Express Yourself

Preschool is a wonderful introduction to the school setting. Fun, play, and academics are incorporated to prepare your young child for the increased academic demands of kindergarten and elementary school. However, there are expectations for the preschooler, and it may be helpful to think about whether your child will be able to cope with the language and communication demands of preschool.

Based on the standards and expectations expressed by the North Carolina State Board of Education, a preschooler should:

Receptively
- understand sentences of increasing length and complexity, including past, present, and future tenses;
- understand a growing vocabulary;
- attend to language for longer periods of time, e.g. when books are read, people are telling stories, and during conversations;
- consistently answer questions and follow two-step or more directions;
- understand and talk about feelings, ideas, information, and beliefs;
- and understand the multi-faceted use of communication (gestures, sign, facial expressions etc.).

Expressively
- use verbal and nonverbal language to communicate for a variety of purposes (e.g. to express wants, needs, feelings, and to relate personal information and experiences);
- use language in pretend play to create and act out roles, events, and stories;
- use language to make and keep friends and other relationships;
- follow a topic of conversation by asking a question or making a comment;
- communicate using appropriate inflection, tone of voice, and expression;
- and use more and more complex language forms, grammar, and vocabulary.

Additionally, phonological awareness should be emerging at this time. The preschool child enjoys rhyme in poems and songs by clapping, marching, or other movements to tap out syllables. He also learns to play with the sounds in language, by creating rhymes, by being aware of the first sounds in words, and by associating sounds in written words (e.g. Reese and Robin begin with the same sound).

If you have concerns about your young child's speech and language skills and ability to cope with preschool demands, our speech therapists at Child & Family Development are happy to help! 
 

• JOINT ATTENTION is the foundation of communication.
• Improved joint attention leads to improved LANGUAGE and VOCABULARY.
• PLAY is an essential prerequisite for learning.
• Improved SYMBOLIC PLAY leads to improved PROBLEM-SOLVING.

As my li'l boy approaches his big 2.0, he is rapidly learning and saying more and more new words. "Hi", "Bye", "Daddy", "Mommy", "Car", "Ball". How do children learn this amazing skill of talking and communication? Here are some general child development language milestones to remember:
- first words around 12 months of age
- acquisition of about 50 words around 2 years of age
- two-word combinations starting at around 2 years of age
- the emergence of grammar at around 3 years of age (when your child is combining 3-4 words)

You can help your child start to talk, use more words, and increase his expressive language with these great techniques!

• Keep your language simple. For example, say "car", not "Chevrolet" and "SUV".
• Be at your child's level and keep your sentences short. If your child is saying single words, use 1-3 word sentences.
• Repeat, repeat, repeat. Repetition is a powerful tool.
• Be expressive and make talking fun! The "wow"s, "uh-oh"s, and "whoo-hoo"s are so much more fun than "1", "2", and "ABC".
• Parallel-talk. Talk about what your child is doing, seeing, hearing, and thinking as he is doing it. For example, I say "JP's pushing the truck", "you're digging in the sand", "Adin sees a leaf". Give him the words to describe the action that he is involved in.
• Expansion. This technique builds on what your child is saying. You can repeat what she says, and add one or two more words. For example, if she says, "Daddy home", you can say "Daddy come home". You can also repeat her sentences by providing a more adult model, if she says "doggy run", you can say "yes, the doggy is running".
• Make statements, don't ask questions you already know the answer to. For example, instead of asking "do you want a cookie?" when your child is pointing to cookies, you can turn it into a statement "you want a cookie".

With autism in today's national and even international spotlight, more and more people know what it is. Unfortunately, so many tend to focus on the negative traits of autism and overlook the positive. Dr. Temple Grandin, arguably the most well-known person in America with autism, recently spoke at a keynote address in Wisconsin. She advocated for building on strengths no matter what the disability label. She explained that if a child is fixated on a certain topic, build a lesson around that topic to keep the child interested and learning. "You can't take a geek out of a geek, but you can teach them to be polite geeks."

In celebration of Autism Awareness month, let's highlight some of the strengths that are inherent in our kids with autism.

• Good understanding of concrete concepts
• Visual thinkers
• Detail-oriented and precise
• Great memory for rote materials
• Honesty (no liars in this group!)
• Geniune, with absolutely no pretense
• Focus and attention for what they enjoy
• Help us to learn and think outside our box