Share with a parent who is trying to teach their little one to talk.

When Speech Therapists describe words as functional, they mean "useful words to get your point across and your needs met". We want all children to have a form of functional communication, whether that be words, sign or using symbols/pictures, as it ensures children can make their needs known, significantly reducing frustration. Imagine knowing what you want yet having no way to tell anyone 😤😳😬

✅ choose words that will make the biggest difference when it comes to communication skills.

Focus on modeling words in these four categories before you try to teach more academic concepts like colours, numbers and the alphabet. There's NO POINT in knowing the names of all the letters if you cant string a sentence together!

Try and use these words during every day play, interactions and routines to help your child to better communicate.

What was your child's first word?