Early Intervention

Parent Handouts
For Speech & language

Set 1
13 Speech & Language Handouts for Parents
• Developmental Norms (6 pages)
• Language Strategies (7 pages)

Jenna rayburn, MA, CCC-SLP

 Early Intervention
Parent Handouts
For Speech & language
13 Speech & Language Handouts for Parents
• Developmental Norms (6 pages)
• Language Strategies (7 pages)

This download contains 13 parent handouts for early intervention. Although

the handouts in this packet are developed for early intervention, I also use
them with severely delayed preschool students.

Developmental Norms Handouts

• From Coos & Goos to Words (Speech Development Birth to 3)
• Phonological Processes Chart (Lists different processes)
• Before Words (10 skills prior to words)
• Word Count (Word count norms up to age 3)
• Early Language (General differences in expressive/receptive/pragmatic)
• Early Literacy (Skills by age up to 4)

Language Strategies
• +1 Routine
• 3:1 Rule
• Verbal Routines
• Self-Talk
• Withholding
• Communication Temptations
• Repetitive Books & Songs

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 From Coos & Goos to Words
During baby’s first year expect:

q Phonation (cry, burp, sneeze)

q Coo & Goo (vowels, consonant-vowel (CV, VC))
q Exploration (squeals, growls, yells, raspberries)
q Canonical Babbling (reduplicated syllable such as “mama”, “baba”)
q Variegated Babbling (begins to use different CV (consonant-vowel) syllables)

PBMTDHWN Early Developing Sounds

12 Mos. 18 Mos.
q Produces first word q Hums to songs
q Produces word approximations q Omits most final consonants
(“muh” for “milk”) q Imitates and produces 2-word
q Imitates animal sounds combinations (mostly nouns &
verbs)

24 Mos.
36 Mos.
q Produces CVC structures
with early sounds q Produces 2 -3 word
q Echoes adult words & combinations
inflections q Speech is 50 to 75%
q Produces 2-word intelligible
combinations q Starts to use some later
q Speech is 25 to 50% sounds: K, L, F, S, Y in
intelligible some words

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Bowen, C. (1998). Developmental phonological disorders. A practical guide for families and teachers. Melbourne: ACER Press. © 2016, Speech Room News, LLC
Lanza, J. & Flahive, L. (2008). Communication Milestones. Linguisystems.com
Phonological Processes
All children use phonological processes to simply their speech when learning to
talk. These patterns make it easier to coordinate lips, teeth, and tongue to say words.
Children typically grow out of many processes by age three.

Omission of the last sound in a word.

Final Consonant Deletion
cat à ca.

Omission of one sound from a blend.

Cluster Reduction
stop à top

Omission of the weak syllable in a multisyllable

Syllable Reduction word.
elephant à efant

Liquid sounds (L, R) are changed to glides (W, Y).

Gliding
red à wed

When the ER or L sounds are replaced by a vowel

Vocalization
water à watuh

Back sounds (K, G, NG) are made in the front (T,

Fronting D).
bike à bite

Affricate sounds (like CH, J) are replaced by a

Deaffrication fricative (like SH, S).
cheese à sheese

Fricative sounds (like S, F) or affricates (like CH,

Stopping J) are replaced by a stop (like B, T).
zoo à doo

Voiceless consonants at the beginning of words

Prevocalic Voicing are replaced by voiced consonants.
pig à big

Voiced consonants at the end of words are

Postvocalic Devoicing replaced by voiceless consonants.
bed à bet
© 2015, Speech Room News, LLC www.TheSpeechRoomNews.com
 Before Words
Your pediatrician might ask you how many words your child is saying, but there are many
other developmental milestones that precede first words.

Reciprocal Play Initiating Social Games

You use a sing-song voice and talk to your Your child initiates “chase” or rolling a ball
child. When you stop and look expectantly back and forth. Peek-a-boo starts with your
he makes noises and “talks” back to you child hiding under a blanket and looking to
using jargon. you to continue the game.

Vocalizes to Objects Imitates Movement

Your child holds and looks at objects in his Your child imitates movements such as
hand. He vocalizes a variety of consonants clapping his hands to copy you. He
or vowels. understands and plays the “How Big?” game
by putting his hands out wide.

Imitates Sounds Point to Objects

Your child copies raspberries, animal Your child is relating to you! He points to
noises and other silly sounds. He is show you things or ask what something is.
interested in watching your face and He points to tell you what he wants or
mouth. where he wants to go.

Joint Attention Gesturing

Joint attention is when you and your child Representational gestures include waving
share interest in the same item. It’s an bye-bye and putting his arms up when he
early social skill that is foundational for wants to be picked up. He uses his body to
language and cognition. Your child looks at tell you want he wants!
you and then looks at the airplane and then
back at you. Social Referencing
Your child wants you to watch him! He looks
over while playing to make sure you’re
watching as he slides the cars down the
ramp.

Push & Pull

Your child pushes and pulls you to things
they want. They might take your hand and
lead you around the house.
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Lanza, J. & Flahive, L. (2008). Communication Milestones. Linguisystems.com © 2016, Speech Room News, LLC
 Word Count
How many words should my child be saying?

12- 18 Months
First words. Your child
begins to intentionally label
items. At 12 months they use 18 - 24 Months
2-6 words other than mama 50 words. Your child uses a
and dada. variety of words - mostly
nouns. At this age your child
understands many more
words than he/she can say.
Children typically
understand 150 to 300
24 – 30 Months words.
200-300 words. Your child
learns many new words
including animals, body parts, 30 -36 Months
and simple verbs. He begins 450 words. Use positional
to put these words together. words (in, on), color words,
and ask “what’s that?”. Uses
early pronouns (I, me, you).

36+ Months
1,000 words. Huge gains in
expressive vocabulary
during this year. Your child
uses mostly 3-word
phrases.

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Lanza, J. & Flahive, L. (2008). Communication Milestones. Linguisystems.com © 2016, Speech Room News, LLC
 Early Language

Pragmatic Language
Pragmatics are the social language
skills we use in our daily
interactions. This includes what we
say, how we say it, and our body
language. It also includes our Receptive Language
ability to judge what is expected The first to develop,
in different situations. receptive language is the
ability to listen and
understand speech. This
includes understanding
sentences, following
directions, understanding
a story, or understanding
basic concepts.

Expressive Language
Expressive language includes
the ability to express thoughts
and ideas. It includes length
of sentences, grammar,
content of the message and
vocabulary.
© 2016, Speech Room News, LLC
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 Early Literacy
3-12 mos.
• Chew, hold, & pat books
• Focus on large, bright pictures in a
book
• Share a book with an adult as part of
a routine at bedtime

12-24 mos. 24-36 mos.

• Recognize certain • Like to listen to books for
books by the cover
• Listen to simple stories longer period of time
• Like to turn pages • Holds a book correctly
• Attends to a book for • Begins to recognize
two minutes logos (e.g. McDonald’s
• Points to and labels
pictures independently. sign)

3-4 years
• Begin to attend to
specific print, such as the
first letter of his name
• Understands that print
carries a message
• Identifies some
letters/sounds
• Talks about characters in
a book
• Likes to “read” stories to
himself and others
• Protests if an adult
changes the story
© 2016, Speech Room News, LLC
www.TheSpeechRoomNews.com Lanza, J. & Flahive, L. (2008). Communication Milestones. Linguisystems.com
 +1 Routine
After they acquire their first 50 words, children start to combine
single words into phrases. Sentence length should be equal to
their age (2 year olds use 2-word utterances and 3 year olds use
3-word utterances) until they are 5 years old.

The +1 Routine is a strategy to increase your

child’s utterance length.

The goal is to model a phrase just one word longer in length than
what your child says. This will help your child by exposing him to
language just above his current level. You should repeat what your
child says and add one word. You will not expect your child to repeat
the +1 phrase. Try to vary the type of word you add. Don’t just add
“please” to the end of every sentence. Use this idea when your child
has already initiated the conversation. They need to speak first and
you will just expand their utterance.

Child: “bird” Parent: “little bird”

Child: “me up” Parent: “pick me up”

Child: “help” Parent: “help me”

Types of Combinations?
noun + verb (mama go)
action + object (kick ball)
action + location (go bed)
possessor + possession (my ball)

© 2016, Speech Room News, LLC

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 3:1 Rule
When you’re playing with your child it’s important for him/her to
use language spontaneously. It’s really easy to ask your child
questions all day. This limits his/her use of language. Instead, focus
on saying a statement.

The 3:1 Rule will help you reduce the number of questions
you ask your child and increase the number of
statements you make.

Try to play intentionally with your child using the 3:1 Rule for a few
minutes each day. Sit down with your child and his/her toys. While
you play, make three comments for each question you ask.

Playing Kitchen:

Comments: Question:
I’m the chef! Do you want ketchup?
I made a hot dog.
Oh, that’s cold!
Pass the milk please.

Build the 3:1 Rule into your daily routine

too. Make comments while you’re
giving your child a bath, reading a
goodnight book, or when you’re
getting him/her dressed.

© 2016, Speech Room News, LLC

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Verbal Routines
“Ready, set, go!” It’s a verbal routine you probably use every day
with your child, but do you know why your child can fill in the
“go”? Verbal routines are words that become predictable
because you say them the same way, in the same activity
repeatedly.

Using verbal routines over and over again allows your child
predictable practice with a limited set of words. Soon you can
omit the last word from a sequence and they can fill in the blank.

Common verbal routines include familiar songs and nursery

rhymes. They can also include a made up song you sing during
an activity like “Wash, wash, wash your hands. Make them nice
and clean!”

Verbal routines can include phrases that you

use in many different settings such as counting
“1, 2, 3” or “ready, set, go.”

Sometimes your verbal routines might

be specific to your child! If you make
up a silly saying while you build and
crash blocks, say it over and over
again. If your child likes a superhero,
put his/her name in a rhyme about
being a superhero.

© 2016, Speech Room News, LLC

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 Self-Talk
The best way to improve your child’s language is to talk to your
child! It sounds simple, and it is! One of the best ways to model
language is self-talk.

Self-talk is when a parent talks about what the parent is

doing. You should use an animated and excited voice to
make it really fun and engaging.

Self-talk can be done throughout normal daily routines and

many parents automatically use self talk. When using self talk, use
short and simple language. Don’t use baby talk, but keep your
sentences at a level your child understands.

Shopping:

“What do we need? We
need bananas. I found
the bananas! I need four
bananas. One, two, three,
four. I’ll put them in the
cart.”

Children need to hear and be exposed to thousands and

thousands of words. The more words they hear and are
exposed to, the more words they will use!
© 2016, Speech Room News, LLC
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 Withholding
If your child has several words, but isn’t using them independently,
try using the withholding strategy. Withholding is a simple strategy
where you intentionally wait before you give him something until
he communicates with you.

You know your child so well that you can anticipate most of his
needs. Sometimes this limits the verbal communication your child
needs to use throughout the day. When your child points to what
he wants, look at him and say “tell me what you want”. Then wait
and see if your child responds. If he doesn’t respond you can give
a verbal model, i.e. “say milk”. Once your child responds verbally,
give him what he wants. This strategy only works if your child has
demonstrated that he has that word in his vocabulary.

Let’s Practice!

Get your child engaged in an activity.

Grab a laundry basket and a ball. Start
shooting the ball into the basket. Be silly
and make it fun. Once your child is really
excited and engaged, grab the ball and
hold it. Withhold the ball until he asks for it
saying “ball” or “my turn”.

© 2016, Speech Room News, LLC

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Communication
Temptations
Your child has the opportunity to speak all day, but sometimes
opportunity isn’t enough. Your child needs a motivating reason
and reward in order to communicate!

Communication Temptations set up the

environment in a way that entices your
child to make a request that results in
a positive experience. With a highly
desired activity there is a high
likelihood she will ask for it again!

There are thousands of ways to set up communication

temptations! You just need to find something highly motivating so
the child enjoys it.

Let’s Try It! Start with bubbles. Get the type of

bubbles with a twist lid that your child can’t
open by herself. Hand her the bubbles but
don’t anticipate her needs! Wait until she
communicates to you that she needs the lid
unscrewed. Blow some bubbles and then put
the lid back on. Let her ask again. If she can’t
blow the bubbles by herself, you’ve got
another temptation! Wait until she asks for you
to blow them. Remember to keep it fun and
avoid letting her get frustrated!

Other great activities:

• wind up toys
• balloons
• snacks in pouches
• toys put in jars
© 2016, Speech Room News, LLC www.TheSpeechRoomNews.com
 Repetitive
Books & Songs
Picking books to read with your young child is almost as
important as reading them! Picking books with repetitive texts
allows you to work on many language and pre-literacy skills. Sit
with your child facing you so your child can watch your face and
mouth.

Books with repetitive texts provide a rhythm to speech

much like music. They become easily memorized and
children know what to expect next. This allows them to
begin to use words to finish parts of the books.

Favorite Repetitive Texts:

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?
by Bill Martin Jr. & Eric Carle
Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman
Pete the Cat by Eric Litwin
The Napping House Audrey & Don Wood

It’s okay to read a book over and over

again. Use inflection to make your
voice interesting. Use hand gestures
and facial expressions that exaggerate
your meaning.

© 2016, Speech Room News, LLC

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