We are all aware that Autism is on a spectrum. By the very nature of this, it means that every child will present differently, so an individualised approach is required. We need to remember to use a child’s strengths to support their needs. By using a person-centred approach, you’ll see your child’s literacy develop and thrive.
I hear many parents concerns about literacy as well as communication. Will they be able to read, write and spell? How will they manage their literacy independently? The questions are endless, so let’s look at how you can support your child’s literacy skills and how together we can provide a scaffold to them becoming independent learners.
The one thing we know is that Autistic children are visual learners. They succeed by us sharing pictures and demonstrating how the narrative is shown.
Start reading to your child at an early age. You can never start too early. This creates a love for books and supports vital pre-literacy skills (such as increasing vocabulary, following narratives, awareness of sounds in words, and letter recognition and awareness). By supporting pre-literacy skills, you’re starting the process to create confident young readers.
There are many ways to use books. You can narrate the story using different voices and tones to increase interest. You can do this even if your child isn’t interested. They are still listening and learning vital skills. You may even ask and answer questions and voice the skills that they will need for internal monitoring.
Use their interests to select appropriate reading material. In addition, you can then create questions on the book and provide a scaffold to support your child with the answer.
Use technology to spark their interest in reading. Demonstrate how they can read online. This is often successful as it becomes an individual activity as opposed to needing social interaction.
Provide them with a choice of texts (e.g., would you like ‘Perfectly Norman or when things get too loud’) rather than an open-ended question such as ‘What book would you like to read?’
Write key pieces of information down on paper. Research suggests that Autistic learners understand written text better than speech.
You could have a ‘word of the day’ from chosen reading material that you explore together.
Reading aloud to your child can have many benefits which include understanding vocabulary to how the book is read, with appropriate intonation.
I highly recommend the boom decks as they are a great resource!
The ethos at London Speech and Feeding:
“If they can’t learn in the way we teach, then we teach the way they learn”
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.
We all have the right and want to express thoughts, feelings, and needs. For non-speaking or minimally speaking children, finding an avenue to communicate effectively can be a challenging journey. Parents are often at a loss as to where to start. Sometimes a little bit of Makaton signing has been used here and there but we mostly find that gradually signing fades as parents feel that it just doesn’t seem to get copied and used by the children.
They live and breathe their system
This is where we need to pick up the pieces and start again: because all successful families where children start using their boards or their electronic AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) systems do this one thing: THEY LIVE AND BREATHE THEIR SYSTEM.
They have boards in every single room of the house;
They have a board in the car, attached to the side of car door so their child can point to it as they need to;
They have a smaller board in their handbag/rucksack when out and about;
They have a board for shopping and attach it to the shopping trolley;
They are never ever without their board.
Because they realise that a child should never be without their mouths to speak, should never be without a means to speak. They use their own board to model and the child has always access to their board to model back or to just look.
This is where success begins
Success begins at consistent and joyful use of the board/AAC system throughout the entire day. If we think about it, doesn’t it make sense? Of course, it does! We talk to our child for the first two years of their life continuously wherever we are and our child is continuously encouraged to use their mouths for talking in all situations.
Same goes for Signing: Makaton or any other sign system is a very powerful means to aid communication and I certainly advocate and use it in practice. Though much like words, signs are very elusive and temporary—as soon as the sign has been made it is gone and no longer present. Same with words of course. This can be difficult for people who need longer to process information.
The beauty of symbols or photographs is that they are permanent: they don’t vanish, they stay and with the core board they stay in the same place! This is very reassuring. We can learn where a symbol is and we can be assured that it will still be there the next time we look at the board.
It has 48 cells and we can see the most frequently used core words on here, words that we use 80% of the day when talking with our non-speaking/minimally speaking children, younger children and children with cognitive delay. We keep our sentences short and we say phrases pertaining to their daily lives;
Let’s GET your toy
PUT it here, PUT it away, PUT it IN
Let’s READ a book
UP you get
WANT some MORE?
That’s GOOD isn’t it?
Let’s OPEN the box and LOOK
And so on… All these phrases can be aided with the above board. Your child will learn OVER TIME and OVER CONTINUOUS USE where GET/PUT/MORE/WANT/IN—where these symbols are. For children who are slow to process this is so helpful, to have a visual representation of what has just been said. It aids understanding in the first place. Gradually as a child starts to copy they will point to powerful symbols themselves and if they want to speak they can also speak of course:
A child might point to WANT + MORE and then say with their mouths: BANANA!
Board examples
Here are some other boards I have made specifically for daily situations and preferences of some of my students. Here is one for toileting:
And another one:
These boards incorporate high-frequency and versatile words, enabling us to make little sentences.
Building Language and Literacy Skills
AAC Core Boards are not just tools for immediate communication. They also play a pivotal role in language and literacy development. By using these boards, non-speaking children engage with words and symbols, reinforcing their understanding of language structure and grammar.
Over time they naturally absorb language patterns, laying the foundation for improved literacy skills.
Customisation for Individual Needs
Every non-speaking child is unique, and their communication needs can vary significantly. AAC Core Boards are designed with this diversity in mind. The boards can be adapted to include specific vocabulary relevant to the child’s daily life, interests, and activities. This personalisation ensures that the AAC Core Board is a true reflection of the child’s personality and needs, making communication more engaging and effective.
Collaboration between AAC Core Boards and Speech Therapy
While AAC Core Boards are an incredible tool, they are only used effectively by the non-speaking child when the board is used BY ALL COMMUNICATION PARTNERS around the child.
Again, I know I am being repetitive here, but the board needs to be used and modelled by the adults constantly in the first place and for a period of time before we can expect our children to take an interest and use the boards themselves. Think how long it typically takes for a child to learn their first word: around a year! During that time the adults talk constantly to their child without hesitation or expectation! The same goes for introducing this new way of communicating.
Collaborating with your child’s speech-language therapist (SLT) ensures that your child receives the right guidance in using the AAC system. SLTs can assess your child’s communication abilities, recommend appropriate boards and provide guidance on how to best implement them.
Conclusion
For non-speaking children, AAC Core Boards are bridges to their world.
These boards foster language development, social interaction, and personal expression. AAC Core Boards offer a beacon of hope, helping non-speaking children break through communication barriers and thrive in a world that is waiting to hear their voices. Boards are simple for anyone to use and understand. Have a go! You will be surprised how lovely it is to use a board with ease and once your child sees you do this, you have a chance for your child to start copying you…and express something! HOW ABOUT THAT! I look forward to hearing your stories!
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.
There are different types of LISPS. Let me explain:
A lisp is the difficulty making a clear ‘S’ and ‘Z’. Other sounds can also be affected by the tongue protruding too far forward and touching the upper teeth or the upper lip even. ‘T’ and ‘D’ can be produced with ‘too much tongue at the front’ and this can also have an impact on ‘CH’ and often also ‘SH’.
Interdental lisp
Protruding the tongue between the front teeth while attempting ‘S’ or ‘Z’ is referred to as interdental lisp; it can make the speech sound ‘muffled’ or ‘hissy’. Often, we associate a lisp with the person sounding a bit immature. The good news is that this type of lisp is the easiest to correct and, in my practice. I have a 100% success rate with this type of lisp.
Lateral lisp
In a lateral lisp the person produces the ‘S’ and ‘Z’ sounds with the air escaping over the sides of the tongue. This renders the ‘S’ as sounding ‘slushy’ or ‘wet’. This type of lisp is a bit harder to correct than the interdental lisp. In my experience this can be fixed but it might need a bit longer, more intensive therapy than the interdental lisp.
Palatal lisp
With a palatal lisp the ‘S’ sound is attempted with the tongue touching the palate, much further back than it should be. The ‘S’ sounds ‘windy’ and ‘hissy’. This is a quite rare lisp production but it is also not difficult to correct.
These types of speech difficulties come under the category of ‘speech delay of unknown origin’ and may persist into adolescence and adulthood as ‘residual errors‘.
Some thoughts on Treatment in general:
Lisps can be treated successfully by a Speech and Language Therapist. However, for the treatment to work well, a student needs to be able to cooperate and want to improve his or her speech. Lisp remediation entails a fair amount of repetitive work and very young children or unmotivated older children don’t make the best candidates for treatment for this reason. Often students present with other speech, language or social communication difficulties and here the lisp might not be the priority for treating. For example, it might be that due to a student’s Attention Deficit Disorder they are simply not able to focus on speech practice in their daily life.
When should treatment of lisp begin?
Waiting well past 4½ years is not advisable as the longer we wait and do nothing the stronger engrained the erroneous tongue/speech habit will become. The ‘right’ age for therapy for one child may be different from the ‘right’ age for another child even within the same family. So do make an appointment with a speech and language therapist to assess and see whether your child might be ready to start therapy.
Do lots of children lisp—is it normal?
Until the age of about 4–4.5 years old it can be a perfectly normal developmental phase for some children to have the interdental lisp. But when we see and hear a lateral or palatal lisp we ought to act and see a speech and language therapist for sure.
After the age of 4.5 or 5 years old most speech therapists would agree on at least having a look to see if treatment could be started. The longer we wait the harder it is to retrain the brain pathways to adopt new speech habits.
What happens during the first Speech and Language Consultation?
The first consultation takes about an hour and involves screening relevant areas of communicative function. We take a detailed history, examine the anatomy of the child’s mouth and tongue movements. We check for tongue tie, teeth formation, palate structure and function, as well as swallowing patterns.
Then we begin straight away to try and see if any of the alveolar sounds (T/D/L/N) can be produced correctly with the right tongue placement as that would be the starting point from where to shape a good, clear ‘S’ sound.
The first consultation usually ends with home practice being given, explained to parents and another appointment being made for follow up.
Therapy – what does a session look like?
Each therapy session consists of:
Listening to sounds, discriminating sounds, identifying sounds, listening to rhyming sounds, sound awareness. We call this Auditory discrimination of single sounds: can the student hear the difference between two words that are the same apart from the first sound: ‘sing’ and ‘thing’ or ‘sigh’ and ‘thigh’?
Sound production: using a variety of different prompts and cues we will teach how to physically make the new sound. Often, we work on making a NEW sound, instead of correcting the OLD one. We work on imitation of single sounds then gradually we try and make new sounds in short words, then longer words and then phrases and sentences.
Games! We play games and try and have fun in between listening and producing our new sounds to help students stay motivated and even enjoy the therapy session and process.
How long does it take to ‘fix up’ a lisp?
It tends to take about one term with weekly sessions to help a student make good ‘S’ sounds in phrases and sentences. If the student can do the home practice every day in between the weekly sessions, then in most cases I am able to pronounce the lisp as ‘fixed’ after about one term.
After that the student needs to practise, practise, practise, at home and in daily life to keep reminding themselves of their new skills and their new sound production.
It is a matter of reminding and wanting to get it right. Occasionally a student returns to me for another term of simply practising their skills together with me as they are finding it hard for any number of reasons to practise at home. But generally, 8/10 students will be fine after some 12–13 sessions and their speech will be perceived as perfectly typical by family and friends.
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.
If you’re worried about your child’s speech, you are absolutely not alone. Many parents I work with tell me the same thing:
‘I’ve been Googling…’ ‘I asked ChatGPT what activities to try…’ ‘TikTok said we should practise this sound every day…’
It makes complete sense. When waiting lists are long, evenings are quiet, and your child is struggling to communicate, it’s natural to look for help wherever you can find it.
AI tools can actually be helpful in some ways. But they also have clear limits especially for children with significant speech delays or speech sound disorders.
Here’s an honest, balanced guide to what AI can do, and what it simply can’t.
✔️ What AI can help with
1. Explaining things in simple language
AI can be very helpful for explaining speech and language terms in a way that’s easy for parents to understand for example, what a phonological delay is, or what Childhood Apraxia of Speech means. It can also suggest possible reasons for a child’s speech delay based on the information you provide.
The difficulty is that parents (or teachers) can only ask questions based on what they notice or perceive to be the problem. In practice, this doesn’t always tell the full story. For example, parents often report that their child ‘can say certain words’, but during an assessment we may find those words are actually produced with consistent error patterns. These patterns give important clues about the underlying nature of the difficulty, whether it’s a delay or a disorder and they guide the speech therapist in choosing the most effective targets to improve intelligibility.
2. Suggesting games and activities
AI is very good at suggesting ideas for games and practice, such as word lists, simple play activities, sound practice games, book suggestions, and ways to encourage talking within everyday routines. These can be especially helpful when you feel stuck or want some fresh inspiration for supporting your child at home. It can help to think of AI as a big ideas bank, somewhere to dip into when you need new, playful ways to keep practice engaging.
3. Helping you prepare questions for a therapist
Some parents use AI to list questions before an assessment, understand reports and organise concerns.
This can make therapy feel less overwhelming and more collaborative.
Used this way, AI can actually support the therapy process.
❌ Where and why AI cannot replace real life speech therapy
There is substantial research supporting the effectiveness of real-life speech therapy compared to generic online resources or AI-generated suggestions. Here are some key points highlighting why in-person therapy is often more beneficial:
Personalisation: Speech therapists assess each child’s unique needs, strengths, and challenges through direct observation and interaction. This personalised approach allows for tailored interventions that address specific issues, which generic resources cannot provide.
Nuanced understanding: Therapists are trained to recognise subtle cues in speech production, including the nuances of sound articulation, language comprehension, and social communication. This expertise enables us to identify underlying issues that may not be apparent through generic assessments.
Motivational support: A speech therapist can provide encouragement, motivation, and emotional support, which can significantly enhance a child’s willingness to participate and engage in therapy. This relational aspect is crucial for building confidence and reducing anxiety around communication.
Evidence-based practices: As a highly trained and specialised speech therapist I utilise evidence-based practices that are grounded in research, ensuring that the techniques used are effective and up to date. This contrasts with generic online information, which may not always be reliable or validated.
Progress monitoring: In-person therapy allows for ongoing assessment and adjustments to the treatment plan. We track progress over time and modify strategies as needed, ensuring that the therapy remains effective and relevant.
Research studies consistently show that individualised, face-to-face interventions lead to better outcomes in speech therapy than generalised approaches. For parents and caregivers, seeking professional help tends to provide a more effective path toward improving their child’s communication skills.
The healthiest way to think about AI
AI works best as a starting point, not a substitute. You might use it to understand your child’s report and learn how speech develops,
But if your child has significant delay or difficulty being understood, what makes the real difference is:
A tailored assessment
A clear therapy plan
Expert target selection
Ongoing adjustment
Support for both child and you the parent!
Dear parents,
If you’ve been turning to AI for help, it doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong. It means you care!
But please know the best outcomes usually come from combining your daily support at home with guidance and support from your speech therapist who knows you and your child.
Many of my past and present clients tell me that they really value my ‘handholding’ and me guiding them in between the sessions. A quick check in is often all that is needed but it makes a huge difference!
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.
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:
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….
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.
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.
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.
Does your child struggle to focus on toys or activities? Do they dart away as soon as you approach? You’re not alone!
The key to unlocking your child’s potential lies in following their lead. Let them guide the play session, and watch their engagement and focus soar.
Why Child-Led Play Works:
Empowerment: Children feel in control, sparking their curiosity and motivation.
Focused attention: They’ll stay engaged with activities for longer periods.
Reduced frustration: By stepping back and observing, you eliminate the pressure and stress that often comes with directed play.
How to Implement Child-Led Play:
Prepare the environment: Set out a limited selection of engaging toys.
Observe and wait: Sit back, watch, and listen to your child’s interests.
Embrace the moment: Resist the urge to direct or question; simply enjoy the process.
Remember: This simple approach can transform playtime and support your child’s development. Give it a try for a week and see the difference!
#OWLing #hanenmorethanwords
Observe, Wait, Listen. It’s a powerful formula for unlocking your child’s potential.
You will likely see:
Your child will stay put with any toy for longer whilst you are near them.
Your child will tolerate you being nearby and he/she won’t move away.
Your child will start giving you brief glances of enjoyment, or perhaps they will hand things to you, or they might take your hand and lead it to something that needs opening etc.
In other words, you will see that there suddenly is JOINT PLAY. Yes, granted it may not be according to your adult agenda, but there will be more togetherness than there was before. And this is the START of communication and social engagement.
USE Core words and a coreboard — to help your child understand the power of words
Core words are the building blocks of communication. Try using a coreboard like the one below, they are versatile and can be used in countless ways. By modelling these words naturally during play, you expose your child to their meaning and function in context. This approach is far more effective than isolated drill and practice, more powerful than flashcards!
Combining child-led play and AAC modelling creates a magic effect. To summarise:
Increased engagement: When you follow your child’s lead, they are more likely to be engaged and receptive to learning. This creates optimal conditions for introducing AAC core words.
Natural learning: By modelling AAC core words in the context of play, you help your child understand their meaning and purpose naturally. This fosters generalisation and spontaneous use.
Building relationships: Shared play experiences strengthen the bond between you and your child. This trust and connection are essential for successful communication.
Reduced pressure: Modelling AAC core words without expectation removes the pressure to produce language. This allows your child to explore communication at their own pace.
Expanded vocabulary: As your child becomes more comfortable with AAC, they will begin to incorporate core words into their own communication. This leads to vocabulary growth and increased independence.
Practical Tips
Observe and respond: Pay close attention to your child’s interests and actions. Respond to their cues with enthusiasm and support.
Keep it simple: Start with a few core words and gradually introduce new ones as your child’s skills develop.
Be patient: Language learning takes time. Celebrate small successes and avoid frustration.
Have fun: Remember, play is supposed to be enjoyable for both you and your child. Relax and have fun together!
Let’s say your child is playing with a pop-up toy like you see me do in the above photograph. Here, I followed my child’s lead by waiting to see what she wanted to do with the toy. You are now OWLING! (Observe Wait and Listen)
Once I noticed that there was repetitive opening of the flaps going on I then pointed to OPEN and MORE on the board, as I said: ‘let’s OPEN this one’ / let’s see MORE animals’ / ‘MORE cow! it says moo!’ ‘OPEN another one’ and so on.
Important to know, we are not expecting our child to respond verbally or with AAC, but we are providing language input and demonstrating how these words can be used with enthusiasm.
Naturally in time your child will look at the board and at your pointing and they will eventually want to copy you!
By incorporating these strategies into your daily interactions, you can create a supportive environment that fosters language development and communication growth. If you would like more guidance please get in touch and book in for a consultation, some individual therapy and/ or some parent coaching.
I look forward to supporting you. Please contact me and let’s see how.
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.
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:
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.
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.’
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.
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.’
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.
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.
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.
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.
