Unlocking communication: My daily life with the Saltillo 88 Core Board

ByLondon Speech and Feeding June 25, 2025January 29, 2026

Introduction

As an AAC speech and language therapist who uses the Saltillo 88 Core board every day, I can tell you it’s more than just a communication tool. It’s a doorway to independence, connection, and expressing my students’ unique voice.

What is the Saltillo 88 and why do I use this one?

In this blog post, I want to share practical, real-world examples of how I integrate the Saltillo 88 into various daily activities, empowering my students and parents to learn to communicate.

There are literally hundreds of core boards out there and I have tried many different ones over the years. Which one should I use with this particular client? Should I make up my own? (I have made up tons!) or should I use a ready-made one like the one below which is what this blog is about.

For me the best ones are boards with a good number of core words (at least 60) so that the board is versatile and can be used across a range of activities. The board needs to have a range of pronouns, verbs, descriptors, prepositions and question words to be useful and to stimulate not just requesting but commenting and asking questions. Another consideration is: can the board easily be transferred to a more robust AAC system. Once my student is used to the symbols and where they are could we move to an electronic talker/device. And if this answer is ’yes’ then we have a great board to get started with.

Below is a picture of the Saltillo 88.

It has 88 words and I find it really does suit most activities. The same board and design is also then found on the TOUCHCHAT AAC device which can be a seamless transition for our learner.

Let me dive into how core words/board or AAC can be used daily:

1. Getting dressed

Whilst choosing clothes for your little one and getting them ready for the day you can use the following words: want, like, get, finish. Always pack the words into little phrases you can speak naturally when using a board. I have tried to show you phrases that you could use below.

The words in bold are the core words on the board and the other words are just words you say whilst pointing to the core word.

Goal: Express choices, needs, and preferences about clothing.
Ideas:
- ‘I want this one [specific item of clothing: ‘shirt’, ‘pants’]’
- ‘I like that one [colour/type of clothing]’
- ‘Help me [put/get it on/take off]’
- ‘let’s get your socks now’
- ‘finished let’s go’ (when dressed)

2. Having a shower/bath

Goal: Bath time tends to happen daily and so it lends itself to using the same useful phrases and words to chat about temperature preferences, to ask for toys or for washing routines.
Ideas:
- ‘let’s go have a bath/shower’
- ‘let’s turn on the tap/water’
- ‘now turn it off’
- ‘let’s get/have more toys/water/bubbles/tickles’
- ‘all gone, what’s next?’
- ‘how about washing your hands/feet’
- ‘let’s do that again’
- ‘need some help?’
- ‘Stop it now, let’s do something different’

3. Mealtimes

Goal: Mealtimes can be (or should be) enjoyable and motivating to ask for specific things we like, and commenting about our eating experiences.
Ideas:
- ‘I want/give me [food item: ‘apple’, ‘bread’]/[drink item: ‘water’, ‘juice’]’
- ‘More foods/drinks/snacks’
- ‘All done’
- ‘that’s messy we like that (not)’
- ‘Like’/‘Don’t like’
- ‘Big’/‘Little’
- ‘this is so nice!’

4. Playing

Goal: This is where it’s at for children of course and we can use our core words to chat and engage with our little learners.
Ideas:
- ‘I want play’
- ‘Go’/‘Stop’
- ‘More/again’
- ‘not it’s my My turn’/’it’s Your turn’
- ‘that’s a Big one!’/‘let’s do Little bubbles’ (describing toys)
- ‘let me Open it for you’ (for boxes, doors in play)
- ‘I See it’ (to draw attention)
- ‘Help me’ (with a tricky toy)

5. Opening boxes/doors/etc

Goal: Most kids love opening boxes, doors and cabinets to see what there is to play with. Help your child to ask for what they want.
Ideas:
- ‘let’s Open that box/bag/zip/door’
- ‘get me a (toy) out of here’
- ‘Let’s Take it out and see what it is?’
- ‘finished’ (when finished with the task)
- ‘I want [what’s inside]’
- ‘What’s next? Let’s see’

Tips for using AAC effectively

Consistency is key: Emphasise using it regularly, even for small things.
Modelling: this is crucial, the adults need to use the board for all situations first and foremost before we can expect our child to be interested.
Patience: Communication takes time and practice.
Celebrate successes: Acknowledge every communicative attempt.
Make it accessible: Keep the board within easy reach at all times.

Conclusion

If you’re considering the Saltillo 88, or TouchChat, or are already using it, I hope these examples inspire you. It’s a journey of discovery, and every word communicated is a step towards a more connected and independent life. What are your favourite ways to use the Saltillo 88 or which core board do you love using? I would love to hear your comments and stories.

Sonja McGeachie

Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Owner of The London Speech and Feeding Practice.

Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists Member

Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

Autism Therapy · Speech and Language Therapy

Bilingualism – should I speak only English with my speech delayed child?
ByLondon Speech and Feeding November 13, 2023November 20, 2023
Introduction

Bilingualism is a beautiful aspect of our diverse world. Growing up in a bi- or multi-lingual household is a wonderful gift, allowing children to communicate with a broader range of people and access many cultures.

My own two children grew up in a bilingual German-English speaking household. They have both been so enriched by this experience, not only language- and learning-wise but of course also culturally: their world has always been so open and colourful. Growing up in inner London and having their German family and mum’s friends as well, this has been a wonderful experience. Both my boys speak German well (not quite like native speakers but like very good second language speakers) and both have very easily learned 3rd and 4th languages additionally when in secondary school.

Whilst bilingualism has untold benefits, it’s not uncommon for bilingual children to take slightly longer to reach certain speech milestones. This should not be automatically mistaken for speech disorders but rather seen as a natural part of bilingual language development.

Bilingualism and speech delays

Sometimes, of course, we do see speech delays or disorders where a child’s speech development lags significantly behind their peers. We often see a delay in both languages equally, making it extra hard for to communicate effectively. BUT PLEASE KNOW the family speaking in multi-lingual languages never caused the delay/disorder!

If there is a delay or a disorder any number of other reasons could have caused it, such as:
- hearing impairments,
- reduced phonological awareness,
- sensory processing issues,
- reduced attention and reduced joint attention,
- neuro-developmental delays or difficulties,
- general or specific learning difficulties
- or sometimes other genetic factors.
So, to say that the difficulty is due to a child being exposed to several languages is a red herring. (no offence to herrings!)

Speech therapy

Speech therapy can be powerful to help bilingual /multilingual children with speech delays unlock their full linguistic potential. By providing individualised assessments, targeted interventions, and involving families, speech therapy can bridge the gap between speech delays and bilingualism. It’s essential for the therapist and parents to work together to support the children in their unique linguistic journeys, helping them communicate effectively and thrive in both of their languages.

Image by Freepik

Speak your home language at home

Many parents report that they worry about speaking their home language at home and instead they have been focusing on just speaking English at home. They now rarely use their home language with their child. They fear that speaking a language other than English with their child will cause further delay and hinder their progress. All parents want the best for their child and often parents fear that their child won’t fit in or will be seen as ‘different’. So we can understand why parents feel that the English language is the only one worth having.

But the opposite is the case: it is crucial to speak in both languages freely, both at home and outside the home! Both languages will benefit your child, no matter what the delay or difficulty is. Acquiring a ‘mother tongue’ or native language is absolutely vital for children to have a good, solid linguistic grounding on which to build other languages. Bilingual children may mix languages during speaking and parents may equally mix their languages. This does not hinder language development and is a natural part of linguistic development.

Speak freely and naturally

What is far more important than the question: ‘which language should I say this in?’ Instead think: ‘let me speak freely and naturally, let me respond naturally, in good intonation and let communication flow freely to the child.’

Speech therapy can be a crucial resource for bilingual or multilingual children and their families.

We work on targeted interventions to address speech and language difficulties, helping your child develop essential communication skills. For home practice between therapy sessions, we can recommend tailored treatment plans to help you help your child in daily life. Our input could be focusing on articulation, phonological awareness, attention and listening, vocabulary development and grammar.

Family support is crucial in speech therapy. We like to work closely with parents to provide guidance and strategies for fostering language development in both languages at home.

If you have any worries about your child being delayed in a bilingual or multilingual household do get in touch and we will be happy to support you in your journey.

Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

1
READ MORE Bilingualism – should I speak only English with my speech delayed child?
Speech and Language Therapy

One activity, endless opportunities for speech and language therapy targets
ByLondon Speech and Feeding May 19, 2026May 18, 2026
Communication does not happen in neat little boxes. In Speech and Language Therapy we often use one great activity to target multiple areas of speech and or language development all at once.

Children are trying to:
- understand language
- build sentences
- organise their thoughts
- pronounce sounds
- remember words
- use grammar
- follow social interaction
- communicate meaning…
all at the same time.

This short therapy clip is a little example of that.

Within one playful interaction, we naturally work on:
- grammar
- sentence expansion
- pronouns
- speech sound errors
- modelling
- visual cueing
- turn-taking
- confidence in communication
And, importantly, the child remains engaged, relaxed, and successful throughout.

Using language activities to refine speech sound targets

We all learn language through:
- shared attention
- play
- repetition
- connection
- modelling
- responsive interaction
As a Speech and Language Therapist I am constantly thinking and considering how to bring in all the targets a child is working on. The reason for that is that often we do not have a full therapy hour to work leisurely and calmly on various targets! Many children have short attention focus and ‘go off the boil’ quickly and often suddenly. Therefore, I always feel a sense of ‘make hay whilst the sun shines’ and pack it all in whilst the going is good. So then we can afford five minutes of trampolining in between activities to help the child regulate themselves without losing valuable speech therapy opportunities or time.
- How can I expand this sentence?
- How can I model better grammar?
- Can I gently shape the pronunciation here?
- Should I recast that phrase?
- Is this the right moment to pause and encourage a longer utterance?
- How can I keep communication flowing while still targeting goals?
These decisions happen continuously during therapy.

Building longer sentences naturally

In this clip, one of the key areas we are targeting is sentence expansion through Colourful Semantics, which is a particularly useful and researched approach, developed by UK Speech and Language Therapist Alison Bryan in 1997 to support children with speech and language difficulties.

Colourful Semantics is a visual, colour-coded therapy approach that helps children break down, understand, and construct sentences by assigning specific colours to thematic roles (e.g., Who, What Doing, What).

Many children with language delay use reduced language for example: they might say:
- ‘dog’ instead of ‘the dog is running fast’
- ‘eatin a dinner’ instead of we are eating our dinner
- ‘baby shhh’ instead of ‘the baby is sleeping’.
Using the Colourful Semantics Framework helps create a solid baseline from which to work and with which to construct basic good sentences using WHO is DOING WHAT and WHERE.

We are building language upward gently and positively.

This technique is incredibly powerful because children learn language through hearing it used meaningfully over and over again.

Supporting pronouns through real conversation

Pronouns can be surprisingly difficult for many children.

Words such as:
- he
- she
- him
- her
- they
require children to understand perspective, grammar, and sentence structure all at once. Using pictures and basing the activity on the Colourful Semantics Model I can shape pronouns repeatedly as part of the overall activity.

Books, pictures, and play scenes are fantastic for this because they create endless opportunities for meaningful repetition.

Again, this may look simple from the outside.

But underneath it is highly intentional clinical work.

Listening for speech sound errors at the same time

While supporting grammar and language, I am also constantly listening to the child’s speech production.

In this short interaction, I respond to speech sound errors as they arise.

Sometimes I:
- model the correct production
- emphasise a sound slightly
- use visual cues
- slow the word down
- add gesture or sign support
- encourage another attempt.
And sometimes I intentionally let the error go in order to protect confidence and maintain communication flow.

That balance is incredibly important.

Children need support. But they also need to feel successful communicating.

The child simply experiences this as warm, responsive interaction.

But underneath it is detailed clinical reasoning.

This is why effective therapy is never about simply owning resources or downloading activities online.

The real skill lies in:
- how the therapist uses the activity
- how they adapt moment by moment
- how they analyse communication in real time
- how they shape interaction to maximise learning opportunities.
One activity. Endless opportunities.

A single book, picture scene, or playful interaction can provide opportunities to support:
- speech sounds
- language development
- grammar
- vocabulary
- attention
- confidence
- social communication
- emotional connection.
The magic is not in the activity itself.

The magic is in how a therapist uses it.

Because excellent speech therapy is never ‘just playing’.

It is careful, responsive, evidence-based intervention woven seamlessly into joyful interaction.

Contact me avia my contact form if you would like me to work with your child.

Sonja McGeachie

Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Owner of The London Speech and Feeding Practice.

Reference

Bryan A (1997) Colourful semantics. In: Chiat S, Law J, and Marshall J (eds) Language disorders in children and adults: psycholinguistic approaches to therapy. London: Whurr, 143–61.

Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

3
READ MORE One activity, endless opportunities for speech and language therapy targets
Autism Therapy · Neurodiversity · Speech and Language Therapy · Top tips

The joy of container play: Exploring play development and understanding of how things work
ByLondon Speech and Feeding January 15, 2025January 8, 2025
Designed by Freepik

Have you heard the term ‘Container play’? I use this very often with children in my sessions as it is so versatile and an enjoyable activity that can be done in parallel with a child or together. Container play is a powerful tool for fostering development in young children, especially those with developmental delays. This seemingly mundane activity provides a rich environment for sensory exploration, motor skill development, and cognitive growth.

What is container play?

Container play involves children interacting with various containers—boxes, buckets, bowls, cups, various bags, etc.—and filling, emptying, and transferring objects within and between them. Objects can include literally anything: small beads, bead chains, table tennis balls, wooden pegs, dinosaurs or any other little person toy, blocks of varying sizes, sand, water, or any other safe material. Larger containers obviously take larger items: socks, stuffed animals, bigger balls, bigger blocks etc really the choices are endless.

Benefits for children with developmental delays:

Sensory exploration:
- Touch: Children explore different textures and temperatures of containers and objects.
- Sight: They observe how objects look inside and outside the containers, how light reflects off them, and how colours change.
- Sound: They listen to the sounds of objects clinking, rattling, and splashing.
- Proprioception: Filling and emptying containers helps develop body awareness and spatial awareness.
For neurodivergent children who might have sensory regulation difficulties, consider the following adaptions to accommodate your child’s sensory needs:
- Over-stimulation: For children who are easily overstimulated, start with simple setups using a limited number of containers and objects. Gradually increase the complexity as they tolerate it.
- Under-stimulation: For children who seek sensory input, provide a variety of textures and materials, such as sand, water, slime, or beans.
- Temperature: Offer a variety of temperature options. Some children may enjoy warm water or cool sand.
- Lighting: Adjust the lighting to create a calming or stimulating environment.
- Focus on one sense at a time: Initially, focus on one sensory aspect, such as the feel of sand or the sound of water.
- Weighted containers: Use heavy containers filled with rice or beans to provide deep pressure input.
- Fidget toys: Incorporate fidget toys into the activity to provide sensory input and help with self-regulation.
- Tactile exploration: Encourage exploration of different textures using objects with varying surfaces.
Fine motor skill development:
- Hand-eye coordination: Scooping, pouring, and transferring objects require precise hand-eye coordination.
- Pincer grasp: Picking up small objects helps develop fine motor skills like the pincer grasp.
- Strength and dexterity: Manipulating containers and objects strengthens hand muscles and improves dexterity. Opening and closing containers can be a huge area of interest; how does the top screw back on, or off?
Cognitive development:
- Cause and effect: Children learn that their actions (e.g., pouring water or sand) have consequences (e.g., the water spills).
- Spatial awareness: They develop an understanding of concepts like inside, outside, full, empty, and over/under; also how big is the vessel and how much goes in before it’s full or spills over. How small is the vessel opening and what do I need to do to get the beads into the container.
- Problem-solving: Children learn to solve problems, such as how to get an object out of a narrow container or how to transfer water without spilling.
Social and emotional development:
- Communication: Container play can encourage communication as children interact with others, sharing toys and commenting on their actions. Asking for help to open and close a container is often a great opportunity to practise ‘help me’ or ‘open it’
- Turn-taking: Sharing containers and materials helps children learn to take turns and cooperate.
- Sensory regulation: For children with sensory sensitivities, container play can be a calming and self-regulating activity.
Tips for engaging children in container play:
- Create a safe and inviting environment. A shower curtain on the floor makes things easier for tidy up afterwards. And it allows for spillages.
- Provide a variety of containers: Use different sizes, shapes, and materials. Use containers that are visually interesting and pleasing, perhaps a festive biscuit tin, or a tin that looks like train engine. Use see-through containers at first which make the filling and emptying more obvious. This is important for children who have no previous experience with this type of play and need to ‘warm up’ to it. Once a child loves and is used to container play you can go wild with all types of containers.
- Offer a variety of objects: Include balls, blocks, sand, water, and other age-appropriate materials.
- Join in the fun! Start off the process, show your child what the joy of the activity is for yourself, how fun it is to fill and empty containers, provide enough containers for your child to start playing alongside you, and comment on their actions.
- Follow your child’s lead: Allow them to explore and experiment at their own pace.
- Adapt activities: Adjust the level of challenge based on your child’s abilities and interests.
Container play is a simple yet powerful tool that can support the overall development of young children, especially those with developmental delays. By providing a rich and engaging sensory experience, container play can help children build essential skills in motor, cognitive, social, and emotional domains.

If you have any questions or would like to have more in-depths demonstration of this or other play styles for your child please contact me.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sonja McGeachie

Early Intervention Speech and Language Therapist

Feeding and Dysphagia (Swallowing) Specialist The London Speech and Feeding Practice

The London Speech and Feeding Practice

Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

1
READ MORE The joy of container play: Exploring play development and understanding of how things work
Speech and Language Therapy · Top tips

Supporting children and families living with verbal dyspraxia
ByLondon Speech and Feeding August 7, 2023July 28, 2023
“It’s brill-i-ant, it’s brill-ant, it’s brillnt”

Have you ever wondered why children may pronounce a word correctly one minute and in the next breath they struggle to say the same word? It’s equally as frustrating for you as it is for your child. The biggest question of all is WHY? Why does this happen and what causes it? Whilst there are many explanations. When it persists, it might be a condition called verbal dyspraxia.

What is verbal dyspraxia

Verbal dyspraxia is a neurological motor speech disorder that affects the coordination and planning of muscle movements that are needed for speech production. A child may have difficulty making the precise movements needed for speech, which may result in inconsistent and unintelligible speech. Children may also have trouble sequencing sounds and syllables, producing speech sounds accurately, and coordinating the movements of their articulators (e.g., lips, tongue, teeth, jaw). This can lead to a range of speech errors (including sound distortions, substitutions, omissions, and difficulty with rhythm and prosody).

We know that these speech errors, and not being able to get a message across, can be frustrating for children with speech difficulties. Can you imagine talking and limited people understanding you? It’s so tough on children and the people trying to communicate with them.

Creating a person-centred therapy plan is vital. This allows your child to stay motivated, as intervention is likely to be long term. This planning may include favourite words to use during their hobby or favourite activity, or person-centred goals such as ‘giving Alexa an instruction’.

Children with verbal dyspraxia can have several different ways of producing words, which often makes it trickier for them as there’s no consistent pattern to work with. So, we’ve put together some top tips to support their communication and make their (and your) lives a little easier in the process.

Ten ways to make communication easier for your child with verbal dyspraxia
- Have a list of frequently used words and practise this set. Little and often is best!
- Use cued articulation to support speech production (ask your Speech and Language Therapist for the gestures)
- Give time and use active listening. This means showing interest and trying not to think about what is on your never ending ‘to do’ list
- Reduce frustration in any way that you can. This might mean allowing your child to demonstrate using gestures rather than speech. You might also give top tips for other adults or children who communicate with your child when out and about
- Talk about the structure of words with your child (i.e., there are two beats/syllables in this word)
- Show the written form of the word to go alongside their production
- Split down tasks, so that your child only has to respond to one question at a time, reducing their motor capacity
- Recognise when your child is working well and when they may need support of an Alternative and Augmentative Communication device
- Allow all environments to have the same training and equipment (i.e., at school, home, out and about)
- Have regular periods in the day where your child can practise their specific words in different environments. This can be effective for children with verbal dyspraxia
Do you still have questions? Contact Sonja for support.

Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

0
READ MORE Supporting children and families living with verbal dyspraxia
Autism Therapy · Echolalia · Speech and Language Therapy

Explore how to improve communication skills for a Gestalt Language Processor
ByLondon Speech and Feeding September 5, 2022January 3, 2024

Let’s break it down into steps to make these complicated words easier to understand. Once you have a deeper understanding, you will then be able to support your child or young person develop their communication skills in the best way as a Gestalt Language Processor. Remember not every child will be a Gestalt Language Processor; if your child uses echolalia and/or has a diagnosis of autism then your child’s way of processing language is most likely different to the classic way children typically learn language.

Let’s start with understanding what each of these words “Gestalt Language Processors” mean.

Gestalt: “the way a thing has been placed or put together”

Language: “a system of human communication”

Processors: “responds to and processes basic instruction”

So, let’s put those meanings together. “Gestalt Language Processors are children who process early language in strings of sounds or chunks.” They tend not to process single words.

It is important to understand this way of processing communication because between 75-90% of children with Autistic Spectrum Conditions process language in this way (Blanc, 2012). We know that it’s important for young people to have their voice heard and to be able to express themselves. So, it’s vital that they move from echolalia to self-generated communication to be able to do this. This means that our children’s communication partners play a vital role in supporting their child’s language. We can support our children by modelling phrases until the child has learnt the process themselves.

Let’s explore an example together

X (who is a gestalt language processor) and his family love to feed the ducks in their spare time; this is an activity that takes place regularly. Let’s look at how you, as the adults, could support X in his communication. Look at the phrases that are used. They are meaningful to the activity with repetition used throughout.

Top tip: You could think of an activity you and your child or young person take part in on a regular basis and brainstorm some key phrases that you could use.

Need a boost in confidence to support your child’s gestalt language processing?

Contact me.

Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

6

READ MORE Explore how to improve communication skills for a Gestalt Language Processor
Feeding · Speech and Language Therapy · Top tips

Strategies to support children with eating difficulties
ByLondon Speech and Feeding August 25, 2023July 28, 2023
where the cause is NOT a swallowing problem, but we are having a “fussy eater” in the family, seeming for no obvious reason

When parents have a child who find mealtimes or eating difficult, it can put pressure on the whole family dynamics. Once we have observed a child’s eating and drinking skills and found that they are not swallowing impaired, but are for want of a better word “fussy” or “picky”, we can then start to look at what might be underpinning the food aversions/picky eating/food avoidance. Two of the main questions parents have (of course) are:
- ‘is my child getting the right nutrition?’
- ‘how can I have less anxiety-provoking and stressful mealtimes?’
We all tend to have an image in our minds about the ‘perfect mealtime’, and how mealtimes ‘should’ be. Speech and Language Therapists with a Feeding Specialism are the perfect professionals to help you unpick feeding issues. We are trained to look at swallowing and oral skills and we also know a lot about feeding behaviours and sensory difficulties which could be causing your child’s eating avoidance.

Here are some strategies that can support children with their eating:
1. Create and maintain a mealtime culture that suits your home and lifestyle. Then stick to that. We all need some routine in our lives to thrive. Mealtimes are no different. It might be that you eat in the same place for every meal, with the same knives and forks, concentrating on maintaining good posture. Children learn by repetition so the more familiar it is, the easier they will find it. In the physical sense, our bodies also need preparing for food, regardless of whether we are eating with our mouths or we are tube-fed. We want every child to connect all the dots of the process. It starts with their eyes, noses, expectations, memories of past experiences, feelings and then finally their mouths….
2. Be an excellent role model. Children learn through watching others, so your child will be observing you without you knowing. Ensure that you are positive about the food you are all eating, and talk about how delicious, tasty, juicy, and yummy the foods are. Make the atmosphere around the dinner table light hearted. Even though you are secretly stressed about your child not eating, try and not show this. Instead pick a topic or put on some nice music, or talk about something your child might be interested in, and try and avoid coercing your child to eat. Leave small finger foods on their plates and have a range of foods available on the table so that your child can see that everyone is eating a range of foods and enjoying them.
3. Use positive reinforcement. Try and think of mealtimes as fun and motivating. Children who are happy will likely be more inclined to try foods and take part in family mealtimes. Reward all interactions around food, so if your child merely touches a new food then praise this behaviour. Or if your child licks a food just once, again make a nice comment and praise your child for touching and licking the food. The takeaway here is to try and keep all messages positive around food.
4. Keep offering all types of food. What often happens is that parents stop serving foods they know will not be eaten. This makes sense in a way; we don’t want wastage! However, try and keep the doors open and re-offer all types of foods, even the ones that your child has not wanted in the past. Try and give your child one food they will like and one food they have tasted before and liked before, even a little, and then one new food to try. So, your child always has something to fall back on and they can join in with eating. But they can also try (or at least look at and think about trying) other foods that you and perhaps the siblings are eating.
Take a look at this website, I find it very helpful in showing parents what types of foods and how big a portion to offer

Have a go and try and implement some of the ideas above, and should you get stuck please get in touch!

Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

0
READ MORE Strategies to support children with eating difficulties