Toddler not talking but understands?
Toddler not talking but understands what you say?
Advice from a Speech and Language Therapist.
If you are here the chances are you have a toddler who might understand when you say things like “where are your shoes” but they are not saying any words. Does this sound familiar?
You are probably wondering why, is it a good sign or should you be worried?
Hi
I’m Suzanne, I’m a Speech and Language Therapist whose specialisms is helping pre-schoolers find their voice.
Language Development
Let’s start with looking at the different elements of language. It’s more than just talking!
Language is a complex skill made up of several parts.
We have tounderstandand know the names for things. We then have to be able tousethose words. Which means we need the rightspeech soundsto help us say them clearly. We then need to know when to use our words and know how to have a conversation usingpragmatic skillsPragmatics is how we use our language and includes aspects such as tone of voice or gestures.
How do I learn language?
Let’s take the word “cup” as an example.
As your toddler is playing with the cup they start to figure out what it does. They see you drinking from it and start to copy this action. They then work out what it doesn’t do e.g. it doesn’t go on your head. It is something we drink from. They learn it’s function.
They will hopefully hear you saying “cup” while they are playing, that helps them link that word to the object. hmm every time I hold this thing mum says “cup” that must be it’s name. When you are playing and say something like “where is the cup” your little one will reach for it. This shows they have heard and understood the word.
Now they know it’s name and they know what it does. Next they need to learn how to say that word and know which sounds are in the word “c…u….p”. Then they need to get those sounds into the right order and get their mouth to make those sounds. It might not always come out right as they are trying out the word and learning which sounds to use. Hopefully it becomes consistent so you as their parent can start to understand it.
Once they’ve sussed this out they need to know how to use that word. If I say “cup” while mum is looking at me she will pass me the cup. But, if I say it when mum is in the other room she won’t know to get me the cup.
It’s a complex process!!!
Stages
As you can see in order to say a word you have to understand it first. This is why your child might understand your instructions and words but not be able to say those words yet.
Your little one will start to understand language before they use it. That’s perfectly normal. In fact little ones will often understand many more words than they say initially.
How can you help them?
Remember language is tricky to learn. Some children will need to hear a word 10 times before they understand what it means others will need to hear it 100 times.
Playing is a great way to help your child understand language. Think about naming the items as they pick them up so they can link that word to the object. Say the word a few times so they can hear it.
Talk about what you are doing in routines. When getting dressed name the clothes and the body parts “shoes on your feet”
Going for a walk? Name the things you can see
Try and keep your language simple giving one instruction at a time to help them understand
Stress the key word in a sentence to help them tune into it
Use pictures and objects to help them understand and make choices
Take away
Understanding of language comes before using it.
If your child isn’t talking yet, look at their understanding, do they need some more help understanding the words?
If you want more tailored support get in touch, I’d love to help
Suzanne
