Following A Child’s Lead

Child-led play is a key part of early language therapy, and following the child’s lead is a big part of most early intervention sessions. It requires the child’s communication partner to pause, wait and observe. This lets them notice things like the toy or object that has the child’s attention and what the child may be attempting to communicate. When children take the lead in play, it helps to create a meaningful, motivating environment for them to learn. The child is more likely to want to communicate, and it builds social connection and participation.

You can also follow your child’s lead at home to create meaningful language learning environments to support language development. This may look different depending on the individual child. Here are some tips to follow your child’s lead effectively in play:

1. Consider your child’s interests. Do they love books, blocks or dolls? Is there a special interest they have, or do they love to get messy outside? For some children, play may also look very different to what we often consider ‘typical’ play. Rather than books, your child may love gathering pencils and dropping them one by one onto the floor, or may find enjoyment in collecting spoons from around the house. While this may not match many of our ideas of what play is, if it is engaging for your child, it is worth doing with them!
2. Be flexible. One of the first lessons therapists learn is that flexibility is one of the most important skills you can have. Children don’t often like to follow plans or rules, so it’s important to see what interests them about the activity or game and follow their lead. Yes, that may mean the extensive train track you spent three hours setting up goes ignored in favour of pushing the train up and down the chair. In the end, your child is more likely to pick up language around the activity they choose and are motivated by than an activity we have to push them into.
3. Choose target words. Think about what you’re trying to achieve. Are there particular words or types of words you want your child to start using? Is there something you’ve been working on in speech therapy? Write down a short list of the words and think about how you can incorporate them into the activity. Again, be flexible. Avoid words that only work one specific way, because if your child decides to play differently, you won’t be able to use them meaningfully. Core words like more, want, go and stop, or verbs are usually a good place to start.
4. Offer choices. When setting up an area for your child to play in, or beginning play with your child, give them 2 to 4 options to choose from. This will help ensure the play is meaningful and motivating to them!

Often, the first step to language is engagement. The perfect way to do that is by setting up an environment that is positive, meaningful and joyful for the child!