Tag Communication Skills

Pets and child development are often discussed in relation to communication, social interaction and emotional development. While having a pet does not automatically improve these skills, everyday interactions with pets can create enjoyable opportunities for shared attention and communication.

Activities such as feeding, brushing, playing with or talking about a pet can create natural opportunities for children and adults to communicate, take turns and talk about emotions and experiences.

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Evett Lattouf

Evett is Clinical Director of Innerlink Therapy and a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist with extensive experience supporting children and adults across a range of settings. Her areas of interest include communication, learning, feeding and swallowing, autism, developmental disabilities and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).

Evett holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Speech Pathology from the University of Sydney and a Graduate Certificate in Dysphagia from La Trobe University. She also provides external clinical supervision to speech pathologists and speaks Lebanese Arabic, supporting communication with Arabic-speaking clients and families.

Outside the clinic, Evett enjoys spending time with her rescue dogs and caring for her flock of chickens.

innerlinktherapy.com.au/our-team/#evettlattouf

Asking for help is an important communication and problem-solving skill that children develop over time. It allows a child to communicate when they need assistance, clarification, comfort or support and can help them become more confident and independent in everyday activities.

Children can ask for help in many different ways. Some may use spoken words, while others may communicate through gestures, pointing, eye gaze, signs, pictures or an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) system. Parents and carers can support this skill by recognising these different forms of communication and creating natural opportunities for children to practise asking for help at home.

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Taking turns with music can be a fun and natural way to support a child’s early communication skills. Songs, actions and familiar routines create repeated opportunities for children to listen, respond, anticipate what comes next and participate in back-and-forth interactions.

Turn-taking is an important foundation for communication because conversations involve sharing attention and giving another person an opportunity to respond. Children can begin developing these skills before they use spoken words, through sounds, movements, gestures, eye gaze or other forms of communication.

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Evett Lattouf

Evett is Clinical Director of Innerlink Therapy and a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist with extensive experience supporting children and adults across a range of settings. Her areas of interest include communication, learning, feeding and swallowing, autism, developmental disabilities and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).

Evett holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Speech Pathology from the University of Sydney and a Graduate Certificate in Dysphagia from La Trobe University. She also provides external clinical supervision to speech pathologists and speaks Lebanese Arabic, supporting communication with Arabic-speaking clients and families.

Outside the clinic, Evett enjoys spending time with her rescue dogs and caring for her flock of chickens.

innerlinktherapy.com.au/our-team/#evettlattouf

Visual schedules for children use pictures, symbols, words or photographs to show what will happen and in what order. They can help children understand routines, follow steps in everyday activities and prepare for transitions or changes.

Some children find spoken instructions difficult to process or remember, particularly when several steps are given at once. A visual schedule provides information that remains available for the child to look at, rather than relying only on spoken language. Visuals can be used at home, school, preschool or in the community and can be adapted to suit the child’s communication and learning needs.

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Home practice can help children strengthen and use the skills they are developing in Speech Pathology sessions. Short, regular opportunities to practise at home can help children become more familiar with new speech, language or communication skills and use them in everyday situations.

However, fitting therapy activities into family life is not always easy. Home practice does not need to be long or complicated. A few minutes of focused practice, incorporated into routines, play or everyday activities, can often be more manageable for children and families.

Research suggests that parent-implemented home programs can support children’s speech and language development when families receive appropriate guidance and training from their therapist.

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Evett Lattouf

Evett is Clinical Director of Innerlink Therapy and a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist with extensive experience supporting children and adults across a range of settings. Her areas of interest include communication, learning, feeding and swallowing, autism, developmental disabilities and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).

Evett holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Speech Pathology from the University of Sydney and a Graduate Certificate in Dysphagia from La Trobe University. She also provides external clinical supervision to speech pathologists and speaks Lebanese Arabic, supporting communication with Arabic-speaking clients and families.

Outside the clinic, Evett enjoys spending time with her rescue dogs and caring for her flock of chickens.

innerlinktherapy.com.au/our-team/#evettlattouf

Music and language development are closely connected through rhythm, sounds, repetition and shared interaction. Songs and musical activities can create enjoyable opportunities for children to listen, anticipate what comes next, take turns and communicate with other people. 

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Evett Lattouf

Evett is Clinical Director of Innerlink Therapy and a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist with extensive experience supporting children and adults across a range of settings. Her areas of interest include communication, learning, feeding and swallowing, autism, developmental disabilities and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).

Evett holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Speech Pathology from the University of Sydney and a Graduate Certificate in Dysphagia from La Trobe University. She also provides external clinical supervision to speech pathologists and speaks Lebanese Arabic, supporting communication with Arabic-speaking clients and families.

Outside the clinic, Evett enjoys spending time with her rescue dogs and caring for her flock of chickens.

innerlinktherapy.com.au/our-team/#evettlattouf

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Children develop communication skills through everyday interactions with the people around them. Mealtimes, play, getting dressed, travelling, reading and household routines can all create natural opportunities for children to listen, respond, make choices and share ideas.

Supporting communication at home does not require turning everyday life into a therapy session. Small changes to the way adults interact, pause, model language and respond to a child’s communication can help create more opportunities for meaningful back-and-forth interaction.

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Some children need extra time, support or motivation to join in with other people. Interaction can begin in many different ways, including looking towards someone, sharing attention, making a sound, using a gesture, moving closer, taking a turn or using words or AAC.

Parents and carers can support interaction by creating enjoyable, low-pressure opportunities for back-and-forth communication during everyday routines and play. The goal is not to make a child interact on demand, but to notice their communication, follow their interests and make shared interaction easier and more meaningful.

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Everyday activities can create useful opportunities for children to develop communication and language skills. You do not need specialised toys or complicated exercises — familiar play, books and daily routines can all provide opportunities to introduce new words, share ideas and practise back-and-forth interaction.

The most useful language activities for children are often simple, enjoyable and connected to what the child is already interested in. Parents and carers can support communication by following their child’s lead, modelling language and giving them time to respond in their own way.

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Cooking can create natural opportunities for children to develop communication and language skills while taking part in a meaningful everyday activity. Following a recipe, choosing ingredients, describing what is happening and completing steps in order can all provide useful opportunities for interaction.

Cooking activities for language development do not need to be complicated. Preparing a sandwich, making fruit salad, mixing pancake batter or decorating biscuits can give children opportunities to hear and use new vocabulary, follow directions, make choices and talk about what happens first, next and last.

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