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Download the list of Level One Targets and Activities.

During Level One your child goes from using an undifferentiated cry (sounds the same in most situations) to a differentiated cry (sound different depending upon the situation).

This develops with repeated experience between the two of you. For example, when you know when your child will start to feel hungry, you can give a bottle before or right as they start fussing a little. Your child learns that these milder sounds can be useful, and saves the full-throated cry for when the milder sound doesn’t work.

Isn’t it amazing how much a child can learn from these simple interactions?!

Today’s activity: Observe as your child refines this signal and celebrate the learning that is taking place!

Find more resources to help develop your child’s speech, language and communication skills at www.TheInteractionCoach.com 

Download the list of Level One Targets and Activities.

Now that you are noticing the sounds your child can make, you can use them during your social interactions. Enjoy a back-and-forth exchange with you modeling a familiar sound.

Remember this guideline: Your child will respond with whatever they are able to do right now. Avoid having an idea in your head of the “one right way” to respond to you. You have plenty of time to practice and guide your child to a more advanced level. Celebrate all the little steps along the way!

Today’s activity: Take turns with your child. Make one of your child’s sounds, then wait expectantly. Your child might smile, or coo or wiggle. Accept any kind of response and make another sound.

Find more resources to help develop your child’s speech, language and communication skills at www.TheInteractionCoach.com 

Download the list of Level One Skills and Activities.

Your child will start to make cooing and babbling sounds during Level One. Even babies who can’t hear coo and babble at this level. They don’t get feedback on these sounds, so eventually this sound making fades away.

Your task at Level One is to practice repeating the sounds your child makes. Don’t expect your child to increase or change their sounds as a result—that will happen at Level 2. At this level, we want you to get in the habit of noticing and imitating the sounds.

Today’s activity: Look at your child and repeat the cooing and babbling your child makes.

Find more resources to help develop your child's speech, language and communication skills at www.TheInteractionCoach.com.

Find more resources at www.TheInteractionCoach.com 

Download the list of Level One Targets and Activities.

Consistently responding to sounds your child makes helps them learn that making sounds get results.

As you practice this over time, each of you gets better at communicating with these sounds. Your child learns that they can use different loudness and sounds, and you learn to recognize differences in meanings between the sounds.

Joyce gives you a tip for calming your baby, from Larre the Baby Whisperer.

Today’s activity: Respond consistently to your child’s sounds: look, touch, pick up, give food, bounce, rock.

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Download the list of Level One Targets and Activities.

Motherese is a term used for the way people talk to infants. People use a higher pitch, simplified words, sing-song phrases, and exaggerated intonation.

Motherese is a type of mediation. Talking this way emphasizes important characteristics of speech and makes them more noticeable to young children. It also catches young children’s attention more effectively than “regular” talking so they are more likely to pay attention to what we are saying.

Today’s activity: Use characteristics of motherese when talking with your young child.

Find more resources at www.TheInteractionCoach.com 

Download the list of Level One Targets and Activities.

At all eight levels in this series, your child will learn words from interacting with people who are using words. Later, when your child is using sentences, they will be ready to learn from books or media.

Learning takes place best when your child is focused on the relevant information. That means they are able to see and interact with a person and they are able to clearly hear what that person is saying.

Television and music that plays in the background masks what people are saying. This background sound makes people’s speech harder to hear and it’s harder to tell the difference between speech sounds.

Today’s activity: When you do your practice activities, eliminate background sounds that compete with your words. Think about what times of the day background noise will and will not interfere with your child’s learning.

Find more resources at www.TheInteractionCoach.com 

Download the list of Level One Targets and Activities.

We can tell the location or direction that a sound is coming from. This is called sound localization.

At Level One, your child laying the foundation for later localization skills. Today’s activity shows your child that sounds come from objects and the objects may be out of sight.

Today’s activity: Use a rattle or other noisy object. Hold it about 12 inches from your child’s ear and make its noise. Continue to make the sound while you slowly move the object into your child’s field of view. (Test the sound at your own ear first to make sure you’re not using something that is uncomfortably loud.)

Find more resources at www.TheInteractionCoach.com 

Download the list of Level One Targets and Activities.

Your child should be reacting to sounds consistently. They startle when there’s a loud or surprising noise. They pause to listen or turn to look when they hear a voice.

Many children get fluid in their ears (otitis media) that lingers for too long. It makes sounds muffled and it’s hard for these children to tell the differences between sounds. They may tune out to listening because it’s hard work.

Prolonged otitis media can result in difficulty learning to make speech sounds accurately or difficulty with listening skills.

Today’s activity: Be observant of your child’s responses to sounds. If they are not responding consistently, get a hearing check.

Find more resources to address your child's communication needs at www.TheInteractionCoach.com.

Find more resources at www.TheInteractionCoach.com 

Download the list of Level One Targets and Activities.

Your child will learn people’s names after hearing them over a period of time. By the end of Level 2, your child may not look at someone when you say a name, but is learning to recognize important names. Use the name when the person is within sight and doing something interesting so your child can associate the name with the person.

Save pronouns (me, you) for later. They are tricky. Consult with your speech-language pathologist if your older child is having difficulty understanding them.

Today’s activity: Use names instead of pronouns when you narrate activities. When giving a toy or food, say the person's name as you give it to each one.

Download the list of Level One Targets and Activities.

Model, model, model. This is a mantra that speech-language pathologists use no matter what language level or mode of communication your child is using.

Model means demonstrate. When we narrate (using single words at this level) we are pointing out the most important language detail we want the child to focus on, and demonstrating to them the next step in their speech and language development.

Focusing and demonstrating are important methods used in mediation.

Today’s activity: Use a word to label the important thing you want your child to focus on. Smile and show a sock when getting dressed and say, “Sock” before you put it on a foot. Hold up the bottle and say with enthusiasm, “Bottle” before you give it. Say with surprise, “Kitty!” when the cat walks by.

Find more resources at www.TheInteractionCoach.com.