Top Tips about speech and language

A friend of mine, Faye is a speech and language therapist. We trained together to become Makaton Tutors and are starting to collaborate on training sessions. So I asked her to answer some of the most frequent questions I get asked about speech and Language. Keep reading for top tips and speech and language explained.

1. Can you tell me a bit about yourself? And why did you become a speech and language therapist?

Hello, my name is Faye, and I am a Specialist Speech and Language Therapist. I work with children and young adults with complex needs. I decided to become a Speech and Language Therapist after volunteering with a Speech and Language Therapist during Sixth Form. I really enjoyed the therapy sessions; I would visit every week with a young adult with Cerebral Palsy who used a device to communicate. We would go on trips to the local library and art shops as well as working on functional skills such as making a cup of tea. From this my passion grew for Speech and Language Therapy and found that Makaton was something that would be highly beneficial for the clients I support. This then lead to be becoming a Makaton Tutor and here I am today!

2. What are some easy ways to support speech at home?

First of all, it is helpful to clarify that Speech and Language Therapists work and support clients with a a range of communication skills (Not just speech!)

Communication difficulties include:
– Attention and Listening
– Understanding Difficulties
– Expressive Language (talking) difficulties
– Social communication needs
– Word finding difficulties
– Play skills
– Speech and sound difficulties
– Dysfluency (Stammering)
And lots more!

The advice would recommend varies dependent on the child’s age and of course each child is different! For young children I would highly recommend Tiny Happy People for activities and ideas.

3. When would be a time to seek help for speech and when should you just give it some time?

Again, this varies dependent on the child’s needs. As a first port of call I would recommend contacting your GP and Health visitor. They will be able to guide you regarding your local Speech and Language Therapy service and provision.

It may be beneficial to get an up-to-date hearing test for your child to ensure that their hearing is within the expected range. I’d recommend looking at the ICAN Talking Point Progress Checker for more specific advice if you have concerns https://ican.org.uk/i-cans-talking-point/progress-checker-home/

4. If English is a 2nd (3rd or 4th) language being used at home, what are the best ways to support learning English at the same time as the native language?

Continue to speak each language as you naturally would at home. Being multi-lingual is a huge benefit and has been shown to help improve academic success. It is beneficial to use visuals including the real item, photographs, pictures, drawings and signing when talking about vocabulary and talk about the word in English and other languages you use at home. This helps the child to link the object/item to the word in English and other languages.

5. Are books and singing songs great ways of supporting language?

Yes! Books are a fantastic way to support language development, children love to read and re-read (!) stories with parents/carers. As we re-read stories, they become more familiar. Stories for young children usually have lots of pictures which really helps to build their understanding of the vocabulary and story. Books help to also develop a child’s sequencing skills, the idea of a beginning, middle and an end, which is an important skill as they get older in being able to sequence their own thoughts and stories.

Nursery rhymes and songs are also highly beneficial, they are fun, which is the best way to learn! They are familiar and we all sing the same tune (or try to!) for Wheels on the Bus or Twinkle Twinkle and this will be the same when your child is at nursery/school and with you at home. Songs can also have actions, or the song can be Makaton signed which further helps to develop understanding of the word or action.

6. What are some other ways to support language even if my child doesn’t have additional needs? Is signing helpful for children without speech conditions?

Signing is helpful for all people; children, adults and everyone in between. For children, we know that adding movement when learning helps build connections in the brain to help learn and remember the word.

Using Makaton Symbols is also highly beneficial as this provides visual information to an instruction or activity. The Makaton Charity is aiming for more people to learn Makaton within schools and in the community so those that use Makaton as their communication tool are able to interact with everyone and aren’t just limited to communicating with those who know Makaton. Makaton is for everyone, all children can benefit from learning and using Makaton to develop their speech and language skills even if they do not have any additional needs.