The Practical Therapist

“My child is starting to communicate. How do I help them build on what they’re doing?”

It’s a question I’ve heard from parents many times over the years — and in this extended episode of The Practical Therapist, we’re taking a much deeper look at the answer.

Tip #6 in the Communication Starts Today series is:

EXPAND.

And expansion doesn’t begin only when a child starts talking.

Your child may already be communicating through:

• Looking
• Reaching
• Pointing
• Gestures and ASL signs
• Vocalizations
• Word approximations
• AAC
• Single words
• Two-word combinations

Each of those communication attempts gives us something to build on.

In this episode, I’ll walk you through how to meet your child where they are and model one small step beyond what they’re already communicating — without turning every interaction into a test or requiring immediate repetition.

We’ll talk about questions such as:

How do I build on pointing?

What should I do with sounds that aren’t words yet?

Should I correct word approximations?

What do I add when my child starts using single words?

What comes after two-word phrases?

How can I expand communication when my child uses signs or AAC?

And how much language is too much?

You’ll also hear real-life examples from play, snack time, and other everyday routines.

The goal is simple:

Hear it.
Add one.
Keep it going.

Meet your child at the communication level they have today — and give them a glimpse of what might come next.

🎁 Download my FREE 13-page Communication Starts Today: 7 Practical Ways to Support Your Little Communicator guide:

https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/A5sts7p

No special toys.
No complicated therapy activities.
Just practical ways to support communication during everyday life.

Follow The Practical Therapist for more practical speech, language, and communication strategies for families and educators.

What happens when we stop anticipating every need and create a small, natural opportunity for our children to communicate?

In this episode of The Practical Therapist, LaShonya S. Lacount explores Tip #4 from the Communication Starts Today series: Create a Reason to Communicate.

You’ll learn why small changes to everyday routines can create meaningful opportunities for interaction—without pressuring your child to talk.

We’ll use two simple examples:

🫧 Bubbles: What happens when you hand your child a closed bubble container instead of automatically opening it?

🍪 Crackers or cookies: How can giving a small amount and briefly pausing create an opportunity for your child to request more?

The goal is not to frustrate your child or require a spoken word before responding.

Communication may look like a word, sound, gesture, point, reach, look, sign, or AAC response.

Remember Tip #4:

Create the opportunity.
Pause.
Notice.
Respond.

🎁 Worried Your Toddler Isn't Talking as Much as You Expected?Start with 7 practical ways to encourage communication during the routines you're already doing every day.

Get the FREE 13-page Communication Starts Today guide, created by a speech-language pathologist for parents and caregivers.

Inside the guide, you'll discover practical ways to:

✓ Follow your child's lead
✓ Model simple language without pressuring your child to repeat
✓ Use waiting to create opportunities for communication
✓ Create natural reasons for your child to communicate
✓ Build communication into play and everyday routines

No special toys. No complicated therapy activities. Just practical strategies you can begin using at home.

👉 GET YOUR FREE 13-PAGE GUIDE:
https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/A5sts7p

Communication practice doesn't have to happen at a table.

Meals. Playtime. Getting dressed. Bath time. Leaving the house.

These everyday moments can become opportunities for your child to communicate.

Follow The Practical Therapist for more practical communication strategies.

🎙️ New episodes every Tuesday!

This week, I’m keeping Communication Starts Today Tip #6 short and practical.

Today we’re talking about EXPAND—taking what your child already communicates and modeling one small step beyond it.

Your child says:

“Ball.”

You might respond:

“Big ball!”

And as you continue playing:

“Bounce the ball!”
“Roll ball!”

Expansion is not about making your child repeat a longer phrase.

It’s about giving them a simple, useful language model that connects directly to what they’re already interested in and communicating about.

Remember:

Hear it. Add one. Keep it going.

This is just the quick version. I want to give this strategy the time and attention it deserves, so the extended Tip #6 episode will be out next Tuesday with a deeper explanation, more everyday examples, and practical ways to use expansion naturally during routines and play.

🎁 Download my FREE 13-page Communication Starts Today guide:
https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/A5sts7p

Follow The Practical Therapist so the extended episode is waiting for you next Tuesday.

Worried your toddler isn’t talking as much as you expected?

In Tip #5 of Communication Starts Today, we’re focusing on an important part of communication that can easily be overlooked:

What happens after your child sends you a message?

Communication is a back-and-forth exchange. Your child communicates, you respond, and then you create space for another turn.

In this episode of The Practical Therapist, we explore how that can look across three different communication systems:

🧃 Spoken words: A toddler asks for juice and Dad responds to the message without turning it into a test.

🤟 Signs: A toddler signs MORE for additional blocks, and Grandma responds through language, action, and another communication turn.

📱 AAC: A non-verbal child selects PLAY on his AAC device. The device speaks his message, Mom responds, activates the toy, and then gives him another opportunity to communicate.

The form of communication may change.

The principle does not:

Receive the message. Respond back. Return the turn.

The goal isn’t to require perfect words before we respond.

It’s to help children experience:

“Someone understood me.”

“My communication worked.”

“It’s worth communicating again.”

🎁 Worried your toddler isn’t talking as much as you expected?

Download my FREE 13-page Communication Starts Today guide for 7 practical ways to support communication during play and everyday routines:

👉 ⁠https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/A5sts7p⁠

No special toys. No complicated therapy activities. Just practical strategies you can begin using at home.

Follow The Practical Therapist so you don’t miss the next Communication Starts Today tip.

New episodes every Tuesday.

Follow Their Lead • Model More • Wait

Learn how these strategies work together during play and everyday routines to create natural opportunities for your child to communicate—without turning every interaction into a lesson or test.

🎁 GET THE FREE 13-PAGE GUIDE
Communication Starts Today: 7 Practical Ways to Support Your Little Communicator

👉 https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/A5sts7p

Inside the guide, you’ll get seven practical strategies you can begin using during playtime, meals, getting dressed, bath time, and other everyday routines.

Does your child struggle with transitions, daily routines, or understanding what happens next?

In this episode of The Practical Therapist, Speech-Language Pathologist LaShonya S. Lacount shares practical ways parents and caregivers can use everyday routines to support communication, independence, and smoother transitions.

You’ll learn how simple strategies like first-then language, visual schedules, timers, repetition, functional vocabulary, and short directions can make daily activities easier for young children to understand and follow.

From getting dressed and eating breakfast to leaving the house and getting ready for bed, everyday routines can become powerful opportunities for communication development.

Before you go, if you’d like more practical strategies you can start using with your child today, I created a free 13-page guide called Communication Starts Today. It includes seven simple strategies you can use during everyday routines to encourage communication. You’ll find the free download link right here in the episode description. And be sure to follow The Practical Therapist so you can join me for the next episode.👉 Get your free guide here:
https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/A5sts7p

Does your child struggle with routines, transitions, or understanding what happens next?

Learn how visual schedules, first-then language, timers, and everyday routines can support communication and independence.

FREE GUIDE: Download Communication Starts Today: 7 Practical Strategies to Support Early Communication.

[https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/A5sts7p]

In this updated episode of The Practical Therapist, Speech-Language Pathologist LaShonya Lacount shares simple ways to build language during everyday moments like getting dressed, breakfast, playtime, bath time, and bedtime.

Follow The Practical Therapist for practical speech, language, play, and communication strategies.

Make it personal. Keep it practical.

Are you a parent or caregiver that struggles with getting or keeping your child on a schedule? If so, this episode is for you. 

The Practical Therapist is back.

In this relaunch episode, LaShonya S. Lacount, M.S., CCC-SLP reintroduces herself, shares what she’s been building, and explains what parents, SLPs, and educators can expect from the podcast in 2026 and beyond.

This episode highlights the next chapter of The Practical Therapist Podcast, along with connected projects including Practical Therapy Solutions, Ask a Speech Therapist, Play, Say, and Sing with Boo Bear and Friends, and practical early communication resources.

Get the free Communication Starts Today guide here:
https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/A5sts7p

As part of this relaunch, bonus and older episodes will also be coming available, so be sure to browse the current catalog and check back for newly released archive content.

Make it personal. Keep it practical.