How to Encourage Communication at Home: 5 Speech and Language Strategies for Children

Children develop communication skills through everyday interactions with the people around them. Playing with toys, getting dressed, eating a snack, or reading a book can all become opportunities to support speech and language development.

Parents and caregivers do not need to set aside hours for structured activities to help their child communicate. Simple strategies, such as following your child’s interests, modelling language, and allowing extra time for a response, can make everyday routines more meaningful.

Research on Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT) supports the use of natural, play-based interactions to encourage communication. This approach focuses on following a child’s interests, responding to their communication attempts, modelling language, and creating opportunities to communicate within familiar activities (Kaiser & Roberts, 2013).

At Kurliand Speech Clinic, we recognize that communication develops throughout the day, not just during speech therapy sessions. Here are five practical strategies parents can use at home to encourage their child’s communication and language development.

1. Arrange the Environment to Encourage Communication

Sometimes, we help our children so quickly that they have little opportunity to communicate what they need. For example, we might immediately open a snack package, hand over a favourite toy, or turn on a preferred television show.

These everyday moments can become opportunities to encourage communication.

Environmental arrangement involves making small changes to a child's surroundings to create natural reasons to communicate. For example, you could place a favourite toy somewhere visible but out of reach, or offer a few toys to encourage your child to indicate which one they want.

Communication temptations involve creating situations that give a child a reason to initiate an interaction. For example, you could place a favourite toy inside a clear container that your child cannot easily open. Pause and give your child a chance to communicate what they need.

Your child might point to the container, look at you, gesture, vocalize, or say “open.” Respond to their attempt by saying, “Open! I'll help you open it.”

The goal is not to make things difficult for your child. Instead, it is to create natural opportunities for them to share a message, request assistance, or express a preference.

2. Wait a Little Longer

Children sometimes need extra time to process language and organize a response. When adults ask questions or provide assistance too quickly, children may not have enough time to initiate communication independently.

Time delays involve pausing during an interaction and giving a child time to respond. Research on naturalistic language interventions describes strategies such as waiting expectantly, pausing during familiar routines, and creating opportunities for a child to request help (Quinn et al., 2021).

For example, when playing with bubbles, blow bubbles a few times and then pause. Look at your child with an interested expression and wait.

Your child might reach for the bubbles, look toward you, gesture, vocalize, or say “more.” Acknowledge their communication and continue the activity.

You can use this strategy during many everyday routines, including:

• Pausing before pushing your child on a swing.

• Waiting before giving your child another piece of a favourite snack.

• Stopping briefly during a familiar song.

• Pausing during play to give your child an opportunity to request help or continue the activity.

Remember that communication does not always involve spoken words. Give your child time to respond in whatever way works for them, without repeatedly asking them to say a particular word.

3. Follow Your Child’s Interests

Children are often more motivated to communicate when they are engaged in an activity they enjoy. Following your child’s interests can help create positive interactions and reduce the pressure to speak.

Rather than directing all the play, join your child in what they are already doing. Notice what catches their attention and respond to their actions.

For example, if your child picks up a toy car, you could say:

• “Car!”

• “Red car.”

• “The car is going!”

• “Go, car, go!”

If your child enjoys building with blocks, you might say “up,” “big tower,” or “crash!” as you play together.

These responses model useful words and short phrases in a meaningful context. They also show your child that you are interested in what they are doing.

Following your child’s lead can be especially helpful when they are not yet using many words. Instead of asking a series of questions, such as “What is that?” or “What colour is it?”, try commenting on their play and giving them opportunities to participate.

The aim is to make communication enjoyable and meaningful, rather than turning playtime into a test.

4. Build on What Your Child Says

One way to support language development is to build on your child’s existing communication by adding a little more information. This strategy is often called an expansion or language modelling.

For example, if your child says “ball,” you could respond with “Big ball!” If they say “dog run,” you could say, “The dog is running!”

These examples allow children to hear slightly longer or more complete phrases while staying connected to what they are trying to communicate.

You can use this strategy with children at different stages of language development:

• Single words: Child says “milk.” You say, “Want milk.”

• Short phrases: Child says “more crackers.” You say, “More crackers, please.”

• Longer sentences: Child says “The boy fall down.” You say, “The boy fell down.”

Try to keep your language appropriate to your child's current communication level. Adding one or two words is often more manageable than responding with a long, complicated sentence.

Your child does not need to repeat your expanded phrase. Simply hearing clear language models during meaningful interactions can provide valuable opportunities to learn.

5. Respond to All Forms of Communication

Communication involves much more than spoken words. Children may communicate by pointing, reaching, looking toward an object, using gestures or signs, making sounds, using pictures, or speaking.

Recognizing these attempts helps children learn that their communication has meaning and that other people will respond.

For example, if your child points toward a snack, you could say, “You want a snack!” and offer it to them. If they reach for a toy, you might say, “You want the car. Here it is!”

Responding to your child’s attempts also creates opportunities to model language without requiring them to repeat words.

Whenever possible, acknowledge your child's message, respond naturally, and add a simple language model that fits the situation. You can also offer specific, positive feedback, such as “You showed me what you wanted!” when appropriate.

Remember that the goal is to encourage meaningful communication, not to require your child to speak before their needs are met.

Supporting Your Child’s Communication Development at Home

You do not need special toys or complicated activities to encourage speech and language development. Everyday routines provide many opportunities to practise communication in a natural, enjoyable way.

To get started, try to:

• Follow your child’s interests during play.

• Model simple words and phrases related to what they are doing.

• Pause occasionally to give your child time to respond.

• Create natural opportunities for your child to request help or make choices.

• Recognize and respond to gestures, sounds, signs, and spoken words.

Every child develops communication skills at their own pace. If you have concerns about your child’s speech, language comprehension, or ability to express themselves, a speech-language pathologist (SLP) can help identify their strengths and determine whether additional support may be beneficial.

Looking for speech therapy in Vaughan, Ontario?

Kurliand Speech Clinic offers speech and language assessment and therapy for children and families in Vaughan and surrounding communities, including Woodbridge and Maple. We provide in-clinic and in-home services in Vaughan, as well as virtual services across Ontario.

Our team can help you understand your child’s communication needs and identify practical strategies to support their development at home.

Visit kurliandspeechclinic.ca to learn more about our speech therapy services or contact us to discuss your child’s needs.

References

Kaiser, A. P., & Roberts, M. Y. (2013). Parent-implemented Enhanced Milieu Teaching with preschool children who have intellectual disabilities. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 56(1), 295–309. https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2012/11-0231)

Quinn, E. D., Kaiser, A. P., & Ledford, J. (2021). Hybrid telepractice delivery of Enhanced Milieu Teaching: Effects on caregiver implementation and child communication. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 64(8), 3074–3099. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_JSLHR-20-00430