Communication is more than just words. It’s how your child understands and uses language to connect with you and the world.
Good communication skills help your child:
Children can communicate by:
The first three years of life are very important for language and communication development. Talking, listening, and playing with your child every day helps them build strong communications skills.
Simple activities—like reading together, asking questions, and playing games—can make a big difference. It’s never too early to add language into everyday activities to help your child develop speech and language skills.
The more that your child is spoken to, sung to, or read to, the better! Babies need to hear and see a new word many times before they understand what they mean.
For more information:
Surrey Place – Ways to Support Your Child’s Communication Development
Many children grow up learning more than one language – and that’s a great thing!
To learn more than one language, give your child lots of chances to hear and use each language during everyday activities.
Learning more than one language will not cause or contribute to a language disorder.
It is normal for children learning more than one language to “mix” words from each language when they are sharing ideas. Even many adults who speak more than one language switch between languages as part of their culture.
Talk to your child in the language(s) you are most comfortable using.
Whether your child is learning one language, or many languages, the best way to help them is by modeling language and having positive, back-and-forth interactions every day.
Monitoring your child’s communication development can help identify communication difficulties at a young age. Early support can make a big difference.
This checklist from Surrey Place can be used from 2 months to 4 years old to help you decide if your child needs help with their speech and spoken language.
If you are concerned about your child’s communication development, contact a registered speech-language pathologist for help. There are many services in Toronto.
Services for Preschool-Aged Children
The Preschool Speech and Language Program in Ontario provides assessment and intervention for preschool aged children with communication delays/difficulties, and their families. To access these services in Toronto contact Surrey Place
Services for School-Aged Children
If your child is attending school, contact your child’s school board to access speech and language supports and services.
Community Services
You can find a speech-language pathologist in your community, through the College of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists of Ontario. There may be a cost associated with community-based speech and language services.