Position yourself face to face as you play and talk with them. This makes it easier for them to see when you are talking, and to shift their attention back and forth between their activity and your face. Being able to see your face also allows the child to use your facial expressions and lip patterns to help them understand your words.
Make sure you have the child’s attention each time you talk to them.
Keep your language simple. Avoid long or complicated sentences when talking to the child.
At group times, make sure the child is sitting where they can best see your face. (Make sure that the light is not behind you, otherwise your face will be in shadow and your mouth will be harder to see.) Use gestures alongside your speech to help the child understand important words.
Be aware that background noise will affect the child’s ability to hear what you are saying.
Talk at a natural pace, not too fast or too slowly, and do not shout, as this can distort your lip patterns and is unpleasant for the child.
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This also develops in stages: children become increasingly able to use their language and communication to convey their own thoughts, feelings and needs. When they are older, most children will be able to fully express themselves and make their needs and feelings understood. Understanding these different terms will help you to detail children’s development more accurately, particularly when you are talking with parents or other professionals. Describing a child’s needs by saying ‘he has a problem with these particular speech sounds’ is much more helpful to everyone than saying ‘we can’t understand what he says’. As you work through these materials, you will find more information on assessing and describing children’s levels of speech, language and