Your child enjoys learning about cause-and-effect by watching the outcome of their actions.

Today’s activity: Take turns while you play with blocks. Stack a few and a knock them down.

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.

Skills that develop at Level Three include: use one action with object; put things in and dump them out; pull string on toy.

During their play, your child's doing little science experiments that show how things work.

Today’s activity: Make two toys: practice using pointer finger with sponges inside plastic bag; practice dump-and-fill with bath toy.

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.

If I do all these activities, does my child still need an SLP?

Read this blog post for an example of research on outcomes with and without support from a speech-language pathologist.

Children learn through actions with objects. They begin to recognize different textures and develop preferences for some textures.

You can help your child learn the vocabulary that goes with their preferences when you name it and encourage your child to feel it.

You can help your child expand their comfort level with different textures by exploring them in the context of fun, comfortable play activities.

Today’s activity: Use a collection of several pieces of cloth. Use the cloths to cover a doll to put to bed, or cover your face in a game of peek-a-boo. Demonstrate object permanence by covering a toy with the cloth and slowly uncovering it.

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 develop more fine motor skills, with more control of their fingers and hands. They show an understanding of size and weight as they pick up small objects with one hand and larger objects with two hands.

Your child is starting to realize that things still exist when they disappear from sight. They are on their way to understanding object permanence, and will briefly search for a dropped object.

Understanding cause-and-effect relationships is starting to develop. Your child will learn to push a button or pull a handle to get something to happen (like make a sound, open/shut).

Focusing on your child’s preferences helps them focus on details that are most important to them. It helps to ensure you are building on your child’s current attention to objects. You can expand their knowledge of favorite things to build their understanding of concepts and vocabulary.

Today’s activity: Observe how your child expresses what they like and don’t like. Introduce more things that have characteristics of things they like.

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Your child can learn to associate an object with the calming of sleep time. Use something you’ve observed your child to enjoy, like a soft texture or music.

Over time, your child will develop more ability to self-sooth as the practice settling and soothing with this comfortable experience.

Today’s activity: Consistently pair the soothing object with sleep time. Over time, your child will learn feel soothed by its presence.

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.

Children’s definition of “fun” can vary. Be alert to how your child responds to different types of touch, sounds, sights, smells.

Use your child’s signals of enjoyment to build your social games that involve anticipation of something fun that comes next.

Today’s activity: Use an object or action in a social game. Start the presentation slowly so your child has time to anticipate the approaching pleasure.

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.

Affect is how we show our feelings. Engagement is how we show we are involved in an activity.

By the end of Level Three, your child is showing a variety of affect and recognizes some different tones of voice.

When your child knows what to expect in a familiar routine, they can start to anticipate what comes next. Starting the routine starts them feeling the enjoyment of what comes next.

Learning to anticipate an outcome helps your child learn more about cause-and-effect by expecting an outcome.

Be observant of your child’s expressions of affect.

Today’s activity: Build expectation and anticipation during a play routine. Say, “Here it comes…” as you move something closer.

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.

Did you cause your child’s communication delay? No!

Can we speed your child’s progress in learning communication? Yes!

Communication develops as your child grows connections in their brain. We can help them focus their attention on what they need to learn and help them get more frequent practice to build those connections.

Parents are the best mediator for building communication skills. You have a bond with your child  that makes interactions with you the most meaningful and reinforcing. You have many opportunities to show your child how to use their skills in their daily life.

Natural interactions throughout the day, combined with your attention to developmental details and use of reinforcement and shaping, will speed your child’s progress in communication.

Using these methods also helps your child be effective in social situations because we don’t separate the what of skills from the who, where, when and why we communicate.

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.

Today’s activity: Models an action your child can do with an object. Sniff a flower then hold it by your child’s nose. Pat a toy dog then hold it out for your child to pat. Do these actions back and forth for mutual enjoyment.

The more you respond to your child’s actions and sounds, the more they will use them. You are reinforcing their actions and showing them that their actions have an effect on their world.

Even though at first your child isn’t getting your attention on purpose, consistent practice helps them make the connection. They are starting to learn cause and effect.

Your child is also learning they can initiate an interaction. They can be the one who decides when they want to interact and what they want to interact about.

Today’s activity: When your child makes an action or a sound, treat it like your child meant to start an interaction with you. Repeat what they did and wait—act like you expect another response and keep the interaction going.

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 to imitate actions from familiar routines, try to attract your attention with their actions, and start to recognize some familiar cause-and-effect relationships.

Understanding cause and effect is important for a child to know that their actions (including speech) can have effects on other people.

Initiating (starting) a familiar routine shows your child understands they’ll get an effect.

At this level, respond to your child’s action as if it was intentional and had a meaning. For example, they put their hands together and you imitate that and say, “pat-a-cake!” This helps your child learn they can initiate a familiar routine.

You are teaching early conversation skills.

Today’s activity: Continue to use familiar social games and look for opportunities to use them when they come up in a new situation: “Peek!” when getting dressed, “pat-a-cake” when you see your child’s hands together.

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.