Develop Communication Through Play - Part 3

Written By Acorn Autism Charitable Trust

See Develop Communication Through Play- Part 1 and 2 for more ideas.

When trying to build language and communication with your child, be sure to praise them for attempts and success. The duration of the activity is dependent on your child’s attention span which will ideally increase the more you play with them.


Play can help develop many communication skills including;

  • Understanding (receptive language e.g. words, phrases, concepts etc.)

  • Use of words/language (expressive  language, verbal and nonverbal)

  • Joint attention (sharing an experience with others)

  • Turn taking and waiting

  • Copying actions, sounds and/or words (imitation)

  • Social communication (verbal and nonverbal)


Here are some more tips for communicating with your child during play:

APPROPRIATE LANGUAGE (4S)

Say less
-Use short, grammatical sentences e.g. “blow on the soup”

Stress
- Make key words stand out e.g. “blow on the soup”

Slow
- Slow down when you talk

Show
- Show your child what you’re talking about e.g. blow so they can see what you want them to do.

See Hanen.org or contact Acorn Autism for more details.

Remember, if you’re having fun, your child will be having fun too. Fun = learning.

If you have any concerns about your child’s communication or development, please contact Acorn Autism for support.

Acorn Autism Charitable Trust
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Develop Communication Through Play - Part 2