What exactly do they teach at speech therapy that gets a child to talk?

[MightyMoMo]

18 month old not using words. Babbles, makes a few animal sounds and understands things but isn't using words. I know many children don't start talking until 2 and after, but I'd like to do everything I can to help him along. I just wondered what exactly they do at speech therapy that encourages children to talk and if I can imitate some of it with him at home? Also, will I be able to get him referred for any kind of speech therapy at this age or is it from age 2 as a minimum?

It depends on why the child isn't talking, I think. If they have difficulty with producing certain sounds, they can work on that. If it's some sort of oral dyspraxia they will encourage games that use the muscles, such as blowing out candles or blowing bubbles, sucking on a straw, etc.

If there is a developmental delay then modelling language helps.

With DD1, she was developmentally delayed and SALT was completely useless for her because she had no ability to attend to the interests of others.

2 DC had SALT.

What I learned was:

face the child as I speak and speak a little slowly, very clearly, so child can see how my mouth makes the sounds

My kids had fronting, so they mixed up common pairs of sounds, T for C, for instance, and the homework & sessions (age 3+) were initially all about teaching child to hear the difference between the sounds

The more obvious things are to listen when child is babbling & try to repeat back what they might be wanting to say in clear slow sounds (seeing your mouth make the sounds for the relevant words)

Also can a dummy and bottle be contributing to speech delay? Dummy is only used for naps and sleep, and bottle is twice a day for milk. He won't drink the milk out of anything else (I've tried EVERYTHING), and I don't want to stop the milk altogether.

First ask them questions that need answers! Juice or milk? If they say ‘that’ pick up something random! This?

Juice or Milk?

build it up slowly until they get the idea -

repeat - when they say ‘Da…’ repeat you’d like Daddy?

Listen to the words they make - it’s difficult from a parent to tell but it might me start or end of words -might be specific sounds SH CH they can’t form - once you figure it out work on that. But they’re a bit young

try a phonics card system - we did this at three and they really got the hang of it quickly.

I doubt they will do anything because an 18mo not talking is totally normal. My youngest didn't really start to talk until a couple of months ago but his language skills took off at an impressive speed after that. He'll be two next months. I also used to worry and wonder if being in a bilingual setting was delaying him but I'm not at all worried anymore.

I know it's nerve wracking but I'd wait until he was two years old before worrying or asking for assessment. In the meantime, you can (if you don't already) :

• Read books with him or use flash cards to teach him words (even if he doesn't repeat them, see if he remembers them)


• Teach him the sounds of simple words ("ball", "go", "toy"...) see if he tries to repeat them


• Check if there is anything wrong with his hearing - does he turn his head when you call his name ? How loudly do you have to call him before he reacts ?

But even if he doesn't really engage yet there really is no cause for worry yet as he is so so young.

No, I don't think a bottle and dummy do anything to delay speech.

Also are flash cards recommended or discouraged?

A dummy can easily cause speech problems, both a delay and an impairment, but at 18 months if you’re genuinely only using it for sleep and naps, that won’t be the problem.

The first most obvious thing is, I assume you’ve had his hearing checked properly?

For what it's worth I let my kids decide themselves when they didn't need a bottle/dummy anymore :

• Eldest never had a dummy and decided shortly before 2yo that they didn't want a bottle anymore. Literally from one day to the next he refused the bottle, had me confused what to give him for breakfast instead !


• Second was ready to leave the dummy around 19mo but still has his bottle (with either milk or water) twice a day plus bedtime.

That made no difference to their speech. Eldest spoke earlier but walked later. Youngest walked earlier and spoke later (but when he did start talking his language became quickly more elaborate than his brother's when he started to talk).

My DC1 is developmentally delayed and has had regular SALT since a young ages (now nearing 5yrs old). At that age we were encouraged to use basic makaton signs alongside speech, give choices and use objects of reference (an object or picture that represents an activity or person etc). It’s more about building effective communication than actual speech.
Saying that, I don’t think you need to be worried at such a young age! My DC2 is 19 months and only has a few words odd random words that they have started saying over the past few weeks. Just keep reading, speaking to and singing to your little one 😊

Flaah cards are not recommended
Read lots of picture books together. Look at the pictures and label the different things, ask your ds to point to things.
Play turn taking games, the Orchard Toys games are really good.
’Play’ with sounds - car noises, animal noises, etc. Read books which need sound effects.
Sing action songs together
Play games which require listening. Playing hide and seek with something that makes a noise is good.
Make loud and quiet noises. Whisper instructions for him to follow, make loud noises with musical instruments etc.
Encourage eye contact. Make sure he is looking at you before giving any instructions.
Play ‘What’s in the bag’, put an item in the bag and guess what it is. Give clues - it’s shiny and silver, it’s long, we use it to eat, it’s a spoon!