Lesson 108
Lesson 108
Encouraging Meaningful Vocalizations
Objectives
To teach your child to
a) use vocalizations meaningfully
b) use appropriate patterns when vocalizing
a) use vocalizations meaningfully
b) use appropriate patterns when vocalizing
Points To Remember
1. Children need to use their voice for a specific reason in order to learn spoken language.
2. They need lots of opportunities to request, comment and interact using their voice.
3. In the beginning, it is more important for the child to babble in order to tell you something rather than say the words perfectly with all the sounds.
4. Always respond with ‘I hear you’ immediately when you hear your child say something. Respond to pointing with ‘I don’t hear you’ and wait for your child to vocalize.
5. The connection between using his voice and an action must be modeled and made very clear to the child.
2. They need lots of opportunities to request, comment and interact using their voice.
3. In the beginning, it is more important for the child to babble in order to tell you something rather than say the words perfectly with all the sounds.
4. Always respond with ‘I hear you’ immediately when you hear your child say something. Respond to pointing with ‘I don’t hear you’ and wait for your child to vocalize.
5. The connection between using his voice and an action must be modeled and made very clear to the child.
Method
This is a structured activity to encourage your child to ‘talk’ to you. Often, your child will understand a lot of what you say, but not necessarily talk to get what he wants, to call you or to tell you things. Remember, you may not understand any of his words right now, but your child’s vocalizations will slowly begin to sound like ‘talking’ with proper intonation and some sounds. You will need to do this structured activity using a variety of materials. You will need a few animal toys, and some fruit that can be cut or peeled, that your child likes to eat .
Now, watch the first video clip.
Then, read and follow the instructions given below.
1. Choose an activity where your child laughs or uses his voice involuntary. Pushing or pulling objects will also lead to your child vocalizing involuntarily. Tickling is usually a very good way to get the child to vocalize involuntarily.
2. Elicit your child’s laughter at least 2-3 times in a row by repeating the activity.
3. Using some toy animals to participate in the activity, wait for your child to laugh,
4. Immediately ask the child which animal he would like to play the tickling game.
5. When your child says something that sounds different from the laughter -- reinforce immediately (even if it is very soft) by saying “I heard you!” and give the child the toy.
6. Repeat these steps until your child has requested the item verbally at least two times in a row.
This first part of the activity helps the child to vocalize more freely so that he can use his voice more deliberately in the second part of this activity.
Watch the second videoclip, then continue with the directions given below.
7. Get some fruit your child likes that you can peel, cut or mash up.
8. Begin peeling or cutting while a third person says “ peel peel peel”. Ask the person to stop, while keeping the peeler ( or knife if you are cutting) in place. If you don’t have a third person on hand, use a toy animal as the third person.
9. Point out that you can’t hear anything by saying “ I don’t hear anything”. Then wait for the third person to say “ peel, peel, peel the ________ “ again.
10. Say “ I heard that!” and immediately begin peeling the fruit.
11. Stop peeling when the person stops saying “peel peel peel” then turn toward the child and ask him to tell you what to do.
You will need to WAIT!!! until the child vocalizes. Respond immediately by doing the action and also saying “ I heard you!!!”.
12. Repeat the steps from 8 to 11 until you have finished peeling the fruit.
Use the same steps to cut the fruit, then wait for your child to vocalize in order to eat it. Its a good idea to do this when your child is not extremely hungry, or he will not be able to wait through the whole process.
Now, watch the first video clip.
Then, read and follow the instructions given below.
1. Choose an activity where your child laughs or uses his voice involuntary. Pushing or pulling objects will also lead to your child vocalizing involuntarily. Tickling is usually a very good way to get the child to vocalize involuntarily.
2. Elicit your child’s laughter at least 2-3 times in a row by repeating the activity.
3. Using some toy animals to participate in the activity, wait for your child to laugh,
4. Immediately ask the child which animal he would like to play the tickling game.
5. When your child says something that sounds different from the laughter -- reinforce immediately (even if it is very soft) by saying “I heard you!” and give the child the toy.
6. Repeat these steps until your child has requested the item verbally at least two times in a row.
This first part of the activity helps the child to vocalize more freely so that he can use his voice more deliberately in the second part of this activity.
Watch the second videoclip, then continue with the directions given below.
7. Get some fruit your child likes that you can peel, cut or mash up.
8. Begin peeling or cutting while a third person says “ peel peel peel”. Ask the person to stop, while keeping the peeler ( or knife if you are cutting) in place. If you don’t have a third person on hand, use a toy animal as the third person.
9. Point out that you can’t hear anything by saying “ I don’t hear anything”. Then wait for the third person to say “ peel, peel, peel the ________ “ again.
10. Say “ I heard that!” and immediately begin peeling the fruit.
11. Stop peeling when the person stops saying “peel peel peel” then turn toward the child and ask him to tell you what to do.
You will need to WAIT!!! until the child vocalizes. Respond immediately by doing the action and also saying “ I heard you!!!”.
12. Repeat the steps from 8 to 11 until you have finished peeling the fruit.
Use the same steps to cut the fruit, then wait for your child to vocalize in order to eat it. Its a good idea to do this when your child is not extremely hungry, or he will not be able to wait through the whole process.
Video Clips
CLIP 1
CLIP 2
Modifications
For children who are older than 4 and reluctant to use their voice, or have difficulty using their voice when requested, singing is a great way to encourage your child to talk. Singing is fun and doesn’t put your child on the spot. Use the same technique where you sing and then stop in the middle of the song. Wait for your child to verbalize to continue singing. This technique works best with songs that involve finger plays or movement. You can stop our movement when you stop singing. When the child begins to sing, continue the movement.
What Next
1. Continue this lesson until your child is habitually using his voice to communicate with you. This means that your child should be
i) using his voice to call you 4/5 (four out of five) opportunities
ii) using his voice to request something 4/5 opportunities
iii) using his voice to tell you something 4/5 opportunities
2. Continue Lessons 105, 106 and 107 while doing this activity. You should be doing all these activities throughout your day, in addition to at least two half hour periods of structured activities for a child upto 2 years of age. For children between 2-3 you should be able to two blocks of about 45 minutes of structured activities. For children 3 and older, make sure you do at least one hour of structured practice daily.
i) using his voice to call you 4/5 (four out of five) opportunities
ii) using his voice to request something 4/5 opportunities
iii) using his voice to tell you something 4/5 opportunities
2. Continue Lessons 105, 106 and 107 while doing this activity. You should be doing all these activities throughout your day, in addition to at least two half hour periods of structured activities for a child upto 2 years of age. For children between 2-3 you should be able to two blocks of about 45 minutes of structured activities. For children 3 and older, make sure you do at least one hour of structured practice daily.
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