Roots, Routines and Receptive Language
Our little clinic herb and vegetable garden has given up the ghost. Between construction for the parking lot expansion and a bit of neglect over the Christmas break, it’s looking like we may have to start all over again.
Although my gardening skills aren’t so great I still love to use my gardening analogies in parent coaching sessions, especially when I talk about “roots”.
When I talk to parents about language development I usually refer to the roots of a tree to describe a child’s receptive language skills, or how much a child is able to understand. These skills, like roots, form a strong foundation for language to grow and develop into that beautiful tree of expressive language (what a child is able to say) that we so eagerly anticipate. Children must first understand words before they can use them appropriately. Receptive language skills usually need to be worked on directly in our little ones with language delays.
One of the main indicators of receptive language skills is the child’s ability to follow directions (the length of direction progresses as a child gets older). Everyday routines form a great starting point for assessing and supporting these skills. Little ones generally learn within the context of routines and anticipate what will follow. For example a child may learn that when daddy picks up the keys it’s time to go to the door, or more recently during this pandemic, that when they see the sanitizer bottle they extend their hands to be sprayed.
Adding language consistently to these routines helps to build an understanding of the vocabulary associated with these interactions, and eventually allows children to use this vocabulary to communicate. We also anticipate that as the child understands this language he will also be able to follow the instruction outside of the context of the routine. E.g. going to the door when hearing “Time to go,” without seeing keys.
For this week’s reflection I want you to observe what types of commands your child is able to follow throughout your everyday interactions. Think about how much gesture or repetition she may need to follow this direction, and if you’re able to progress to just giving the instruction without any prompting as you consistently provide opportunities each day.
Remember to be patient. Children need to hear words lots of times before they understand (and eventually use) them.
Some ideas for commands include:
Get your shoes
Blow a kiss
Put it in the garbage
Go give it to mummy/daddy
Turn on the tap
Give me your cup
Wave/Say bye bye
Shirt/Pants off (even if he can’t do this independently does he make an attempt?)
Go on out there and nurture those roots :)