Special Education Teachers
Communication Tips for Parents
As summer approaches, here are some tips for parents to help support their child’s communication
skills:
1. Everything is a form of communication- Gestures, behaviors, noises. Encourage your children to
communicate, even if they cannot speak yet. Playing games together, reading, and writing are
great ways to facilitate communication.
2. Find topics that are desirable for your child to talk about. The more interested the child is in the
topic, the more likely they are to engage in the conversation.
3. Model the correct production. If a child is mispronouncing words or is having difficulty with
grammar while speaking, make sure to provide them with the correct model. For example, if
your child says “You got it”, respond with “I will go GET that for you”. Expanding on your child’s
utterance can help them to learn the correct production.
4. Help to connect information learned in other settings, like school, to home. Having your child
apply information learned in other settings, can help to solidify their understanding of those
concepts.
5. Encourage your child to ask you questions about your day and ask them about theirs. It’s
important for children to develop turn-taking skills when conversing, so their communication
the partner feels like they are being listened to.
