Communication development is like a tree. When all is going well, we see the healthy leaves and branches and don't notice everything that must be in place to support them and help them to grow. However, just as trees need healthy roots, sun and water, certain elements need to be in place in order for speech and language to develop. #treeoflanguage
Image from https://the-therapy-tree.com
Cognitive skills like attention, listening and memory are examples of elements that must be in place for speech and language to develop. These are essential for children to focus, take in, understand and remember sounds, words and sentences. If children struggle with these skills, they will struggle to follow information, instructions and stories. They will find it hard to take part in conversations.They will struggle to learn and develop good language skills. They are also likely to feel very frustrated, lack confidence and develop emotional difficulties.
A child may have particular difficulties with:
Following and remembering information, especially when they have to rely only on spoken words.
Learning letters and letter sounds (phonological awareness).
Telling the difference between speech sounds (auditory discrimination).
Remembering things that they hear (auditory memory).
Learning new words.
Remembering unfamiliar or abstract words (things that are hard to see or touch).
Remembering sequences, routines or lists: these fade quickly if not rehearsed and used regularly.
Understanding information they hear (auditory perception).
Following long verbal instructions.
Forming longer words and phrases.
Developing reading, comprehension and grammar.
How can we help children with attending, listening and remembering?
General advice
Reduce distractions, keep activities short and give plenty of short breaks
Seat children close to the teacher
Minimise background noise
Gain a child’s attention before speaking to use e.g. use their name
Check a child has understood
Keep instructions short
Slow your speech down and use pauses to give children processing time
Help the child to be aware when they have to listen e.g. pointing to your ears
Limit amount of verbal instruction at any one time – Chunk into smaller, simple phrases
Encourage children to tell you when they don’t understand
Make use of the procedural memory with role-play, drama and physical movement to help learn new routines.
Make use of songs, rhymes and rhythm. Music, rhythm and song can especially help when learning sequences (e.g. the alphabet, times tables, days of the week)
Make learning visual
Use pictures, symbols and signs along with key words.
Use keywords, icons and diagrams rather than full text.
Underline and highlight keywords.
Make use of word trees, maps or webs.
Play games to help develop listening, attention and remembering
Barrier games, where a small screen is set up between the child and a partner. The partner gives the child a short instruction with no visual clues. The child has to carry out the instruction e.g. arrange some bricks in a particular order.
Memory games: e.g. Kim’s game, Matching Pairs.
Listening games: e.g. Sound Lotto, Simon Says, Guess Who, Twenty Questions.
Treasure hunts. Hide items around the home. Give children instructions e.g. "walk to the kitchen, turn to the left, check under the bowl". You can start with short, simple instructions and make the instructions harder as you go.
Shopping lists. Ask your child for a list of items. You could start with two e.g. "can I have a banana and an apple." Gradually make the lists longer e.g. "can I have a banana, an apple, a tin of beans, chocolate and bread".
Sentence Strings. Start a sentence such as "I went to the zoo and I saw…" and take turns to add on another word each time.
If you are concerned that your child may be struggling with their attention, listening and remembering, please contact me for a free discussion about how I can help. An assessment will enable us to find out what skills your child is already using and what they need help to develop. We can then plan therapy at the right level to target their skills. #supportforunderstanding #supportingformemory
#helpwithlistening #helpwithattention #helpwithmemory #auditorymemorysupport #attentionandlisteningsupport