Why auditory memory matters (especially for little ones!)

ByLondon Speech and Feeding
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Why auditory memory matters (especially for little ones!)

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.

Health Professions Council registered
Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists Member
Member of ASLTIP

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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    Unlocking language and thinking skills: The power of sequencing

    ByLondon Speech and Feeding
    Sonja demonstrates the power of sequencing

    As speech and language therapists, we often use a variety of techniques to help children develop their communication and cognitive skills. One incredibly valuable tool in our toolkit is the use of sequencing activities. But what exactly is sequencing, and why is it so beneficial?

    What is sequencing?

    Sequencing, at its core, involves arranging items, events, or actions in a specific order. This could involve putting pictures in the correct order to tell a story, following the steps in a recipe, or understanding the order of daily routines like brushing teeth or getting dressed.

    The link between sequencing and language

    Sequencing is fundamental to language development and is quintessential to executive functioning skills in several ways:

    • Narrative skills: Storytelling, whether oral or written, relies heavily on sequencing. A child needs to understand the order of events (beginning, middle, end) to construct a coherent narrative.
    • Explanations and instructions: Providing clear explanations or instructions requires the ability to sequence information logically. For example, explaining how to play a game or how to get from one place to another. In the video clip below we are working on ‘how do make a sandwich’.
    • Vocabulary development: Sequencing helps children understand temporal words and phrases like ‘first,’ ‘then,’ ‘next,’ ‘before,’ and ‘after’.
    • Sentence structure: Constructing grammatically correct sentences often involves sequencing words in a specific order (e.g., subject-verb-object).

    Beyond language, sequencing plays a crucial role in developing executive functioning skills. These are higher-level cognitive skills that help us plan, organise, and manage our time and actions.

    Sequencing activities can help children improve in the following areas:

    • Planning and organisation: Sequencing tasks require children to think ahead, plan the steps involved, and organise them in a logical order.
    • Problem-solving: When they are faced with a problem, sequencing helps children break it down into smaller, more manageable steps.
    • Working memory: Holding information in mind and manipulating it, such as remembering the steps in a multi-step direction, is supported by sequencing skills.
    • Cognitive flexibility: Being able to adjust to changes in a sequence or think of alternative sequences promotes cognitive flexibility.

    Examples of sequencing activities

    Here are some practical examples of sequencing activities you can do with your child:

    • Picture sequencing: Use a set of picture cards to tell a short story or illustrate a process (e.g., making a sandwich, going to the park). Ask your child to arrange the cards in the correct order.
    • Story retelling: After reading a story, have your child retell it, focusing on the order of events.
    • Following instructions: Give your child multi-step instructions to follow (e.g., ‘First, get your shoes. Then, put on your coat. Next, go to the door.’).
    • Sequencing during play: Integrate sequencing into everyday play. For example, while building with blocks, talk about the steps: ‘First, we put this block here. Next, we add this one…’
    • Daily routines: Create visual schedules for daily routines, like getting ready for school or bedtime, to help children understand the sequence of events.
    • In the video clip below I am using an on-line language activity which is often fun for children as they can use their finger to swipe the pictures effortlessly into the right place and, if we realise at the end of the story that we have made a little error, we can then easily re-jig the pictures into their correct place.

    In conclusion

    Sequencing activities offer a powerful way to support children’s language development and enhance their executive functioning skills. By helping children understand and create order, we equip them with essential tools for communicating, learning, and navigating the world around them.

    Do get in touch via my contact form if you are concerned about your child’s development.

    Sonja McGeachie

    Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

    Owner of The London Speech and Feeding Practice.

    Health Professions Council registered
    Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists Member
    Member of ASLTIP

    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

  • Using AAC – Augmentative and Alternative Communication for non-verbal and early verbal children

    ByLondon Speech and Feeding

    Using a Core Vocabulary Board

    Your Speech Therapist might have been advising you to introduce words to your child with the help of a CORE BOARD. What on earth is she talking about and why would we want to do this, I hear you think – and in fact this is what I get asked a lot, as I often do recommend using Core Boards.

    Core boards belong to the category of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC ) and they can be really useful for:

    • Children or adults who cannot speak at all or who are very hard to understand.
    • Children who are slow to speak and have difficulty expressing themselves verbally, due to genetic conditions as Down Syndrome, Verbal dyspraxia, Autism or any other learning difficulty that means a child is slow to develop speech.

    Here is what a Core board might look like, in fact this is one that I love to use. It is made by Beautiful Speech Life, there are a ton of similar boards out there for free. I have also made my own, you can check it out on my Instagram feed.

    Using a Core Vocabulary Board

    What is Core Vocabulary/ Core words?

    Core vocabulary consists of the most common words used by children throughout a day. In 2003 Banajee and Dicarlo et al found that 50 % of pre-schoolers in their project used nine words consistently across their daily play and meal routines. These words are Core words and are typically the ones you can see on a board, like the one above.

    How To Use It

    Adults always first need to consistently model and show their child how to use a board. This is key! For example: Adult can point to “YOU” “WANT” ‘MORE” and then point to the cup of Water on the counter. Child could then reply either by shaking his/her head and/or pointing to “NOT” which also stands for “NO”. Then adult can point to “NOT” “MORE” and do an OK sign as well. Eventually Child can initiate a request and point to “I” “ WANT” “MORE” and then point to the cup on the counter.

    This is not as cumbersome or limited as it first sounds or appears. Here’s why: As adult you can talk normally and, of course, many words you are using will not be on this board. But some will be, and you will be surprised how many you can find when you start using it. So you could say quite normally: Hey lovely (name of your child) would YOU LIKE some MORE water? The words in capital are on the board which you can point to as you speak normally. Basically, you are showing/saying to your child: “We can speak and these are the pictures we can use to help us; We call this TOTAL COMMUNICATION, as communication is so much more than just words! Great communication can be silent, where we use our facial expression, our smile, our eyes, our hand gestures, body movements and yes, of course, words. But when words fail us, these boards are so helpful.

    This still does not answer your original question of: why would I want to do this, I want my child to talk!? You are a SPEECH Therapist, please help my child TALK, not point to pictures, that is not what I had in mind.

    Let Me Explain

    When speech is difficult for a child it doesn’t mean that there is nothing to talk about! Of course, we want all our children and all people to speak because it is the easiest and most effective way of communicating, no doubt! However, sometimes this is very hard for some children and whilst we are always working towards speech where possible, we also want to make sure that whilst figuring out how to speak, your child has a MEANS TO COMMUNICATE. Using a board like this might well be a temporary strategy but whilst you are using it and working on their speech you will find a reduction in tantrums and frustration as you child is able to express themselves more effectively.

    Often we find that as soon as we offer a CORE VOCABULARY like the above sample a child who has had no or very few words suddenly blossoms and starts to point to new words on the board and starts to PRACTICE USING THESE WORDS!! Practice makes perfect, right? Yes it totally does! There is lots of evidence that tells us that using Core Vocabulary Boards ENHANCE AND SUPPORT SPEECH PRODUCTION AND NOT HINDER IT. Using a board like this will only ever be helpful to your child and will never make your child “lazy” – too lazy to speak? NO SUCH THING!

    Here is what one of my parents says about the core board we use with her little boy:

    “the board has been a game changer, my son is a visual learner so it really helps to have the board as he associates communication so much easier this way. We have incorporated his twin sister who models it’s use and have definitely seen improvement in speech through its support and his frustration around being unable to verbally communicate at times has definitely lessened”

    K Connolly, Mother of Tom (aged 3.5 years).

    Reading and hearing this makes me so happy!

    In addition to general core board above I also sometimes use a Core Board that is specific to an activity, such as for example BLOWING BUBBLES. Below is an example of such a board, which you can use very nicely during a bubble blowing activity and sometimes it is a nice place to start for newcomers, this can be an easy introduction. You can download this and many similar boards on www.widgit.com for free!

    Using a Core Vocabulary Board

    There is so much more to say about AAC and using Coreboards, visit my Instagram you can find a bit more information on how I use them.

    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.

  • A day in my life as an Independent Speech and Language Therapist

    ByLondon Speech and Feeding

    During the pandemic I wrote a blog on what my working day looked like. Now a good year has passed since coming back to some sort of normality and I thought I would update this ‘day in the life of an SLT’ as my working life has changed of course to reflect the ‘new normal’.

    I have become truly busy, perhaps busier than I have ever been to be honest. It’s probably mostly due to the fact that I do most of the aspects of my work myself — though I want to mention two invaluable people here without whom I could not function as well as I do: the excellent Nathalie Mahieu () helps me with my SEO, Insta posts and blog uploading and the wonderful Sue Bainbridge () makes sure that my accounts don’t get into trouble with His Majesty’s tax office.

    Attached to our role as Speech and Language Therapists is an arguably enormous amount of administration/paperwork and preparation required for each and every client. This needs to be factored in when deciding how many families I can realistically see each working day. For me it works out as typically 3–5 clients a day, Monday to Friday.

    So how does my day typically look? Each day varies a lot depending on what type of client I have, but on average it looks a bit like this:

    First thing in the morning — after having a coffee and a quick check-in with my besties on WhatsApp — I do my Buddhist chanting for about an hour. My Buddhist prayers are the base of all I do and get me connected to my higher purpose and how to create value with each activity and each person I see that day. It sets me up for the day, I keep in mind who is going to come and see me and how I can best help them.

    Next up, I do the daily ‘spring-clean’ of my therapy room (on all fours! no joke ???? those kids see every speck!), vacuum the floors, wipe down the toys with flash-wipes and tidy up all my boxes, making sure that the battery toys are working, and everything else is in place. On to the guest toilet, the hallway needs to be rid of all the men’s shoes and trainers and coats… It’s endless what needs tidying when you are living with three men… This takes about 45 minutes.

    An articulation activity – packaging practice into a little game

    Then I prep for all my clients that day. I have now got so much quicker about selecting therapy materials. For one thing I have purchased so many toys and materials over the past five years that I can literally now open a shop and need to consider building an extension! ???? The upside is that it is now very easy for me to select a good handful of toys or games for any one child, even at a minute’s notice. Though, on average, I spend about 30 minutes per child preparing activities.

    Hurrah, it’s 11 am and my first client of the day arrives and the fun begins.

    When they leave around an hour later, the cleaning and wiping down starts again, this time less extensively. I write up my notes and send homework whilst enjoying a cuppa.

    The next client comes at 12.30 pm and once they have left, floor cleaned, toys wiped, notes written it is time for a quick lunch. No more than half an hour usually.

    Afternoon clients tend to be one more little one (nursery age) at 2.15 pm and thereafter I see mostly older school children for a variety of reasons (mainly speech production but also some language-based activities). I tend to say farewell to my last client of the day around 6 pm. I spend another hour, sometimes more, on writing up notes, answering new enquiries, blogging and phone calls to keep my service fresh, inspirational and exciting.

    And then dinner and the rest of the day rushes by. I tend to finish my day with some more Buddhist chanting, not a lot, perhaps 10–20 minutes to reflect on what has gone well and what could have been better — re-determine to improve or make better as needed.

    Tele therapy activity using online materials plus a coreboard

    In terms of where I provide a service, I still do a good mix of online clients (tele-therapy) and in-person clients in my clinic, which I love. Occasionally, I visit children in their nursery or at home but this service is now only available for long-standing clients.

    Each client is hand-picked to make sure that we are a good fit: no one client gets the same treatment as another; each client is unique, we get to know one another well over the time we work together and they are always highly valued. That takes time and, in reality, each client gets about two hours of my time. That is the actual session plus all the preparation and aftercare, i.e., bespoke hand holding, tweaks, problem solving and reassurance in between sessions.

    I absolutely love this way of working and would not ever want to do anything else. Nearly three decades of working both in the NHS and in private practice, countless courses (continual professional development) have enabled me to flourish as a therapist and I know that I offer something special and very valuable to my clients.

    My unique way of working affords all my lovely clients the help they need to support their children to make progress; and it gives me the right balance of job satisfaction and work life balance for now. My lovely reviews and testimonials tell me that my clients appreciate my service and this at the end of the day is the most important.

    If you are interested in exploring Buddhism/buddhist chanting then check out this link (https://sgi-uk.org/), and feel free to contact me about that specifically, regardless of whether you want speech therapy. I am always happy to chat about Buddhism, it has been so enriching for the last 43 years of my life.

    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.

    1

  • Cycles Approach speech therapy: Why syllables come first

    ByLondon Speech and Feeding

    and why it matters more than you might think!

    If your child’s speech is difficult to understand, it can feel tempting to focus straight away on individual sounds: those tricky /S/, /K/, or /SH/ sounds that just won’t come out clearly.

    But in therapy, we don’t always start there.

    When a child is very difficult to understand, and I have ruled out that the underlying cause is motor-based, I often opt for the Cycles Phonological Approach. This is helpful for those kids where we can feel like we don’t know where to start! The Cycles Approach helps to generate a broad overall increase in speech clarity by sequentially targeting a variety of speech patterns over the course of 8–10 weeks.

    So rather than working on one sound until it’s ‘fixed,’ we:

    • Work on patterns (not just individual sounds)
    • Target each pattern for a short period of time
    • Then cycle to the next one
    • And come back around again later

    This mirrors how speech development naturally happens: gradually, with increasing accuracy over time.

    Why don’t we start by fixing erroneous sounds straight away?

    To use a metaphor, if a child doesn’t have a strong syllable structure, working on individual sounds is like decorating a house that doesn’t have solid walls yet.

    Many children with speech sound difficulties:

    • Drop syllables (e.g. ‘banana’ → ‘nana’)
    • Simplify longer words
    • Struggle to maintain rhythm and stress patterns

    So, before we refine speech sounds, we need to build the framework of speech.

    Why syllables come first in every cycle

    In the Cycles Approach, we always begin with 2- and 3-syllable words, even if that’s not the main concern.

    Why?

    Because syllable awareness supports:

    • Speech clarity (intelligibility)
    • Word structure and sequencing
    • Prosody (rhythm and stress)
    • Motor planning for longer words

    Without this, even perfectly produced sounds can still be hard to understand in real speech.

    What do ‘2 and 3 beats’ mean?

    When we talk about ‘beats’ we mean syllables you can clap.

    Try it:

    • ‘Table’ → ta-ble (2 beats 👏👏)
    • ‘Banana’ → ba-na-na (3 beats 👏👏👏)

    In therapy, we help children:

    • Hear the beats
    • Feel the rhythm
    • Produce the full word (without dropping parts)

    What this looks like in therapy

    In my sessions, this part of the cycle is active, visual, and repetitive.

    You might see me using:

    • 👏 Clapping or tapping out syllables
    • 🧩 Using visual supports or blocks for each beat
    • 🎲 Play-based repetition of target words
    • 🎯 High-frequency practice (lots of turns!)

    I also keep the focus on success and flow, rather than correction.

    If you’re watching the video clip I’ve shared here, you’ll notice:

    • I’m not over-correcting every sound
    • I’m prioritising getting the whole word out
    • I’m building rhythm, confidence, and consistency

    Why this stage is so powerful

    It can look simple, but it’s doing a lot of heavy lifting.

    Working on syllables helps children:

    • Say longer words more clearly
    • Reduce ‘mumbling’ or collapsing of words
    • Improve overall intelligibility quickly
    • Prepare for more precise sound work later

    Often, parents notice early wins like:

    ✨ ‘They’re easier to understand already’

    ✨ ‘They’re saying longer words!’

    ✨ ‘They’re more confident speaking’

    And that’s before we’ve even fully targeted specific sounds.

    But will my child still learn their sounds?

    Yes. Absolutely.

    The Cycles Approach is structured so that after syllables, we move into:

    • Early developing sounds
    • Then more complex patterns (like fronting or clusters)

    And  importantly, we come back around again.

    Nothing is missed. It’s just sequenced in a way that supports success.

    A different way of thinking about progress

    One of the biggest mindset shifts with the Cycles Approach is this:

    👉 We’re not aiming for perfection straight away

    👉 We’re aiming for gradual system-wide change

    That means:

    • Your child doesn’t need to ‘master’ something before moving on
    • Progress builds across cycles
    • Speech becomes clearer over time, not overnight

    So, to sum up

    Starting with syllables might seem unexpected but it’s one of the most powerful foundations we can give a child whose speech is hard to understand.

    By building rhythm, structure, and confidence first, we make everything that comes next more effective.

    If your child is starting speech therapy and you notice we’re clapping words like ‘banana’ or ‘elephant’, there’s a very good reason for it.

    We’re not going backwards.

    We’re building from the ground up.

    We’re making later sound work more effective and more likely to generalise into everyday talking.

    Next steps:

    If you’re concerned about your child’s speech clarity or wondering whether they might benefit from a structured approach like this, feel free to get in touch. I offer individualised assessments and therapy plans tailored to each child’s speech profile whether that’s early sound development, phonology, or motor speech difficulties.

    Sonja McGeachie

    Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

    Owner of The London Speech and Feeding Practice.

    Health Professions Council registered
    Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists Member
    Member of ASLTIP

    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.

    Parent FAQ section

    Why is my child practising words like ‘banana’ instead of sounds like /K/ or /S/?

    Because your child first needs to be able to hold and produce the full shape of a word. If they’re dropping syllables (e.g. ‘banana’ → ‘nana’), working on individual sounds won’t carry over into real speech. We build the structure first, then refine the sounds.

    What if my child can already say some long words?

    That’s great. But we’re looking for consistency and clarity across many words, not just a few familiar ones. This stage helps stabilise that skill so it becomes reliable in everyday talking.

    How long will we stay on syllables?

    Usually, this is a short but important phase within each cycle. We revisit it regularly, but we also move on to other patterns (like specific sounds or sound processes) within the same therapy block.

    Will this delay my child learning their sounds?

    No. In fact, it often speeds things up overall. Once the syllable structure is in place, children are much more able to use correct sounds in longer words and sentences.

    What can I do at home?

    Keep it simple and playful:

    • Clap out words together (e.g. ‘el-e-phant’)
    • Emphasise full words naturally in conversation
    • Repeat back what your child says with the full structure (without pressure)

    Consistency and exposure matter more than correction.

    My child gets frustrated. Will this help?

    Yes. Many children become frustrated when they’re not understood. Improving syllable structure often leads to quick wins in clarity, which can boost confidence and reduce that frustration.

    Building clearer speech: Why we practise syllables first

    What are syllables?

    Syllables are the ‘beats’ in words.

    • ‘Table’ = 2 beats (ta-ble)
    • ‘Banana’ = 3 beats (ba-na-na)

    Why is my child working on this?

    If your child:

    • Drops parts of words (‘banana’ → ‘nana’)
    • Mumbles longer words
    • Is hard to understand

    …then we need to build the structure of words first.

    This helps your child:

    ✔ Say longer words clearly

    ✔ Be easier to understand

    ✔ Feel more confident speaking

    What does this look like in therapy?

    We practise:

    • Clapping or tapping out beats 👏
    • Saying full words with rhythm
    • Repeating target words through play
    • Using visuals or actions to support learning

    How you can help at home

    Keep it light and playful, little and often!

    Try this:

    • Clap words together أثناء play (e.g. toys, food, animals)
    • Model full words naturally (‘Yes, ba-na-na!’)
    • Repeat and expand what your child says

    Example:

    Child: ‘nana’

    You: ‘Yes! Ba-na-na‘

    Important to know

    • This is a key first step in speech therapy
    • We will move on to sounds—but this helps them stick
    • Small changes here can make a big difference in clarity
    3

  • Why I love ‘Colourful Semantics’ in speech therapy

    ByLondon Speech and Feeding

    One of the most common concerns parents bring to speech and language therapy is:
    ‘My child understands so much… but they struggle to put sentences together’.

    Some children use only single words.
    Others miss out key parts of sentences.
    Some mix up word order.
    Others find it difficult to answer questions or explain their ideas clearly.

    This is where one of my favourite therapy approaches can be incredibly powerful: Colourful Semantics.

    Colourful Semantics is a highly effective and evidence-informed way of supporting children to build stronger sentence structure, grammar, understanding, and expressive language skills.

    It is a visual approach to language development originally created by a UK Speech and Language Therapist, Alyson Bryan in 1997 to help children understand how sentences are organised.

    Different parts of a sentence are represented by different colours.

    For example:

    • Who? is orange.
    • What doing? is yellow.
    • What? is green.
    • Where? is blue.

    As children progress more colours are added:

    • To Whom? Is pink.
    • Adjectives (what like) is purple.
    • Time Phrase is brown.

    Using colours gives children a visual framework for building sentences in a way that feels structured, predictable, and achievable.

    Instead of language feeling abstract and overwhelming, children can see how sentences fit together.

    For many children, this is massively helpful as it gives structure and predictability.

    Why some children struggle with sentences

    Language development is incredibly complex.

    To build a sentence, we need to:

    • think of vocabulary
    • organise grammar
    • sequence words
    • understand meaning
    • remember sentence structure
    • physically say the words clearly enough to communicate

    That is a huge amount happening all at once.

    Some children may:

    • leave out verbs
    • miss pronouns
    • use immature grammar
    • struggle with word order
    • rely on very short phrases
    • find it difficult to expand beyond single words.

    For example:

    • ‘Boy jump’
    • ‘Him eating’
    • ‘Dog there’
    • ‘Want juice’.

    These children often know more than they can express.

    Colourful Semantics helps bridge that gap.

    Why visual supports matter

    Many children—especially those with language delays, developmental language disorder (DLD), autism, or social communication difficulties—benefit enormously from visual support.

    Visual systems reduce the processing load.

    Instead of relying only on spoken language, children are given an additional way to organise information.

    The colours act almost like ‘anchors’ for language.

    A child may begin to understand:

    • orange = who
    • yellow = action
    • green = object
    • blue = place.

    This makes sentence building more concrete and less overwhelming.

    It also supports children who struggle with:

    • attention
    • auditory memory
    • processing spoken language
    • sequencing
    • confidence using language independently.

    Supporting sentence expansion naturally

    One of the things I love most about Colourful Semantics is how flexible it is.

    It can be used:

    • in play
    • with books
    • during conversation
    • with picture scenes
    • in storytelling
    • during movement activities
    • within everyday routines.

    Therapy does not need to feel rigid or worksheet-heavy.

    Many children who usually avoid talking become much more willing to attempt longer sentences when they feel successful.

    Children often begin to use:

    • verbs more accurately
    • pronouns more consistently
    • better word order
    • improved sentence organisation
    • and more complete ideas.

    For example, instead of:

    • ‘Him running’

    A child may gradually move toward:

    • ‘He is running.’

    The colours help children understand the ‘jobs’ words have within a sentence.

    This is particularly useful for children who need explicit teaching of language structure rather than simply learning through exposure alone.

    Supporting children with speech difficulties too

    One thing I particularly value in therapy is approaches that support multiple communication areas at once.

    Colourful Semantics is excellent for this.

    While building sentences, we can also naturally target:

    • speech sounds
    • intelligibility
    • vocabulary
    • social communication
    • turn-taking
    • attention and listening
    • confidence speaking.

    For example, if a child is working on the /K/ sound, we might intentionally build sentences containing target words:

    • ‘The cat is coming.’
    • ‘The boy is kicking.’
    • ‘The duck is in the box.’

    This allows speech and language goals to work together rather than separately.

    Therapy becomes more functional, meaningful, and engaging.

    Building confidence through success

    One of the biggest barriers many children experience is not simply language difficulty. It is the emotional impact of struggling to communicate.

    Some children become frustrated.
    Others withdraw.
    Some stop attempting longer sentences altogether because communication feels too hard.

    Colourful Semantics can help rebuild confidence because it gives children a clear structure for success. That feeling matters enormously.

    When children feel successful, they participate more.
    They attempt more.
    They communicate more.

    And communication grows through communication.

    Why I use colourful semantics

    There is no single ‘magic’ therapy approach for every child.

    But Colourful Semantics remains one of the most versatile and effective tools I use because it can be adapted so beautifully to individual children.

    It supports:

    • early language
    • grammar
    • sentence structure
    • comprehension
    • expressive language
    • storytelling
    • confidence
    • functional communication.

    Most importantly, it helps children organise language in a way that finally starts to make sense to them.

    And when language starts to make sense, communication can truly begin to flourish.

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

    Sonja McGeachie

    Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

    Owner of The London Speech and Feeding Practice.

    Reference

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

    Health Professions Council registered
    Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists Member
    Member of ASLTIP

    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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  • ·

    Discover how Attention Autism can support your Autistic child’s communication

    ByLondon Speech and Feeding

    “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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