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• Talk to your child, even when they are a baby: before your baby begins to talk he/she is listening to you and learning many of the skills needed for strong communication.

• Minimise background noise: turn off your TV and radio so your child can hear what you are saying.

• Simplify your sentences: use shorter sentences, emphasise keywords, use gestures and leave pauses for your child to contribute.

• Follow your child’s attention and join in with their play and activities: talk about what he/she is looking at for short periods on a daily basis.

• Use everyday activities for language learning: e.g. putting away the shopping, sorting the laundry, etc…

• Establish a daily routine at joint picture-book reading: talk about the pictures, rather than simply asking ‘where’s the …?’ or ‘what’s that?’ questions; you may not even read the words – talking and thinking about the pictures together is more important for language development at an early age.

• Put away your smart phones and tablets: your child needs your undivided attention to learn to communicate well, and many activities on devices do not encourage two way communication.

Developed by Carol Gray, Social Stories are a simple tool used to help children and adults understand situations from perspective other than their own.

The use of the stories aims to modify and reduce negative behaviours while creating more understanding of how to react more appropriately in situations they find difficult.

Carol Gray also developed Comic Strip Conversations. These are used to help people learn about different social situations and how different people involved in an interaction may have been feeling during the interaction.

We recommend visiting the National Autistic Society website for more detailed information on Social Stories and Comic Strip Conversations including how to plan, write and implement them effectively.

Social Stories Comic Strips

If you’re concerned your child may not be making the progress with their Speech and Language Development they should be, or if you’re just interested in seeing if they are making the expected progress, please have a look at the following website for a link to expected Ages and Stages information:

Talking Point

Remember, these are just a guide and many children do develop at different rates.

Contact us on the contact link at the bottom of this page if you’re concerned and would like to talk to us.

Top Tips for helping a dysfluent child

• Listen carefully to them, placing the emphasis on WHAT they are saying and not HOW they are saying it.
• Be open and objective about stuttering when/ if it happens (e.g. oh, you got a bit stuck on that word):…. and then praise the CONTENT of what they said (e.g. oh you got a bit stuck on that word, but you said what you wanted to say and I really liked that).

• Allow them the time to finish what they have to say… try not to finish their words or sentences for them.
• Slow down your own rate of talking…. this shows them there is no rush and they may follow your lead….. this is better than telling them to take a breath or slow down (in fact, try and avoid giving advice no matter how well meaning it is).

• Pause for a few seconds before responding to your child – again this shows there’s no rush and they can also take their time to answer when it’s their turn to talk.
• Reduce the number of questions that you ask and make sure you give them time to answer.
• Make sure that each child in the home/ class understands the importance of taking turns when talking.
• Praise the child for OTHER things they do well as this helps to build their confidence.
• Keep easy eye contact while you are talking to your child, especially when they are dysfluent.
• Treat them in exactly the same way as a fluent child regarding his/her behaviour – punishment should be appropriate and consistent.
• Sometimes, dysfluent children respond well to a less hurried lifestyle and flourish in a routine and structured environment both at home and at school.

There are many useful websites where you can gather information and find out about support for Speech, Language and Communication Needs. We’ve listed a few here:

Inclusive Education – Understanding speech, language and communication needs | Inclusive Education (tki.org.nz)

The Stuttering Treatment and Research Trust – Welcome | Stuttering Treatment and Research Trust

The New Zealand Speech-Language Therapists’ Association – Resources for Whānau and Carers » New Zealand Speech-language Therapists’ Association (speechtherapy.org.nz)

New Zealand Downs Syndrome Association – Home – New Zealand Down Syndrome Association (NZDSA)

Upside Downs Education Trust – UpsideDowns

Autism New Zealand – Home – Autism NZ

AphasiaNZ – AphasiaNZ – Giving a voice to people with aphasia

The Dyspraxia Support Group NZ – Dyspraxia