Speech Therapy Ideas for Functional Communication: Communicating Wants and Needs

How do you help a child who can’t speak to tell you what they need?

What about a little one who has meltdowns and tantrums but can’t tell you why?

How can we teach a child some basic, functional communication skills that will help them connect with the world around them and communicate their wants and needs?

I’m Carrie Clark and on today’s episode of The Speech and Language Kids Podcast, I’m going to give you some simple ideas to help a child learn functional communication so we can alleviate that frustration!

Listen to the Podcast Here

You can listen to the full podcast episode below:

The Two Different Ways that Children Learn Language

We can’t talk about functional communication without mentioning that there are two very distinct ways that children learn language.

And then we can talk about how some children do a combination of both…so that’s not confusing at all.

But here are the two different ways:

One Word at a Time: Some children acquire language one word at a time. They may say “up” or “more” to tell you what they want. These are called analytic language processors.
In chunks or scripts: Other children learn language in chunks or scripts known as “gestalts”. They may repeat entire phrases, sentences, or scripts that they have heard from other places. These still have meaning to them but it may not be the same meaning as the specific words would lead you to believe. These are called gestalt language processors

When we know which way a child leans toward, we can provide models that follow that approach.

How to Tell if a Child is a GLP:

Here’s where it gets tricky: if a child isn’t speaking much (or at all), it can be hard to tell which way they are learning language.

Here are some signs you may be working with a GLP (and therefore want to model more language chunks instead of single words):

Melodic way of speaking with a lot of variation in intonation (even if you can’t understand the words)
Tend to say things the same way every time
Like to sing songs
Love categories of language, like farm animals, shapes, letters, numbers, etc.
Like to play the same way every time or re-enact scenes

How to Model Language Based on the Child’s Learning Style:

Once you know which way the child is learning language, you can provide the child with models that make sense to them!

(If you’re not sure, do a little of both)

Here’s how to model language for each type:

For Analytic Language Processors: Model a lot of single words. When they are paying attention to something, label it with one word, like “ball”. If they seem like they are trying to communicate something to you, say that word out loud, like “more”.
For Gestalt Language Processors: Model a lot of phrases or sentences with variation in pitch and emotion. Imitate the actions and sounds that the child makes and then use your own phrases and sentences to describe what the child is doing, what you’re doing, and what you think they may be trying to communicate to you. Use sentence starters like “I’m…”, “Let’s…”, “Where’s…” and “Look!” These can all be reused later to create new sentences.

Consider Other Ways for the Child to Communicate

Sometimes children aren’t speaking because they just aren’t capable of it yet.

And that’s OK!

We can offer children alternative ways of communicating to get them started, such as by using sign language, communication devices, talking buttons, picture boards, etc. (Called Alternative-Augmentative Communication or AAC)

You can model using these the same way you would model spoken language.

In fact, use them at the same time that you are speaking your language models!

See if the child picks up on any of them.

So What Does Speech Therapy Look Like for Functional Communication?

It looks like play!

Super fun, engaging play!

And that’s the good news, because this type of therapy is easy to do without any special tools or materials.

Simply let the child lead the play and do the following:

Model: Like a billion times. Keep modeling. Over. And over. And over.
Imitate: Repeat back any sound the child makes and imitate what they are doing. This will help them see you as a part of their world.
Expand: If the child says something, repeat it back to them but add one word. Or, if they communicate something to you without words, label it with a word. Use spoken language and AAC if appropriate.
Use Pausing and Silence: Don’t fill the silence with models! You also need to give them time to process and respond or imitate you!
Create Communication Temptations: Create opportunities for them to tell you something. Don’t automatically assume what they need, ask the question and pause to give them time to think. Stick their snack inside a clear jar with a tight lid and wait. Will they ask for help? If they don’t, model “help” anyway and then open it for them. But give them a chance! Give them their cereal but with no spoon. Place something up high that they can’t reach. Wind up a toy for them and then let it wind down and pause to see if they will ask you to do it again. Be creative with the ways you tempt the child to communicate with you!