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Communication
Explore explanations, everyday questions and next steps connected with communication.
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At home
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At home
How can I work on Understanding Spatial with my child at home?
Build spatial understanding (in, on, under, behind, next to) through everyday play — narrate position words, play hide-and-seek with clues, build with blocks, and move the body through obstacle games. Start with one or two concept pairs, repeat across the day, and add more as your child masters each.
Read the answer AnswerHow to Work on Understanding Temporal at Home
Temporal concepts — before, after, now, later, first, next, today, yesterday — grow best through everyday routines, not flashcards. Narrate the order of your day, make time visible with visual schedules and timers, and play simple sequencing games. Seek a developmental check if your child struggles far more than peers with following steps or coping with routine changes.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I work on Understanding Two-Step with my child at home?
Build understanding of two-step instructions at home through play and daily routines — start with two connected steps ("pick up the cup and give it to me"), say it once and wait, use gestures then fade them, and celebrate every attempt before moving to unrelated steps.
Read the answer AnswerHow to Work on Understanding Verbal at Home
Build your child's verbal understanding at home through short, frequent moments: narrate daily routines, give one- then two-step instructions with pauses, read and name pictures together, and offer choices in play. Keep it joyful and low-pressure, reduce background noise, and seek a friendly developmental check (with a hearing test) if simple requests or name response are not emerging by around age 2.
Read the answer AnswerHow to work on Understanding 'What' and 'Where' at home
Understanding 'what' and 'where' grows through everyday play, naming and pointing. Build 'what' first by labelling objects, then add 'where' with hiding games and position words during routines. Give thinking time, repeat across the day, and celebrate every attempt — comprehension always comes before talking.
Read the answer AnswerHow to Work on Understanding 'Where' at Home
Build 'understanding where' at home through playful, everyday location games — hiding toys, naming positions like in, on and under, and turning routines into 'where' hunts. Teach one position word at a time, keep it short and praise every attempt. If your child struggles to follow simple location questions, a friendly developmental check helps.
Read the answer AnswerHow to Work on Understanding Why and How at Home
Build your child's understanding of why and how through everyday talk and play: narrate cause and effect aloud, ask one gentle open question and wait, play 'what happens next?', and model your own thinking. A few playful minutes woven into daily routines grows reasoning naturally.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I work on Understanding Yes/No with my child at home?
Build understanding of yes/no through everyday choices, gesture-paired words and playful games — offer two real objects, nod for yes and shake for no, and honour every answer so your child learns that responding truly works.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I work on Use of Communication with my child at home?
Build your child's use of communication at home through frequent, playful, face-to-face turns: follow their lead, create reasons to communicate, pause and wait for any response, and treat every gesture, sound or look as meaningful. Little-and-often beats long drills.
Read the answer AnswerUse of Picture at Home
Using pictures means showing your child real photos or simple drawings so they can understand routines, make choices and tell you what they want — a strong bridge while speech grows. Build it at home with choice boards, picture routines, matching games and picture talk, always pairing each picture with the spoken word.
Read the answer AnswerUsing Visuals at Home to Support Your Child
Using visuals at home means pairing your words with pictures, objects and gestures so your child can see what you mean. Build it into routines, choices and play — start with one simple picture, keep it consistent, and celebrate every look and point.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I work on Using Communication with my child at home?
Build communication at home by following your child's lead, narrating daily routines, pausing to invite a turn, offering choices and expanding on their words. Little and often works best — a few playful, language-rich minutes through the day beat one long session. Seek a developmental check if your child isn't gesturing, not responding to their name, or losing words.
Read the answer AnswerHow to Work on Using Gesture with Your Child at Home
Grow your child's gestures at home by building pointing, waving, clapping and reaching into daily play and routines. Model the gesture, say the word, then pause and wait so your child has space to respond. Gestures are an early, powerful step toward talking — and worth a developmental check if none appear by around 12 months.
Read the answer AnswerHow to Use Interactive Pictures with Your Child at Home
Interactive picture play means looking at clear, familiar images together and inviting your child to point, name, choose and respond — building joint attention, vocabulary and back-and-forth communication. Keep it short, joyful and led by your child, woven into daily routines at home.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I work on Using Known with my child at home?
"Using Known" means anchoring a new skill to something your child already knows and loves — a favourite toy, word or routine — then adding one small new step. Practise in short, joyful moments through the day, keep the familiar part easy, and celebrate when your child bridges to the new.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I work on Using Past Tense with my child at home?
Children learn past tense through everyday talk about finished events — recap the day, model correct forms back gently instead of correcting, and play 'before and after' games. Storybooks and photos are natural prompts. Mixing up forms like 'goed' is normal in the preschool years; if past tense isn't emerging at all over months, a friendly speech therapy check helps.
Read the answer AnswerHow to Use PECS with Your Child at Home
Start PECS at home by choosing 3–5 things your child loves, making palm-sized picture cards, and teaching a single exchange: your child hands you the picture and you immediately give the item while naming it. Keep your help minimal over time, widen the distance, then build towards choices and short sentences. Short, joyful, frequent practice works best, and a speech therapist can shape the plan for your child.
Read the answer AnswerUsing Pictures with Your Child at Home
Using pictures helps your child understand, choose and communicate before words come easily. At home, make picture cards of favourite things, offer picture choices at snack and play time, and always pair the picture with its spoken word. Keep sessions short, warm and frequent, and honour every point or glance as real communication.
Read the answer AnswerHow to use signs with your child at home
Using signs at home means pairing a simple hand gesture with the spoken word for key needs like 'more', 'eat' and 'all done'. Always sign and say together, weave it into meals, play and bedtime, and celebrate every attempt. Signing supports speech rather than replacing it, and most children move from sign to spoken words over time.
Read the answer AnswerUsing Simple Two-Word Phrases at Home
Build two-word phrases at home by expanding your child's single words ('ball' becomes 'big ball'), offering choices, pausing to let them respond, and weaving short simple phrases into daily routines and play. Little and often beats formal practice.
Read the answer AnswerHow to Work on Two-Word Phrases With Your Child at Home
Two-word phrases usually appear after a child has around 50 single words. Encourage them at home by expanding your child's words by one ("juice" → "want juice"), modelling short phrases in daily routines, offering choices, pausing to let them try, and celebrating every attempt.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I work on using two-word phrases with my child at home?
Help your child move from single words to two-word phrases through playful daily talk — especially expansion (repeat their word and add one more), offering choices, pausing to invite a reply, and modelling short word pairs during routines. Most children start combining words around 18–24 months; a developmental check helps if it's not emerging by two.
Read the answer AnswerHow to Use Visual and Auditory Cues With Your Child at Home
Using visual and auditory cues together means pairing what your child sees with what they hear so each sense supports language growth. At home, name objects as you point, sing action rhymes with gestures, and match sounds to pictures during daily routines — short, joyful and led by your child.
Read the answer AnswerUsing Visual Prompts and Reward at Home
Visual prompts show your child what to do or say; an immediate reward tells them they got it right. Used together in short, joyful, consistent everyday routines — and faded gently as confidence grows — they make communication clearer and more motivating at home.
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