Late Talkers: Using silence strategically to support early language development

Who is a "Late Talker":

Around 18 months, children often produce at least 10 words and on average about 50 words. A late talker is a child who is 18- 30 months and not yet using many verbal words to communicate. Oftentimes, when a child is not meeting these milestones, speech therapy can be helpful. A speech therapist will provide strategies and support to help the child develop words, phrases and sentences.

How to support a Late Talker:

There are many strategies that can be helpful to implement when supporting a late talker. Strategies often focus on creating an ideal environment and understanding what to do and say as a parent/caregiver. In our Mae Mae and Me classes, we choose one strategy each week to share with our families and model throughout play with the children.

Silence as a strategy:

One strategy that we discuss early on in Mae Mae and Me classes is using silence strategically. It can feel counterintuitive to be silent as a way of helping your child talk, but it's very powerful! Oftentimes, families are told to "narrate their day" as a way of encouraging their child to talk more. Narrating can certainly have benefits to supporting a child's language development, but it's important for there to be balance.

Strategically using silence can mean that we intentionally don't add language to a moment. Instead, we observe what the child is interested in and listen to what they contribute to an interaction (e.g., vocalizations, words, etc.). As we allow for moments of silence, we can then thoughtfully add words to an interaction.

Silence can also be used to create an "expectant pause" - a speech therapy strategy that is so useful in early language development! An expectant pause is when we share a phrase or sentence and then purposefully pause to allow the child to fill in the space. If the child is not yet saying words, we can use expectant pauses, but we should then fill in the blank for the child. On the other hand, if we know the child has the word in their repertoire, then we can give the child an encouraging look as we provide the space for them to fill in the gap. Some phrases or songs where an expectant pause is commonly used include:

• Ready, set...(expectant pause), go!

• The Wheels on the Bus go... (expectant pause), round and round!

• Peeka...(expectant pause), boo!

Why speech therapists use silence to help early language development:

Children benefit from environments where there is less pressure to communicate and from time to process language before responding. Using silence, creates a calmer, more inviting environment for communication and further supports a child as they process language around them.

Practice this strategy with the support of a speech therapist!

Our Mae Mae and Me early language classes are the perfect opportunity to learn more about and practice this strategy. Using silence strategically is one strategy that we discuss and use in sessions, because it lays the foundation for other strategies to support early language learners. Click here to learn more about our toddler classes led by one of the speech therapists on our team.