Description
In a small, personalized group setting, parents learn practical strategies to help their children learn language naturally throughout their day together.
The It Takes Two to Talk Program teaches you, step-by-step, how to become your child’s most important language teacher.
The program shows you how to:
- Recognize your child’s stage and style of communication so that you know which steps to take next
- Identify what motivates your child to interact with you so you’ll know how to get conversations started
- Adjust everyday routines to help your child take turns and keep interactions going
- Follow your child’s lead to build his confidence and encourage him to communicate
- Add language to interactions with your child to help him understand language and then use it when he is ready
- Tweak the way you play and read books with your child to help him learn language
- Change the way you speak to your child so that he’ll understand and learn new words
Program components:
- 6-8 training sessions for parents in small, personalized groups
- A Hanen Certified speech-language pathologist leading the program
- A pre-program consultation for you and your child with the speech-language pathologist
- Three individual visits for you and your child with the speech-language pathologist in which you are videotaped while practicing strategies to help your child achieve specific communication goals. You and the speech-language pathologist then watch the videotaped interaction to “see” what’s helping your child and what you can modify to help even more.
The It Takes Two to Talk Program shows you how to use your natural, day-to-day life with your child to help him develop language skills. You’ll discover simple things you can do during everyday activities like meal time, story time and bath time to create enjoyable learning opportunities for your child.
It Takes Two to Talk translates the research on early language intervention into concrete strategies that are easy for parents to understand and to put into practice. The program offers you many opportunities to practice and discuss each strategy you learn so that you’ll be comfortable and confident using them at home.
Here’s an example of an It Takes Two to Talk strategy that can be used during any activity to encourage your child to start conversations:
OWL – “OWL to Let Your Child Lead”
- Observe
- Wait
- Listen
Research has shown that children learn language best when they are allowed to lead a conversation and communicate about what interests them. The OWL strategy will help you follow your child’s lead so that he’ll be more likely to stay in the interaction with you and get the practice and feedback he needs to build his communication skills.
