If your child were lost in a shopping centre, could they answer questions about themselves accurately and give sufficient information to be reunited with you quickly? Would they speak clearly enough to be understood?
The ability to give identifying information about ourselves is critical for your child’s social development. It also plays an important role in keeping him or her safe. The ability to respond to common ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’ and ‘when’ questions is essential to transforming young children into effective communicators. When we learn our own name, we are learning about identity and belonging. Our understanding of time (when) and location (where) improves as we learn about how old we are and label where we live.
As children get older, their ability to give information about themselves increases dramatically. However, age can be a tricky concept for some younger students: numbers are difficult and as soon as children learn their age, the number changes!
– At two years old, your child should be able to give his or her first name when asked and be able to identify significant people in photographs.
– In 4 year old preschool, he needs to be able to say his first and last name and age. He should also be able to indicate the suburb in which he lives and importantly, his parents/carers’ first name…saying “mummy” is not much help!
– All children in Prep should be able to name their school and class teacher.
– By six or seven, your child needs to be able to give her full name and address (number, street and suburb).
– Ideally, students in middle primary years can tell you their home phone number or a mobile contact. They should also be able to give their full birthdate.
Children with language impairment often find it difficult to respond appropriately to common ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’ and ‘when’ questions and need explicit teaching to achieve this skill. Children with phonological (speech sound) impairment need to be able to be able to make themselves understood. The team at Box Hill Speech Pathology are experts in childhood speech and language development and understand how to build these skills step-by-step. We use evidence-based techniques to develop your child’s grammar skills and improve speech sound production to help your child become a more effective communicator.
If you would like to discuss any aspect of your child’s social language skill development, call Box Hill Speech Pathology on 9899 5494 for more information or to book an initial assessment.
Content by Vicky Andrews and Genevieve Callister
Editing by Nicola Anglin (Speech Pathologist)
