts. They learn to understand activities before they learn the words that go with them. Using a key word with an activity helps them learn its meaning.

Today’s activity: Label the action you see your child using. Add a direction to a familiar turn taking activity, like “get the ball” “give me the spoon.” (Say the direction once, then help them understand what you expect them to do.)

Send your questions to [email protected].

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.

Help more parents find the podcast—leave a review in your app. Thanks!

If you haven’t done this, go back to the first episode and listen through all the episodes to get helpful background information about the foundation of communication development. Be sure to do activities in all domains to give your child the best network of brain connections they need for effective communication.

Skills that develop at this level include: pay attention when they hear talking, respond consistently to own name, understand simple directions given wth a gesture, look at familiar person when you say their name, associate animal sound with their picture or name, respond to “no.”

Today’s activity: Use people names frequently when you give things or describe their actions.

Use these charts as a checklist for your child's progress.

Send your questions to [email protected].

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.

Help more parents find the podcast—leave a review in your app. Thanks!

Your child will develop more precise movements of their fingers. They develop a pincer grasp with thumb and index finger.

Today’s activity: Use objects that naturally encourage your child to use their index finger: poke a finger in the hole, push a button, trace a raised line.

Use these charts as a checklist for your child's progress.

Send your questions to [email protected].

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.

As your child gets better at independent movement, they like to go in and out.

Today’s activity: Crawl through a tunnel, under a chair, over a cushion (or you). Play social games by peeking in and out, following each other. Make an obstacle course with pillows or cushions.

Use these charts as a checklist for your child's progress.

Send your questions to [email protected].

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.

Your child will learn they don’t have to wait for adults to get them things or do things for themself. Moving to get something is the first way they practice this independent action.

Today’s activity: Roll a ball and encourage your child to get it. Pull a pull-toy just out of reach and say, “Go.”

Use these charts as a checklist for your child's progress.

Send your questions to [email protected].

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.

Your child is developing intentionality—doing things on purpose, setting a goal and pursuing it. Independent movement helps your child develop their sense of self and how they can affect the world around them..

Today’s activity: Put objects just out of reach to encourage your child to move toward a goal. Put them on the floor, on the sofa cushion or other locations that encourage them to stand up or reach.

Use these charts as a checklist for your child's progress.

Send your questions to [email protected].

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.

Your child will be able to get into and out of a sitting position, crawl forward by pulling with arms or pushing with legs, get onto hands and knees, pull self up to stand, walk by leaning on furniture, let go of objects on purpose, poke things with index finger, use a pincer grasp with thumb and index finger.

Moving to get objects helps your child build thinking skills because they are identifying something they want and take action to get it independently.

Today’s active: Identify a child-safe area for your child to roam and explore. Encourage their exploration within limits. Children who don’t explore on their own need support to learn to initiate and explore.

Use these charts as a checklist for your child's progress.

Send your questions to [email protected].

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.

Dr. Rebecca Landa spoke at the recent ASHA convention about the importance of making rich connections between neurons in different parts of the brain. The best way to do this is to provide learning opportunities in meaningful contexts. “Neurons that fire together wire together.”

You can see this learning in action as your child builds new skill layered into familiar play routines.

Today’s activity: Build on your play routines by showing your child one more thing they can do with a toy: take turns putting blocks into a shared bucket; rolling a ball or car back and forth or try it on a new surface; push a button then wait for your child to do it; hide something in a box and let your child discover it; feed the doll then feed you; night-night then wake up.

Use these charts as a checklist for your child's progress.

Send your questions to [email protected].

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.

I attended a panel presentation at the ASHA convention that described how the state of Florida is training speech-language pathologists (SLPs) how to be effective parent coaches when they are helping parents learn to use interaction strategies with their child. An SLP described how much more effective her therapy was when she focused on including parents as partners in the treatment and supporting them to be confident and competent.

Your child will learn to combine two objects in play. They are learning about the relationships between objects and activities, which lays the foundation for their language skills. Showing them how to use things together helps them see the relationships. This play helps build connections between several areas in the brain. Repeated activity in meaningful contexts builds stronger connections, which makes thinking and language stronger.

Keeping materials organized helps your child have more frequent experience with seeing the relationships between objects. Playing with your child and taking turns with the objects helps you demonstrate to your child a little more of what they could do with those objects.

Today’s activity: Keep materials in logical collections when you store them in boxes or on shelves. Encourage your child to put objects away in their assigned locations, to make the organization more noticeable for them. When playing with your child, demonstrate an action with two objects, then give your child a turn to use those items.

Use these charts as a checklist for your child's progress.

Send your questions to [email protected].

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.