Language Development for children in Perth

 Language falls under two umbrellas. They are receptive language, that is the ability to understand / comprehend the spoken message, and expressive language, which refers to speaking. The following is a guide as to how many words a child should know.

If a child has a limited vocabulary and unclear speech it would be best to contact a Speech Pathologist for further guidance as to whether your child may have a speech and language delay.

Tips / suggestions as to how you can help develop your child’s vocabulary:

• Read daily to your child – pointing to different objects on the page, using lots of expression, asking questions; encourage them to make the noises of different characters (e.g. point to the train and ask “what sound does the train make? “choo choo”; what does the cat say? ”meow”).
• Take your child grocery shopping – have them count with you the number of apples / tomatoes you are putting in the bag, name the foods as you select them, show them the cans / have then help you lift the cans (corn / beetroot) into the trolley.
• Have them help you hang out the washing – ask them to pass different items of clothing, ask them for a number of pegs (e.g. pass me two red pegs).
• Sing nursery rhymes.
• Sing along with a CD (e.g. wiggles, play school).

Why Read to Your Child?

Evidence shows that children who are read to, generally have a large vocabulary. Knowing a large range of words often means the child will have good comprehension skills. They will often also have good expressive language. It has also been found that children who have been read to will more that likely go on to be fluent readers and be very good at spelling and writing.

Children who have not been read to will have limited vocabulary and hence, this may impact on their comprehension. In turn, they will more than likely have an expressive and receptive language delay.

Reading to your child also:

• Fires up their imagination!!!
• Develops their vocabulary.
• Allows them to link ideas.
• Provides them with ideas to draw upon when writing their own stories.
• Develops their sentence structure.
• Gives them immense enjoyment.

Levels of questioning

This was designed by Marion Blank. The levels of questioning have been divided into approximate age groups. Below is a guide as to what type of questions to ask a child when reading a book.

http://askaspeechie.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Blank-handout.pdf

You DO NOT need a doctor’s referral to see a Speech pathologist.

Perth Speech Therapy provides assessments and therapy for all children 2 to 12 years.

All sessions are tailored to the child’s individual needs.

We currently operate out of our Alfred Cove clinic, as well as a mobile service. Perth Speech therapy provides services to day care centres, schools and makes home visits.