Early Communication

Your child’s communication journey

ByLondon Speech and Feeding January 7, 2026January 5, 2026

Understanding our neurodiversity-affirming, child-led approach

Welcome to a different kind of therapy!

The start of a new year often brings fresh hope, and sometimes fresh worries, for parents supporting their child’s communication. I am always genuinely excited to begin a new journey with children and their families, and I know that, for many parents, this kind of therapy may look very different from what they were expecting.

Parents (and children!) are often surprised to discover that our sessions are playful, joyful, and intentionally low-pressure. You won’t see demands for eye contact, sitting still, or being told to ‘do it this way’ or ‘put the red square there’. Instead, you’ll see your child being met exactly where they are.

For families who have previously experienced more adult-led or behaviour-based approaches including Applied Behaviour Therapy, this difference can feel unfamiliar at first. Because of that, I want to take a moment to prepare you for what child-led, neurodiversity-affirming therapy looks like, so you can feel confident, comfortable, and reassured from day one.

Why doesn’t child-led therapy look like ‘traditional’ therapy?

Many people picture speech and language therapy as sitting at a table, using flashcards, or practising words through repetition. While those approaches can work well for some children, they are often not effective or appropriate for many neurodivergent children—including children with autistic profiles, ADHD, or demand-sensitive nervous systems.

Our approach is grounded in a simple and powerful truth:

Children learn best when they feel safe, motivated, and emotionally connected.

When a child’s nervous system feels calm and secure, learning becomes possible. When a child feels pressured or controlled, communication often shuts down, even if they can speak.

🎯 Our purpose: Communication through connection

Our goal is not simply to help your child say more words. Our goals go deeper and are built on strong foundations:

Trust and regulation: We focus on building a trusting relationship where your child feels safe, understood, and emotionally regulated. A calm nervous system is the starting point for all communication.
Motivation: We follow your child’s intrinsic motivation, the things they naturally enjoy to make communication meaningful, joyful, and purposeful.
Spontaneous communication: We create opportunities for your child to communicate because they want to, not because they are asked or instructed to.

🧸 What to expect in a session

Our sessions are intentionally child-led and often look very much like play.

Feature	What it looks like	Why we do this
Minimal toys	We usually offer just 3–4 carefully chosen activities (such as bubbles, blocks, or sensory play).	Less is more. Fewer choices reduce overwhelm and help children focus on what genuinely interests them.
Child chooses	Your child decides what to play with and how to engage.	This immediately establishes us as a safe, non-demanding partner and increases motivation.
The therapist’s role	We join your child’s play, observing closely and responding naturally.	We model language, share attention, and reflect your child’s experiences in a way that feels natural and supportive.
No pressure or demands	There are no ‘must-do’ tasks. If your child wants to spin, crash, line up toys, or repeat an activity, we follow.	Reducing demands lowers anxiety and supports communication, particularly for children with demand-sensitive profiles.

Is this really effective?

It’s completely natural to wonder, ‘Are they just playing?’ The answer is yes, and very intentionally so.

Our sessions are guided by nearly 30 years of speech and language therapy experience, alongside clear, achievable goals tailored to each individual child. Play is a child’s natural language and their most powerful learning tool.

Within play, we are constantly creating opportunities to:

Build joint attention (sharing focus and interest)
Model language at the right level
Encourage back-and-forth communication
Develop a deep, authentic connection

If your child has struggled to engage or communicate in more structured or demand-heavy settings, this child-led approach is often the key to unlocking their potential.

💛 What this might look like at home

You may notice that when pressure is reduced:

Your child begins communicating more during everyday routines
Language emerges through play, movement, or shared enjoyment
Communication feels more natural and less forced

Small moments could be a shared smile, a look, a sound, a gesture. All matter. These are the building blocks of meaningful communication.

📚 Resources for parents

If you’d like to explore these ideas further, you may find the following helpful:

Book: Uniquely Human by Dr Barry Prizant
Approaches: The Hanen Program and DIR/Floortime Model
Further reading: Searching ‘Neurodiversity-affirming speech therapy’ or ‘Child-led therapy’

I look forward to meeting you and your child. Please bring any questions, uncertainties, or curiosities to our first session, there is no such thing as a silly question. This is a journey we take together. Contact me via my contact form.

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 · Neurodiversity · Printables · Speech and Language Therapy · Top tips

What to do when words don’t come fast enough
ByLondon Speech and Feeding November 26, 2025November 26, 2025
When children find talking hard, parents often face a difficult question: ‘Should we wait and keep encouraging speech? Or introduce something like AAC?’

AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) can sound intimidating, but it simply means any way we support or replace spoken words, from simple gestures and picture boards to high-tech speech-generating devices. Far from ‘giving up on speech,’ AAC often becomes the bridge that helps children find their voice, in whatever form that takes.

💡 What is AAC, really?

AAC is a spectrum of tools and strategies that help people express themselves when speaking is difficult. It might include:
- Low-tech supports: Gestures, key word signs (like Makaton), picture symbols, or printed boards
- High-tech systems: Apps on tablets that speak aloud when pictures or words are tapped
AAC is not just for children who will never talk. It’s for anyone whose speech isn’t meeting their communication needs right now.

🤔 When to introduce AAC

There’s a common myth that you should only try AAC after ‘exhausting’ other speech therapy options. In fact, AAC can be introduced at any stage, even alongside speech development.

Here are some helpful signs that AAC might support your child:
- Your child understands much more than they can say.
- They rely on gestures, sounds, or behaviour to communicate.
- They become frustrated trying to express themselves.
- You find yourself ‘reading their mind’ to interpret needs.
- Speech progress feels slow or inconsistent.
If you recognise these patterns, AAC isn’t a ‘last resort’. It’s a communication support, not a replacement for speech.

Recent research consistently shows that AAC does not stop children from talking. In fact, it can encourage speech to develop. A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders found that children who received interventions combining naturalistic developmental behavioural approaches with aided AAC showed improved language outcomes, and that AAC ‘does not negatively impact speech development and may even facilitate spoken language growth’ (Smith et al., 2024).

🌉 How AAC supports speech development

Speech and AAC aren’t competing paths: they’re parallel tracks that often feed each other.

Here’s how AAC helps speech grow:
1. Reduces frustration: When a child can express their needs, they’re more relaxed and ready to learn.
2. Provides a visual model: Seeing symbols or words while hearing spoken language strengthens understanding and word recall.
3. Builds consistent language structure: AAC systems follow the same grammar and word order as speech, helping children internalise how sentences work.
4. Encourages turn-taking and social connection: AAC lets children join conversations even before speech is fluent, giving them more practice in real communication.
AAC is not ‘giving up on speech’. It’s giving a child more ways to succeed while speech continues to develop.

🧩 How to introduce AAC gently and effectively
1. Start small and meaningful: Begin with a few key messages your child wants to say, not just what adults want to hear. Think ‘I want’, ‘stop’, ‘help’, ‘more’, ‘all done’, ‘no’, ‘again’. These are powerful words for real interaction and autonomy.
2. Model, model, model: The most important part of AAC success is modelling—using the system yourself as you talk. For example: ‘You want banana 🍌’ and you tap the ‘want’ and ‘banana’ symbols. Children need to see and hear AAC used naturally before they try it themselves.
3. Use it throughout the day: AAC isn’t a therapy tool to take out once a week. It’s a living part of communication. Model a few words during mealtimes, play, and routines. The more consistently it’s embedded, the more fluent both you and your child will become.
4. Keep it accessible: If using a device or picture board, make sure it’s always nearby. If it’s in a bag or drawer, it can’t be used in real moments.
5. Celebrate all communication: If your child points, signs, uses a sound, or taps a symbol, it all counts. Respond warmly and naturally to reinforce communication in any form.
🧠 What parents often worry about
- ‘Won’t AAC stop them from talking?’: No. Research shows AAC use either has no negative effect on speech or leads to increased spoken output (Smith et al., 2024). When children feel understood, their motivation to communicate grows.
- ‘What if I model it wrong?’: There’s no perfect way to start. Your effort and consistency matter far more than accuracy.
- ‘Will they get ‘stuck’ using pictures?’: Some children do continue using AAC long-term; others move naturally toward more spoken language. The goal is always functional communication, not replacing one form with another.
🪞 Bringing AAC into daily life

Here are a few simple, parent-friendly ideas:
- Create visual spaces: Post symbols or core words on the fridge, mirror, or play area.
- Narrate routines: Use AAC during toothbrushing, dressing, or mealtimes; consistent contexts build understanding.
- Pair speech and touch: Always say the word aloud when you point to or tap a symbol.
- Involve siblings and friends: Model how they can respond to AAC too. ‘Oh, you said go! Let’s go fast!’
- Use shared books and songs: Pause and model key words in stories or songs.
🌱 The takeaway

AAC doesn’t mean giving up on speech; it means opening more doors to communication. When words don’t come easily, AAC gives children a way to connect, share, and be heard.

It helps parents move from guessing to understanding, and gives children the power to express themselves on their own terms.

If you’re unsure where to start, reach out to a speech and language therapist experienced in AAC. Together, you can find a system that fits your child’s strengths, build confidence in modelling, and help every word (spoken or tapped) feel like a step forward.

And download and print my one page summary.

Because when communication is possible, everything else begins to grow.

Sonja McGeachie

Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Owner of The London Speech and Feeding Practice.

📚 Reference

Smith, K., et al. (2024). The Effect of Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions and Aided AAC on the Language Development of Children on the Autism Spectrum with Minimal Speech: A Systematic Review and Meta‑Analysis. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 55, 3078–3099. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-024-06382-7

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.

2
READ MORE What to do when words don’t come fast enough
Autism Therapy · Echolalia · Neurodiversity · Speech and Language Therapy

How parent coaching turns story time into a communication success
ByLondon Speech and Feeding October 6, 2025October 2, 2025
We often hear from parents who are trying their best to connect with their child, especially when reading books, but are met with frustration. They’ll say, ‘I read the book exactly as it’s written, but my child can’t focus for very long and just runs off!’ or ‘my child just flicks through the pages then turns it upside down and runs off with it’ or similar.

It’s a common story. Traditional reading—going through the text from cover-to-cover—has its place of course, but for little ones with a language delay or autism it can move too quickly and place all the focus on the book’s words, not on the interaction.

But what if I told you that story time could become one of the most fun and productive times for your child’s communication development?

Watch the fantastic little video clip above! You can see the pure joy and connection between this dad and his son. This is the same family who, just a few weeks ago, felt defeated when trying to read a book, with their child quickly losing interest and leaving the reading/book corner.

What changed?

The power of parent coaching and Hanen principles

The difference you see in the video is the direct result of parent interaction therapy, or parent coaching, based on the internationally recognised Hanen principles.

I didn’t ‘fix’ the child. Instead, I coached the parents in a few simple, powerful strategies that completely changed the dynamic of their interaction. Instead of being a time for teaching and instruction, story time became a back-and-forth conversation.

Here are the four major transformations that coaching helped this family achieve:

1. From reader to play partner

Before coaching, the parents felt their job was to read the text and to teach the words in it to their child. Now, their job is to follow their child’s lead. They learned to Observe, Wait, and Listen (OWL). If the child points to the tree or the badger on the page, the parent talks about the tree or the badger.

The result

The child is now initiating and leading the conversation! He is sharing what he finds interesting, which makes him feel powerful and keeps him deeply engaged.

2. Building connection and attention

When parents focus solely on reading, they often forget to make frequent eye contact and use animated facial expressions. The principles taught them to put the text aside and prioritise connection.

The result

Our little boy is looking at his dad more frequently, making great eye contact, and clearly having fun! When the interaction is fun, the child’s attention span naturally lengthens, allowing him to attend to the book and the interaction for a much longer time.

3. Creating opportunities for communication

The parents learned simple ways to prompt communication without pressure. They stopped asking knowledge-based questions (‘What colour is that? Or point to the pig!’), which can feel like a test.

Instead, they learned to use techniques like ‘Saying less and pausing’ or ‘copying their little one’s echolalia ‘, signalling that they are very interested in what he is saying and that his communication matters!

The result

The child is now spontaneously using strings of sounds and gestures to communicate his needs and interests, knowing and enjoying his parents’ enthusiastic responses.

This video is a testament to the fact that you are your child’s best therapist. With the right tools and coaching, you can transform everyday routines, like reading a book, into the most joyful and effective communication sessions.

4. Acknowledging and interpreting echolalia

In the video, you may hear the little boy repeat a phrase from the book or from what his dad just said. This is called echolalia, and for a long time, it was often dismissed or discouraged.

However, a core principle of our parent coaching is that echolalia is communication. For children who are ‘Gestalt Language Processors,’ these memorised phrases (or ‘gestalts’) are their building blocks of language.

The key is not to stop the repetition, but to become a ‘language detective’ and ‘interpreter’!

By modelling the correct, first-person phrase right after the echo, parents/caregivers are teaching a child how to break down the ‘chunk’ and use the individual words functionally. They are showing their child: ‘I heard you. Your communication makes sense to me.’

This strategy is a game-changer because it:
1. Validates the child’s communication: It honours the child’s natural way of learning language, which boosts their confidence and willingness to communicate.
2. Facilitates language development: It provides the child with the next step—a meaningful, functional phrase—to move them from repeating language to generating their own spontaneous sentences.
Look at the child’s face again in the video. When his dad acknowledges and interprets his communication, you see that spark of joy and connection—that’s the moment when true, functional language learning happens!

Ready to unlock the potential in your family’s story time? Contact me to learn more about our parent coaching programs.

Sonja McGeachie

Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Owner of 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.

2
READ MORE How parent coaching turns story time into a communication success
Neurodiversity · Speech and Language Therapy · Top tips

Why auditory memory matters (especially for little ones!)
ByLondon Speech and Feeding August 4, 2025August 1, 2025
Have you ever stopped to think about how we learn to speak, understand, and communicate effectively? It’s a complex dance of various cognitive skills, and one often overlooked but absolutely crucial player in this orchestra is auditory memory. It’s not just about remembering sounds. It’s about remembering sequences of sounds, which is fundamental to language development.

What exactly is auditory memory?

At its core, auditory memory is our ability to take in, process, store, and recall information that we hear. Think of it as your brain’s internal recording studio. When someone speaks to you, your auditory memory is busy at work, capturing the individual sounds, the order in which they appear, and the rhythm and intonation of the words. This isn’t just for long-term recall; it’s also vital for working auditory memory, which allows us to hold onto a small amount of auditory information for a short period, just long enough to make sense of it.

For speech and language, auditory memory is essential for:
- Understanding spoken language: To comprehend a sentence, we need to remember the beginning of the sentence by the time we hear the end.
- Following instructions: Remembering a sequence of commands relies heavily on auditory memory.
- Learning new words: We hear a word, remember its sound, and connect it to its meaning.
- Developing phonological awareness: This is the ability to recognise and manipulate the sounds in spoken language, a critical precursor to reading. Auditory memory helps children distinguish between similar-sounding words (e.g., ‘cat’ vs. ‘bat’) and segment words into individual sounds.
- Producing clear speech: To articulate words correctly, we need to recall the precise sequence of sounds that make up that word.
- Developing conversational skills: Remembering what was just said helps us formulate appropriate responses.
When auditory memory falls short: The impact on speech

When auditory memory is poor, particularly in young children, the ripple effects on speech and language development can be significant. Children might struggle with:
- Following multi-step directions: ‘Put on your shoes, get your coat, and meet me at the door’ can become an overwhelming jumble of sounds.
- Learning new vocabulary: They might hear a new word repeatedly but struggle to retain its sound pattern, making it difficult to recognise or use later.
- Understanding stories or conversations: Missing key details or losing the thread of a narrative because they can’t hold enough information in their working memory.
- Developing phonological skills: Difficulty with rhyming, identifying initial sounds in words, or blending sounds together to form words, which can impact early literacy.
- Speech production: They might mispronounce words, omit sounds, or struggle with the correct sequencing of sounds within words.
- Social communication: Difficulty participating in group discussions, remembering names, or recalling what their peers have said.
- Academic performance: Auditory memory challenges can impact a child’s ability to learn in a classroom setting, where much of the instruction is delivered verbally.
It’s important to note that poor auditory memory isn’t a sign of low intelligence, but rather a specific processing challenge that can be addressed with targeted support.

Nurturing auditory memory in under 5s: Preparing for schooling

The good news is that auditory memory is a skill that can be strengthened and developed, especially during the crucial early years. For children under five, laying a strong foundation in auditory memory is an invaluable gift as they prepare for the demands of formal schooling. Here’s what we can do to help:
1. Read aloud regularly: This is perhaps one of the most powerful tools. As you read, encourage your child to listen for specific words, predict what happens next, and retell parts of the story. Vary your voice, use different intonations, and pause to emphasise key words.
2. Play auditory memory games:
  
  ‘Simon says’: This classic game is fantastic for following multi-step instructions. Start with one command and gradually increase the number.
  
  ‘I Spy’ with sounds: Instead of colours, describe sounds. ‘I spy with my little ear something that goes “moo”.’
  
  Rhyming games: Sing rhyming songs, read rhyming books, and encourage your child to come up with words that rhyme.
  
  Sound matching: Use everyday objects to make sounds (e.g., shaking keys, tapping a spoon) and have your child identify or match them.
  
  ‘Memory chain’: Start a sentence and have your child add to it, remembering everything that came before: ‘I went to the market and bought an apple.’ ‘I went to the market and bought an apple and a banana.’
3. Sing songs and nursery rhymes: Repetitive songs and nursery rhymes are excellent for developing auditory memory, rhythm, and phonological awareness. The predictable patterns help children anticipate and remember sequences of sounds and words.
4. Give multi-step instructions (and praise!): Start with two-step instructions and gradually increase the complexity as your child’s skills improve. Always give positive reinforcement when they succeed. ‘Please pick up the red block and put it in the box.’
5. Engage in active listening: Model good listening skills yourself. When your child is speaking, give them your full attention. Ask clarifying questions to encourage them to elaborate and organise their thoughts.
6. Reduce background noise: A quiet environment makes it easier for young children to focus on auditory information. Minimise distractions like TV or loud music during activities that require listening.
7. Use visual cues: While we’re focusing on auditory memory, sometimes pairing auditory information with visual cues can be helpful, especially initially. For example, when giving instructions, demonstrate the action as you say it.
8. Be patient and consistent: Developing auditory memory takes time and consistent practice. Celebrate small victories and create a playful, supportive environment for learning.
By actively engaging in these strategies, we can empower our youngest learners to build robust auditory memory skills, setting them up for success not only in speech and language development but also in their overall academic journey. It’s an investment that truly pays dividends in their future communication and learning abilities.

Any comments or if you need help and support with your child’s speech please do not hesitate to get in touch with me: simply fill out the contact form here on the website. I endeavour to reply within 48 hours.

Sonja McGeachie

Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Owner of 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 Why auditory memory matters (especially for little ones!)
Ages and Stages · Speech and Language Therapy · Top tips

The power of babble: Why your baby’s ‘talk’ matters
ByLondon Speech and Feeding April 16, 2025April 15, 2025
That adorable string of ‘ba-ba-ga-ga-ma-ma’ might sound like baby gibberish, but it’s actually a crucial milestone in your little one’s language development. Babbling or babble, as we call it, is far more than just cute baby noises. It’s a sequence of sounds that lays the foundation for future communication.

Image by freepik

What is babbling?

Babbling typically begins around six months of age, though the timing can vary slightly from baby to baby. It involves your baby experimenting with different sounds, stringing together consonants and vowels. You might hear them repeating sounds like:
- ‘Ba-ba’
- ‘Da-da’
- ‘Ma-ma’
- ‘Ga-ga’
As they progress, the babbling becomes more complex, with variations in pitch, rhythm, and intonation. It might even sound like they’re having a conversation with you!

Why is babbling so important?
1. Laying the groundwork for speech: Babbling is like a vocal workout for your baby. By practising these sounds, they’re strengthening the muscles in their mouth, tongue, and vocal cords that are essential for speech.
2. Developing phonological skills: Through babbling, babies begin to understand the sound patterns of their native language. They’re learning which sounds go together and how they’re used.
3. Enhancing social interaction: Babbling is a social activity. Babies often babble back and forth with their caregivers, which helps them learn about the give-and-take of communication.
4. Cognitive development: The act of babbling requires babies to use their brains in new ways. They’re learning to control their vocalisations, pay attention to the sounds they’re making, and connect those sounds to the responses they receive from others.
How can you encourage babbling?
- Talk to your baby: Even though they can’t understand your words yet, talking to your baby exposes them to language and encourages them to respond with their own vocalisations.
- Imitate their sounds: When your baby babbles, imitate them! This shows them that you’re paying attention and encourages them to keep ‘talking.’
- Respond to their babbling: Treat your baby’s babbling as if it’s a real conversation. Respond with words, smiles, and gestures.
- Play sound games: Make different sounds for your baby and encourage them to imitate you. This could include animal sounds, silly noises, or simple words.
- Read to your baby: Even before they can understand the words, reading to your baby exposes them to the rhythm and sounds of language.
- Sing songs: Singing is a fun and engaging way to introduce your baby to new sounds and words.
- Use mirrors: Babies often enjoy watching themselves make sounds in a mirror.
- Tactile stimulation: Gentle massage around the mouth and face can increase oral awareness and encourage vocalisations.
- Vary textures: Offer different textured teethers.
- Read books with sound effects: Choose books with animal sounds or other engaging noises.
- Blow bubbles: The act of blowing and popping bubbles can encourage vocalisations.
- Use visual aids: Show pictures of objects and say their names, emphasising the consonant sounds.
- Use exaggerated facial expressions: When you make sounds, exaggerate your mouth movements to help your baby see how sounds are made.
- Increase joint attention: Follow the child’s gaze and point to objects that they are looking at and say the name of the object.
When to seek help

If you notice that your baby is not babbling by eight months, it’s a good idea to talk to your speech and language therapist. You might also notice a lack of variation in tone when your child is making sounds, is your baby sounding a little ‘flat’ or monotonous? While every child develops at their own pace, a lack of babbling can sometimes indicate a developmental delay or hearing issue.

Remember, babbling is a gift. So, enjoy those precious moments of ‘baby talk’ and take comfort in knowing that your little one is on the path to becoming a chatterbox!

Do get in touch via my contact form if you are concerned about your child’s development or if you simply want some reassurance that your baby is developing well. We will be delighted to arrange a screening appointment for you and give you support and reassurance.

Sonja McGeachie

Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Owner of 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 power of babble: Why your baby’s ‘talk’ matters
Ages and Stages · Speech and Language Therapy · Top tips

Great toys and books for our toddlers (around 1–2 years old)
ByLondon Speech and Feeding February 24, 2025February 17, 2025
As a speech and language therapist, I often get asked by parents what toys and books they should buy for their toddlers. It can feel overwhelming with so many options available! So, I’ve put together a list based on my experience and what I’ve found works well.

Remember, every child is unique!

Observe your toddler’s interests and play style. Some toys that are popular might not be engaging for your child.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Sensory Toys:
- Stacking cups: These are fantastic for developing hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and understanding size relationships. (Various brands available) Note: You can stack many things you have around the house, like bowls or measuring cups, for a similar experience!
- Shape sorters: Help with shape recognition, hand-eye coordination, and problem-solving. (Melissa & Doug, Vtech)
- Sensory balls: Balls with different textures (soft, bumpy, squishy) provide tactile stimulation. (Various brands)
- Push and pull toys: Encourage gross motor development and exploration. (Vtech, Fisher-Price)
Communication-focused toys:
- Picture books with flaps: Engage curiosity and encourage language development. (Various brands)
- Talking toys: Introduce new vocabulary and encourage imitation. (Vtech, Fisher-Price)
- Simple puzzles: Develop hand-eye coordination, problem-solving, and spatial awareness. (Melissa & Doug, Ravensburger)
- Musical instruments: Encourage exploration of sounds and develop auditory skills. (Bright Starts, Fisher-Price)
Now, let’s talk about books:
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle: A classic with repetitive text and vibrant illustrations, great for introducing vocabulary and concepts like days of the week.
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle: Simple, repetitive text and engaging illustrations make this a favourite for many toddlers.
- Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown: A soothing bedtime story with calming illustrations.
- Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt: An interactive book with textures and flaps to engage young children.
- Corduroy by Don Freeman: A heartwarming story about a teddy bear who loses his button.
Remember:
- Observe your child’s interests: Choose toys and books that capture their attention and encourage exploration.
- Engage with your child: Play with the toys together and read books aloud with enthusiasm.
- Keep it simple: Start with a few toys and books and gradually introduce new ones.
- Rotate toys: Keep playtime fresh by rotating toys and books regularly.
- Most importantly, have fun! Reading and playing with your child should be a joyful experience for both of you.
Also consider the power of open-ended play

In today’s world filled with electronic gadgets, it’s easy to overlook the value of open-ended play. Open-ended toys lack specific functions or prescribed outcomes, allowing children to use their imaginations to explore and create. Unlike toys with pre-determined ways to play, open-ended toys encourage:
- Creative thinking: Children can use them in countless ways, developing their own rules and narratives. A block can become a car, a house, or a spaceship, depending on the child’s imagination.
- Problem-solving skills: Children learn to figure out how to use the toys, experimenting and adapting as they go. Don’t immediately rush in and fix things for your little one, let them think for themselves and then communication incentive: let them come and find you!
- Fine motor skills: Many open-ended toys, like blocks, encourage the development of fine motor skills like grasping, stacking, and building.
- Cognitive development: Children learn about cause and effect, spatial relationships, and problem-solving as they play with open-ended toys.
- Social-emotional development: Open-ended play can foster social interaction and cooperation as children play together and share ideas.
Simple toys with big impact

Some of the best toys for toddlers are often the simplest ones. Here are a few examples:
- Wooden blocks: Building towers, bridges, and forts encourages creativity and problem-solving.
- Balls: Throwing, kicking, and rolling balls promote gross motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
- Fabric: Bits of fabric can be draped, draped, and used for imaginative play.
- Empty boxes: From cardboard boxes to tissue boxes, these can be transformed into anything a child can imagine: a car, a house, a spaceship!
- Natural materials: Sticks, leaves, pinecones, and rocks can be used for imaginative play and sensory exploration.
Remember, the key to open-ended play is to let children explore and discover

Step back and observe, allowing your child to use his or her imaginations without too much direction. You might be surprised at the creative ways he or she uses simple toys!

Happy play times with your little one!

Contact me via my contact form.

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 Great toys and books for our toddlers (around 1–2 years old)
Ages and Stages · Speech and Language Therapy · Top tips

Navigating the exciting 9–18 months journey: Your baby’s communication milestones
ByLondon Speech and Feeding February 3, 2025January 31, 2025
Between 9 and 18 months, your little one undergoes a remarkable transformation, blossoming from a curious explorer into a budding communicator. This period is filled with exciting milestones in speech, language, and social development. Let’s delve into what you can expect.

9–12 months: The world opens up

Communication takes flight
- Babbling becomes more complex with a wider range of sounds. By babbling we mean syllables like: pa ga ka ma da and then ‘baba’ gohgoh’. First we hear one and two syllables together and then longer and longer strings! This is so exciting!
- First words! One day around the 12 months–14 months mark we hear a first word! My older son’s first word was ‘Licht’ which is the German word for ‘light’ as literally every time I carried him along the corridors in our home, I pointed out the light switches to him and turned them off and on a few times. And each time I said ‘Licht!’ and it stuck! PS: sadly I cannot remember what my younger son’s first word was… poor second and third babies they just have to muddle along and call loudly to get noticed!
- Understanding grows! Baby now understands simple instructions like ‘where is your ball’ and responds by looking to the ball across the room!
Social butterflies
- Your baby now starts to show interest in other children, and may try to copy their actions. Now we are getting proper traction with simple social games like peek-a-boo and patty-cake. Whilst your baby is generally interested in other people and children he or she may show separation anxiety when mum or dad or other familiar person suddenly leaves the room and they feel alone with strangers.
Fine motor skills
- Pincer grasp develops. This is where your child puts an index finger to the thumb in order to pick up of small objects, hold them and transfer them to either a box, back on the floor or into the other hand.
- Your baby may start to explore objects by banging, shaking, and mouthing.
12–15 months: Words are taking shape
- Language explosion: From our early words we now suddenly see baby’s vocabulary expanding, with new words added each week. I would highly recommend parents keep a little journal of all the words they hear. If nothing else this is a wonderful aide-memoire for years down the road when you might like to reminisce about the first ten words. I promise you otherwise you won’t recall! (especially for second and third babies; I would do this now, had I the time again).
- Understanding grows:
  
  By about 15 months our baby can follow simple two-step instructions like ‘Go get your shoes and bring them here.’
  
  Begins to understand the concept of ‘no.’ and that’s a very useful thing. Though before you breathe a sigh of relief… your toddler may well show you that he is understanding a ‘no’ though he may not stop doing what he is doing or come down off the table!
- Playtime gets interactive:
  
  Now we engage in more complex play, such as stacking blocks, pretending to eat with a spoon, and imitating actions.
  
  Many toddlers now start showing an interest in picture books.
15–18 months: Communication blossoms
- Words combine: Towards 18 months or around about then your toddler may start to put two words together, such as ‘more milk’ or ‘bye-bye dada.’
- Gestures and sounds: Now we also use gestures to communicate, such as pointing, shaking head ‘no,’ and waving ‘bye-bye.’
- Exploration and curiosity:
  
  Your toddler is now EVERYWHERE! Turn your back and he or she is gone! Your toddler now shows a strong sense of curiosity and explores their environment with enthusiasm.
- Copying
- Look out for actions and gestures your toddler will copy such as clapping hands or patting a cushion or banging a spoon on the table .
Remember
- Every child develops at his or her own pace.
- These are just general guidelines, and some children may reach certain milestones earlier or later than others.
- If you have any concerns about your child’s development, please consult with your speech and language therapist. We are always keen to hear from parents and happy to help promote all those lovely early skills.
General tips to encourage communication if you feel your child needs a little more help
- Talk, talk, talk! Engage in frequent chatting with your child.
- Listen to your child: Allow for periods of silence when playing with your child to allow them to say something or make sounds which you can then copy and respond to.
- Read aloud regularly. Use books with simple words and pictures.
- Play interactive games: Hickory Dickory Dock, Row Row the boat, Old McDonalds, 5 little monkeys jumping on the bed, chasing and catching, tickling games.
- Respond to your child’s babbling and gestures. You can copy them or if your toddler says long strings of babbling you cannot understand you could just say: ‘Oh ok!? ‘yes that’s great!’ ‘who knew!’ ‘wow you’ve got much to say!’ as if you understood.
- Limit screen time or if your child is very passionate about watching clips then sit and watch with your child so that you can see what is the best bit, which songs they like the best and what sort of phrases they love hearing.
This exciting period of rapid growth and development is a precious time for both you and your child.

By providing a loving, stimulating, and responsive environment, you will naturally nurture their communication skills! Any more questions, please get in touch!

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 Navigating the exciting 9–18 months journey: Your baby’s communication milestones
Ages and Stages · Speech and Language Therapy · Top tips

Milestones matter: What to expect in your baby’s first year of communication
ByLondon Speech and Feeding January 22, 2025January 22, 2025
Designed by Freepik

The first year of your baby’s life is a whirlwind of growth and development. While watching them learn to crawl, walk, and grasp objects is exciting, it’s equally important to pay attention to their developing communication skills. Here are some key speech, language, attention, play, and communication milestones you can expect to see between 6 and 9 months.

Sounds:
- Babbling becomes more complex, with strings of sounds like ‘bababa’ or ‘dadada.’
- Your baby may start imitating some sounds.
- When you call your baby he or she will respond to his or her own name.
What you can do to help your baby

First, please don’t panic. Every baby is different and it does not mean your baby is delayed if he or she is not quite ready.

Make sure you spend time babbling, singing and talking to your baby in a tuneful, happy, sometimes silly! way, pulling faces, smiling, laughing and tickling your baby, all the while sing sing sing and chat!

Try to imitate your baby’s sounds and actions. You will see that your baby likes this a lot and will reward you with smiles, giggles and after a while your baby will want you to continue copying him or her. At that time you will see that he or she will start to copy you more and more.

Try and call your baby’s name lots of times. When you re-enter a room having been out for even a short time, say ‘Hello (baby’s name) I’m back’. Your baby will soon learn to look when you say their name.

Attention:
- Can follow simple directions (e.g., ‘Come here!’).
- Shows interest in books and pictures.
- Begins to understand the word ‘no.’
What you can do to help attention skills develop

Get down to your baby’s eye level or make it easy for your baby to look at you, even briefly.

Try and gain your baby’s attention when he or she is not busy with something else.

Try and become irresistibly funny and interesting to look at! Think of ‘Mr Tumble’! Wear a silly hat, silly glasses, blow some bubbles, blow a funny horn, stand on your head (joking)… make it impossible for your baby to ignore you!

Play:
- Explores objects by banging, shaking, and mouthing them.
- Shows interest in cause-and-effect toys (e.g., dropping objects and watching them fall).
- Engages in simple social games like peek-a-boo.
What you can do to help play skills to develop

Offer suitable objects that are attractive to look at and easy to hold and shake. Show your baby repeatedly what to do with these objects, bang them together and sing a little song, bang bang bang shake shake shake…

Offer containers and drop items into them. Shape sorters, metal bowls make a terrific clangy noise when you drop items into them. Blow feathers or tissues and watch them fall. Blow bubbles and watch them pop.

Sing a range of nursery songs repeatedly and make suitable actions along them. Try and involve your baby by sitting him or her on your lap so he or she can hear and feel you bopping him or her up and down, swinging him or her gently from side to side or row row rowing his or her boat gently down the stream

Communication:
- Uses gestures like waving ‘bye-bye’ and reaching for desired objects.
- May begin to use babbling to express needs and wants (e.g., babbling while reaching for a toy).
What you can do to help communication progress

Practise waving ‘bye-bye’ to people coming and going all day long.

When your baby babbles whilst reaching for a toy, you can copy him or her and then name that toy, for example.

Baby: ‘gagabbagaga’ – whilst reaching for a shaker – Adult: ‘gagagag I want my shakey! Aargh I am reaching for it but I can’t get it, help me help me… ah there is my lovely shakey shakey!’

If your baby is not responding to any of your efforts above then please do get in touch with a Speech and Language Therapist near you, or contact me via my contact form. Sometimes one consultation is all you need to get going with helping your baby and before you know it a lots of progress has been made and your baby is on the way to speaking!

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 Milestones matter: What to expect in your baby’s first year of communication
Ages and Stages · Speech and Language Therapy · Top tips

Your baby’s communication journey: 3–6 months
ByLondon Speech and Feeding January 6, 2025January 3, 2025

Designed by Freepik

This is an exciting time for both you and your baby! Between 3 and 6 months, communication literally explodes. While your little one may not be saying words yet, he or she is actively learning to understand and express themselves. Here’s a glimpse into what you can expect:

Understanding:

Recognises familiar voices:

Your baby will likely turn his or her head towards the sound of your or other familiar adults’ voices.

Tips for supporting and expanding: Talk, sing and chant! Your baby will love and smile at hearing your talking voice, and he or she will not be judging your singing talent! You can sing to your hearts content, perhaps some lovely nursery rhymes you remember from your childhood, or festive songs like Jingle bells !. Or you can simply make up your own little songs and chants alongside all the daily activities you do with or for your baby. You could have a ‘nappy’ song, a ‘let’s get you ready for the park’ song, a ‘I’m hungry’ song or a ‘mummy’s cooking soup’ chant. It does not have to be beautiful but what does help is having little rhymes and rhythms to your singing. Your baby will love it and soak it all up.

Begins to understand ‘no’:

Your baby may pause or stop an action when you say ‘no’ and shake your head at the same time.

Tips for supporting and expanding: I don’t think that at this stage you will have much cause to say ‘no’ to be fair but you could do it playfully and bring it into a ‘no more’ situation so that your baby can make the connection between ‘no’ and ‘finished’ or ‘stop’ or ‘done’. Feeding might be a good opportunity for this one. You could also ask ‘who is it’ when someone is ringing the bell or coming down the stairs, e.g. ‘oh I hear footsteps! Is this daddy??…. no it’s not daddy no it’s grandma! daddy’s gone out!’

Responds to his or her name:

Your baby will start to show a reaction when you call his or her name.

Tips for supporting and expanding: Try calling your baby’s name a lot, and get different family members or visitors calling your baby by his or her name and calling his or her name before saying ‘look’ or ‘peek-a boo’ etc.

Use Baby Signing: You can introduce simple gestures and signs such as ‘milk’ ‘nappy’ ‘sleep’ ‘dog’ ‘cat’ etc to help your baby make the connection between what you are saying and what he or she is seeing.

Expressing:

Cooing, gurgling and babbling:

These sounds are more than just adorable! They are your baby’s way of experimenting with his or her voice and learning to control his or her vocal cords.

You might hear sounds like ‘ba-ba-ba’ or ‘ga-ga-ga’. This is a huge milestone!

Tips for Supporting and expanding: This is a wonderful time to copy your baby’s sounds, celebrate them and show your baby that you are listening to his or her sounds and you are understanding everything he or she is saying! This is also a brilliant time to start reading to your baby. You can read any children’s books you fancy. Again your baby will adore the sound of your voice but increasingly he or she will also look at the pages of a book and try and understand and make connections between the words you say and the pictures he or she sees.

When you hear your child babbling you can try and give it meaning where possible, for example your baby says: ‘ba ba ba’ you could fall into ‘Baa Baa black sheep have you any wool’ song or you could say ‘mmmh banana!’ And show a banana that’s lying on the table. Or you could just say: ‘baba baaaaah you are saying ba! That’s so great!’ Anything goes really at this stage!

Facial expressions:

Your baby uses smiles, frowns, and other facial expressions to communicate his or her emotions (happy, sad, angry).

Tips for supporting and expanding: Try and make interesting and exaggerated facial expressions yourself when you are talking to your baby! Try and be a little bit clowney and really practise showing ‘surprise’ ‘boo’ or a big grin, smile, purse your lips, blow raspberries, open and close your mouth and make funny faces. Copy your baby when you see his or her facial expression change. When your baby looks confused, say ’oh we don’t know what’s happening we are confused!’. When your baby looks happy, say ‘you look soo happy! What a lovely smile!’

Eye contact:

Your baby will start making more and more eye contact with you during interactions.

Tips for supporting and expanding: Try and get ‘face to face’ a lot with your baby. When cuddling your baby look at his or her face and often make sure that it is easy for your baby to see and look at you. If you can lower your position so that your face is in line with your baby that will make things easier for you both.

Good games to play: ‘People-Games’ these are games where you do not need any toys to have a good time. All you need is the other person: Peek-a-boo, bumping your baby up and down on your lap with a song, Row Row Row your boat, tickling games, catch you games etc.

Now we are at 6 months another very exciting stage has arrived: feeding SOLIDS to our baby! More of this in my next post!

When to Seek Guidance:

If you have any concerns about your baby’s communication development, please don’t hesitate to consult with me. Early intervention can make a significant difference and really help your baby making progress.

Remember: Every baby develops at his or her own pace. These are general guidelines, and some babies may reach certain milestones earlier or later than others.

I look forward to seeing you! Get in touch with me via my contact form.

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 Your baby’s communication journey: 3–6 months