Coaching Parents to Foster Their Child’s Expressive Language Skills

An excellent article written by Tracy Sippl and the following suggested activities that parents can use to help a child grasp a language concept. This article explains parents wanting their toddler with autism spectrum disorder to label an apple…

• Present the child with several apples, preferably of different colors. Talk about the outside of the apples: color, shape, size, smell, taste and texture.
• Cut open the apples (“What do you see?”) , and eat some of each, talking about how it sounds and tastes as you bite into each piece.
• Cut an apple in half horizontally and use washable tempera paints to make apple prints on paper using the different colors apples can be.
• Find a simple recipe to make applesauce or another food from apples.
• Eat apple slices with peanut butter and talk about how it tastes, and about the messiness and stickiness.
• Make a pretend apple out of PlayDoh.
• Compare the “fake” apple with the real one, explaining that you can eat a “real” apple but not the “pretend.” This models analytical thinking.
• Bring in another fruit, such as an orange, and do the same steps.
• Try making and drinking homemade orange juice.
• Compare an apple to an orange.
• Show video clips of people picking apples and oranges, showing how both grow on a tree.
• Add bananas, doing the first seven steps (tastes great with peanut butter).
• Roll the items across the floor and talk about how they roll. Compare.
• Use this method to teach about common fruits you either purchase or see in the market.

View the original article on American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).