Lydia Said:

Preschooler's speech delay. Ideas please?

We Answered:

Both the answers above have great ideas. As a speech therapist myself, I think 2 of the things to keep in mind are to be matched and to be balanced, when talking to her.

Being matched means keeping your language at her level. If she is using only one word at a time, you should limit your phrases to 1-2 words. If you respond to her 1 word phrases with 10 word sentences, it's overwhelming for her to pick out the important parts. As you give her the names of items, watch that you are looking at the same thing. (I once showed a child a picture of a cat and at the same time touched something slimy & said "ew, yuck" -- he called that cat picture an 'ew, yuck' for about 2 weeks.)

Being balanced means taking equal turns talking. You say something, then she gets a turn. This is hard to do with a very quiet child, but remember to wait, up to even 30 seconds after you say something, to give her a chance to respond. Look expectantly at her, it lets her know it her turn. Play vocalizing games, where you take turns making sounds - you imitate what she says. This is fun to do by talking into a large can or oatmeal box or through a paper towel tube. She says 'bah' you say 'bah', she says 'bah' again, try saying 'bee' or 'bah-bah' to see if she will imitate you. Your daughter might enjoy joining in this silly game too.

Your daughter may be used to having long, complicated conversations with you, which is fantastic, but remember it will be hard to her new friend to keep up. Make sure your daughter gets the attention she needs and deserves, but that the other little girl also gets a chance to talk. My daughter could talk non-stop, but my son was much quieter. One day, as we were driving somewhere, I see in the rearview mirror that he had his hand up. When I asked what he wanted, he said "When is it my turn to talk?" After that, I was much more careful that my daughter's running monologues didn't inhibit his chance to say something.

Hope this helps you get started! I'm sure once she is evaluated for speech therapy, the therapist can give you more ideas.