Reading Body Language and Facial Expressions! Some children struggle with picking up on social cues from non-verbal language. Non-verbal language includes facial expressions, body language, gestures, tone of voice, and posture. It is a great idea to talk about this with your child to better equip them in social situations. You can give them examples of different expressions (smiling, scared, mad, tired) and have them guess what emotion or feeling it is. You can also show the

Simple Toys for Language Development Make talking and communicating fun! Here are some tips on how to use everyday toys to encourage language in your toddler! Bubbles! These are a great stimulating toy that most kids love!! Give them the bubble jar (with lid on tight) and ask them to blow some bubbles! See if they will request help or communicate is some way they can't open it. While you are playing, focus on language such as "pop," "bye bye bubbles", "more bubbles", "blow u

A great way to boost language skills is naturally through play. A child will communicate more this way and feel less pressure to “perform.” Your job while playing with your child is to EXPAND their language. For example, if your child grabs a car and attempts to make a car sound “vrrooom;” grab a car yourself and say “blue car, vroom.” You can expand and say “go blue car go!” or “wow the blue car is fast!” Asking them to repeat words usually doesn’t work, it is best to fol

Typical Speech and Language development 2-3 years old By this age your child is beginning to understand meaning in their world. They can differentiate between words such as in/on, up/down, go/stop and follow two step requests. You will notice that they will stay more attentive during stories and will be able to answer simple questions relating to the story. This age range typically yields a boost in vocabulary. At age 2 children typically use 200-300 words. By age 3, childre

Typical Speech and Language Development Birth - 2 years People are always asking me about developmental norms. I decided to write a brief post about typical development. This post focuses on birth to 2 years of age (click here to see 2-3 years). It is important to remember that each child develops uniquely and the following information is just a general guideline. If you have concerns about your child's speech and language development, talk to your child's doctor or contact