If you need support or advice to help your child with talking and listening, the NHS Tayside Children and Young People’s Speech and Language Therapy Service have lots of tips and guidance on their website. You will find these by visiting: https://www.nhstayside.scot.nhs.uk/OurServicesA-Z/ChildrenandYoungPeoplesSpeechandLanguageTherapy/PROD_318266/index.htm

They have sorted advice into the following categories:

• Attention and Listening.
• Expressive Language.
• Speech Sounds.
• Understanding.
• Stammering.
• Voice.
• Bilingual.
• Interaction.
• Working Memory.

The service also provide an advice line for parents. The below poster explains how to access this service:

 ADVICE LINE

There are also a number of ways in which you can support your child to develop their listening and talking skills at home. Some top tips include:

• Find time at home to sit together and talk about your day. Meal times are a good time to do this. Ensure there is “tech-free” time, where there is an opportunity for you to talk with your child free of distractions such as tablets, phones, computers and T.Vs.
• Play a range of games together. Family board games encourage communication, whilst role-playing with your child (e.g. playing shops) helps your child to develop a range of social communication skills.
• Give your child time when talking. They sometimes need time to process a question and think of their answer. Thinking time supports them with this and boosts confidence.
• Share stories and books together. Make time to share books and create opportunities for your child to read aloud and share their learning, such as songs, rhymes and poems they have learned.
• Give your child opportunities to express their own opinions and share their own feelings. Watch the news and discuss your opinions of the stories and any questions the reports raise. Newsround produce stories and news clips suitable for children. Look out for their daily news round-up. https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround .
• Opportunities to chat with family and friends are valuable learning opportunities, especially for social communication skills. The chance to chat on the telephone is also a nice way to develop these skills.
• Talk about new words / vocabulary as you encounter them. Challenge your child to use these words throughout the day in the right context.
• Use photo albums, scrap books and special objects to talk about special memories together.
• Time to play and socialise with friends is also very important. Your child can learn and develop their social communication skills well with peers around the same age, and great fun always involves different levels of communication!