Five ways to use books to encourage speech, language and communication for reluctant readers

ByLondon Speech and Feeding November 25, 2022February 10, 2023

Reading can be a tricky skill to master for young people with speech, language, and communication difficulties, which may lead to reluctance in picking up a book. But that doesn’t mean you can’t use books to inspire and encourage them. It’s important to think outside of the box and take an innovative approach.

But before you do that, you need to identify why your child is averse to reading. There are many possibilities: is it that they have difficulties remembering what they’ve read; or perhaps they may have difficulties decoding the words, which is the ability to apply your knowledge between letters and sounds; or it might be that they are unable to understand the language used. Whatever the reason, it’s helpful to know. It’s only then that we can support their needs which may lead to greater enjoyment in reading.

A boy behind a pile of books on a table with hands in fists

Explore five ways in which we can encourage reluctant readers using books:

Firstly, we could narrate what’s happening from the images and relate it to experiences that your child has had, which will make it more relevant. For example, when looking at a book with a cat in it, you could say “do you remember the time when grandma had a black cat sipping out of her glass of water?”.
You could talk about what they think will happen next and make predictions. You could even make this into a game. Write your predictions on paper and see who is right.
Draw images to identify the key parts of the story. You might want to create a story board together.
Make a sensory experience, where your child can have a hands-on approach. See what you have at home, you don’t have to go out and buy materials. E.g., If the book is talking about a gravel path, you may have rice crispies; if it mentions the weather, you could spray water or have a torch for sunlight. Let your imagination do the work! This is also a great way to learn new vocabulary. In addition, you can also use a colour coded structure to support their expressive language (e.g., who? (the man) doing what? (is eating) to what? (an apple) how? (quickly) where? (in the park) when? (on Monday). Write out the different parts of the sentence with a picture for each part. So, your young person has a visual to learn from.
Why not act out the story with family or friends? This really brings the story to life and allows your child to practise vital skills for attention and listening and social interaction such as turn-taking.

Make sure you use a book that is appropriate for the age and stage of your child’s development and adapt your activities accordingly.

Check my blogs for speech, language, and communication support.

Contact me and see if I can help you.

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 · Speech and Language Therapy

Explaining pronoun reversal: A window into gestalt language processing
ByLondon Speech and Feeding April 2, 2025April 2, 2025
Have you noticed your child referring to themselves as ‘you’, or calling you ‘me’? This seemingly confusing mix-up of pronouns, known as pronoun reversal, often raises concerns for parents. Below I outline why your child does this and want to reassure you that it is to do with his or her unique language learning style.

Gestalt language processing: Learning in chunks

Many children, particularly those on the autism spectrum, use a gestalt language processing approach. Unlike analytic language processors who learn individual words and build sentences, gestalt language processors learn language in whole ‘chunks’ or ‘gestalts’. Think of these gestalts as pre-packaged scripts they pick up from their environment — phrases, sentences, even snippets of songs or movie lines.

As Marge Blanc, author of Natural language acquisition on the autism spectrum, explains, ‘When a child picks up an entire gestalt (script), he’s got the pronoun of the original speaker. So ‘pronoun reversal’ is nothing more than that.’

So your child is simply repeating what they’ve heard, without yet understanding the individual word meanings or grammatical functions.

Imagine your child hearing ‘You want a rice cake?’ repeated frequently. They might then use this phrase to express their own desire for a rice cake, even though it doesn’t grammatically fit. So they are thinking and saying ‘You want a rice cake?’ and the meaning of this phrase is: ‘I want a rice cake’. This isn’t a sign of confusion, but a natural step in their language development. They’re working with the tools they have: the scripts they’ve acquired.

How can we support their natural language journey

Instead of trying to ‘correct’ pronoun usage, our role as caregivers and speech therapists is to support the child’s natural language progression. Here’s how we can do this:
1. Learn about their gestalt stage and run with it: In the early stages (1–3) of gestalt language development, correcting pronouns can be counterproductive. These children are still processing language as whole units, not individual words. Direct corrections can lead to frustration and hinder their natural language exploration.
2. Patience and trust: Gestalt language processing follows a predictable, albeit sometimes non-linear, path. By understanding their current stage, we can provide targeted support. Language sampling and scoring, guided by the Natural Language Acquisition framework, help us pinpoint their stage and tailor our approach.
3. Model language strategically: In the early stages, avoid using pronouns like ‘you’ and ‘you’re’. Instead, model language from the child’s perspective or use joint perspectives. For example, instead of ‘Are you thirsty?’, try ‘I’m thirsty!’ or ‘Let’s get some water’,
The big picture: Language unfolds naturally

Pronoun reversal is a stepping stone, not a stumbling block. As gestalt language processors progress, they begin to break down these gestalts into smaller units and develop their own self-generated language. This is when their understanding and use of pronouns naturally emerge.

By shifting our perspective from ‘error correction’ to ‘developmental support’, we create a nurturing environment for these children to thrive. We empower them to navigate their unique language journey, ultimately leading to more meaningful and independent communication.

So, to summarise:
- Pronoun reversal is a typical characteristic of early-stage gestalt language processing.
- Focus on modelling language from the child’s perspective or a joint perspective.
- Avoid correcting pronouns in the early stages.
- Trust the process and support the child’s natural language development.
Let’s celebrate the diverse ways our children learn to communicate and empower them to find their unique voice!

If you have any questions or would like some help with understanding your little gestalt language learner, please get in touch with me via my contact form.

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.

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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.

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Autism Therapy · Speech and Language Therapy

Let’s live and breathe AAC
ByLondon Speech and Feeding April 24, 2024March 28, 2024
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.

AAC core board

Here is a picture of a core board:

You can download this and other boards for free on the Saltillo Word Power website.

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.

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

Autism – Benefits of Early Assessment and Intervention
ByLondon Speech and Feeding January 26, 2024January 4, 2024
I think my child might be autistic – how can we help?
Image by macrovector on Freepik

Consulting a Specialist Speech and Language Therapist can help you in several ways: assessment, informal and formal observation, discussion and advice, onward referrals, direct intervention, parent coaching, educational support and much more, all geared towards supporting you the parents, and helping your child to flourish and thrive.

First up, we can help you with assessment and advice: with a wealth of expertise in observing childrens’ play and communication, as well as knowledge of the latest research we can see a child’s strengths and areas of struggle very quickly indeed.

Within a short space of time, we can identify the areas we need to focus on and start guiding you towards helping your child to connect, respond, react and feel better.

Early detection is key

If autism is detected in infancy, then therapy can take full advantage of the brain’s plasticity. It is hard to diagnose Autism before 18 months but there are early signs we know to look out for. Let’s have a brief look at the sorts of things we look at.

The earliest signs of Autism involve more of an absence of typical behaviours and not the presence of atypical ones.
- Often the earliest signs are that a baby is very quiet and undemanding. Some babies don’t respond to being cuddled or spoken to. Baby is being described as a ‘good baby, so quiet, no trouble at all’.
- Baby is very object focused: he/she may look for long periods of time at a red spot/twinkly item further away, at the corner of the room for example.
- Baby does not make eye contact: we can often see that a baby looks at your glasses for example instead of ‘connecting’ with your eyes.
- At around 4 months we should see a baby copying adults’ facial expressions and some body movements, gestures and then increasingly cooing sounds we make; babies who were later diagnosed with autism were not seen to be doing this.
- Baby does not respond with smiles by about 6 months.
- By about 9 months, baby does not share sounds in a back-and-forth fashion.
- By about 12 months baby does not respond/turn their heads when their name is called.
- By around 16 months we have no spoken words; perhaps we hear sounds that sound like ‘speech’ but we cannot make out what the sounds are.
- By about 24 months we see no meaningful two-word combinations that are self-generated by the toddler. We might see some copying of single words.
24 months plus:
- Our child is not interested in other children or people and seems unaware of others in the same room/play area.
- Our child prefers to play alone, and dislikes being touched, held or cuddled.
- He/she does not share an interest or draw attention to their own achievements e.g., ‘daddy look I got a dog’.
- We can see our child not being aware that others are talking to them.
- We see very little creative pretend play.
- In the nursery our child might be rough with other children, pushing, pinching or scratching, biting sometimes; or our child might simply not interact with others and be unable to sit in a circle when asked to.
What sort of speech and language difficulties might we see?

Our child might do any of the following:
- have no speech at all, but uses body movements to request things, takes adults by the hand
- repeat the same word or phrase over and over; sometimes straight away after we have said it or sometimes hours later
- repeat phrases and songs from adverts or videos, nursery rhymes or what dad says every day when he gets back from work etc.
- copy our way of intonation
- not understand questions – and respond by repeating the question just asked:
  
  adult: Do you want apple? child: do you want apple?
- not understand directions or only high frequency directions in daily life
- avoid eye contact or sometimes ‘stares’
- lack of pointing or other gestures
Common behaviours:
- Hand flapping
- Rocking back-and-forth
- Finger flicking or wriggling/moving
- Lining up items/toys
- Wheel spinning, spinning around self
- Flicking lights on and off, or other switches
- Running back-and-forth in the room, needing to touch each wall/door
- Loud screaming when excited
- Bashing ears when frustrated or excited
- Atypical postures or walking, tip toeing, can be falling over easily, uncoordinated
- Can be hyper sensitive to noises, smells, textures, foods, clothing, hair cutting, washing etc.
- Being rigid and inflexible, needing to stick to routines, unable to transition into new environments
- Food sensitivity, food avoidance, food phobias
I mentioned this to be a ‘brief’ look at the areas and it is: each topic is looked at very deeply and each area is multi-facetted therefore a diagnosis is rarely arrived at very quickly. We want to make sure we have covered all aspects and have got to know your child very well before coming to conclusions.

Early detection is key, because we want to start helping your child to make progress as quickly as is possible. If you feel /know that your child is delayed in their speech and language development and you would like a professional opinion then please do contact me, I look forward to supporting you. It is important to know at this point, that if your child only has one or two of the above aspects it may mean that your child is simply delayed for reasons other than Autism and if that is the case, we will be able to help you iron out a few areas of need so that your child can go on thriving.

If you need help with your child, please do not hesitate to 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.

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Autism Therapy · Speech and Language Therapy

Discover how Attention Autism can support your Autistic child’s communication
ByLondon Speech and Feeding May 5, 2023May 31, 2023

“I’ve got something in my bag, in my bag, in my bag,

I’ve got something in my bag,

what it is”

You might be wondering why your Speech and Language Therapist is singing this song and then presenting items from a zipped-up bag. Let me take you through stage one of this evidence-based approach.

There are many aims of ‘bucket or bag time’. During stage one, you are simply engaging your child’s attention (whilst also exposing them to language). It’s important to remember that you are not forcing your child to say or do anything. The idea is that the items in the bag or bucket ‘offers an irresistible invitation to learn’ (Gina Davies, 2020).

You don’t need ‘special’ expensive toys. Use what you have at home. It might be that you have some bubbles, a wind-up toy. You might have some foil that you can roll up into a ball, or a balloon. Keep these items for ‘bucket time’. This means that your child is likely to be excited and motivated for the activity. The only stipulation is that these items must be highly motivating and must be the most exciting thing in the room. You’ll want to cover up any distractions.

So, you have your items and your opaque zipped bag, next you’ll want to put the items into the bag ensuring the zip is closed. The zip is important as it increases suspense and excitement as your child cannot see inside. You can also comment when unzipping ‘open bag’ using the signs ‘open’ + ‘bag’ to support your child’s understanding. Your Speech and Language Therapist can help with any Makaton signs that are unknown. The idea of this activity is that the item isn’t touched by your child. This can seem a little odd or feel “mean” but there is a reason for this: we want our child to look at us as well as the object or toy. As soon as we allow our child to touch and play with that toy their attention will go to the toy alone and we won’t get JOINT attention or engagement. This is the reason why we SHOW interesting things for a brief moment and then put these items back into the bag or bucket and out comes the next item. If your child wants to grab the toy and gets upset, then they may not be quite ready for this approach.

Next, we sing the song (as above) and unzip the bag taking out one of the items. The use of pausing is important. Pause after the song: does your child try to use gesture or sound? You can also use this opportunity to model short phrases, ideally one or two words such “it’s a spinner! Wow… so many colours”. After a couple of turns, repeat the process and pull out a different item. We tend not to sing the song each time for the next item. Just sing it at the beginning and then get on with producing the amazing, wonderful things in your bag. No hard and fast rules though, apart from “don’t let the child touch the toys”.

The biggest factor here is that you and your child enjoy the activity together. Have lots of fun!!

Keep up to date with our latest blogs to explore more stages of Attention Autism.

If you need speech, language or communication support or advice, I am always here to help.

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.

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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.

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