Before the First Words: How to Build "Pre-Verbal" Communication With Your Child
One of the most eagerly awaited milestones in a child's development is the first meaningful word. However, if you notice that your child speaks less than their peers, does not respond to you, or has difficulty joining in play, you may begin to worry about delayed speech.
It is important to remember that communication begins long before words. For your child to be able to speak, they first need to build the foundational building blocks of the pre-verbal communication period. So what does this period encompass, and how can you support your child's communication skills at home?
The Foundation of Communication: Pre-Verbal Skills
In supportive education programs designed for individuals with speech and language disorders, developing pre-verbal skills is of great importance. Before your child can produce their first words, they are expected to be able to use the following fundamental communication channels:
Establishing Eye Contact: The first step in this process is the child making brief eye contact with the person in front of them, following the speaker's mouth and face, and making eye contact when their name is called.
Joint Attention: Directing one's attention toward another person or an object, and looking at objects or pictures together with an adult, are joint attention skills. A child looking at an object pointed to by a finger, or pointing to objects they see around them to show an adult, are also strong indicators of joint attention.
Turn-Taking: Communication is a reciprocal exchange. In a play setting, the individual is expected to take turns by imitating an adult's movement after observing it, or by vocalizing after listening to the adult. Waiting for their turn during play is also an important part of this skill.
Imitation: A child's imitation of body movements, actions performed with objects, and oral and facial movements develops before speech. Imitating environmental sounds and speech sounds is also a precursor to language development.
From Exploratory Play to Symbolic Play
How children play gives us direct clues about their language development. Supportive education programs aim to move the child beyond exploratory play—where objects are simply banged or thrown—toward far more advanced stages of play.
The child is first expected to engage in relational play, combining objects together.
Next comes the functional play stage, where objects are used according to their purpose (such as saying