Have you got a child in your class who seems a little 'odd'? It could be a language processing problem

I have just observed a boy in a class room I was visiting, (I was there for another child). He had, what to me, were obvious signs of a processing problem.

Due to these problems he had devised strategies to cope and there were  certain associated factors.

1. He follows other people's lead physically i.e. he sees the rest get up to carryout what the teacher has said and then does what they do

2. He verbally copies what others have said e.g. Madison before him said she went to the cinemas so when it's his turn, he'll copy that. 

3. He just picks a random sentence if asked a direct question and he has no lead to follow. He knows they want an answer and he wants to do that quickly

4. He has diversion tactics i.e.  he'll discus what he's interested in, in the hope that whoever has asked him something will be distracted down that road. These are usually verbal but sometimes physical i.e. kicking the table in the hope we'll be irritated and stop placing demands on him. He hasn't yet used aggression or other behaviours which would get him removed from the classroom. I fear that's only a  matter of time.

5. He is frustrated as he doesn't understand what's happening.

6. He is being teased about his problems

7. He is becoming anxious and as we know anxiety blocks understanding in children and adults

8. His self esteem is affected

The staff are kind, caring, capable and want to do their best. However, no-one has picked him up and no-one is worried. How many more children are there in our classrooms who are also struggling but the staff haven't got the knowledge, training or experience to identify them? It's very sad! The staff need so much more help as they just don't know what they need to be aware of.

If you are worried please give us a call 0844 704 5888 www.private-speech-therapy.co.uk

How can I help my child with 'show and tell'?

Thank you for this post from the excellent Talking Matters team from Australia

“Show and tell” or “news time” is a regular part of the school routine and a valuable opportunity to develop language skills but it can be a difficult task for children with speech, language, learning or social difficulties and can result in anxiety for children with low confidence. There are however things that can be done to support your child both at home and at school to make it a more enjoyable and educational experience.       

Each teacher has a different way of running their show and tell sessions. If you are not familiar with how sessions are run in your child’s class discuss it with the teacher. Some questions to ask include:

When is your child expected to do show and tell? Some classes have a set timetable, in others students choose to speak when they wish to.  If there is a timetable make sure you know when your child’s time is so you can help them prepare. If the child is able to choose ask the teacher how often would be reasonable for your child to speak. If your child prepares something make sure the teacher knows so they can ensure your child has a chance to speak.     

Is there a set topic? If there a list of topics ask for a copy, or for the topic to be put in your child’s diary or communication book ahead of time so you can help your child plan ahead. If children choose their own topics ask what types of topics the other children often choose. This will help your child choose something that interests the rest of the class. 

How long is each child expected to speak for? If the expected time is unrealistic for your child’s abilities discuss with the teacher what might be reasonable for your child to be expected to do.    

Is it a whole class activity? Some classes speak in small groups, others address the whole class at once.   

Do the other children ask questions?  If so how many and what type of questions do they typically ask?  Is the teacher happy for you to prepare for some questions that can then be asked by some supportive children.  

Are there any other rules or things you need to know?  Some teachers have rules around “no toys” or other topics that children are not permitted to discuss during show and tell.   

Once you have a clear idea what is expected you can more effectively prepare your child.  Help your child to prepare for show and tell by:

Preparing for the topic. Choose a suitable topic that your child is interested in and will feel confident and comfortable discussing. Help your child research the topic. Gather some hands on resources.  

Planning the presentation. Work out with your child what they want to say and how they will say it. 

Practice the presentation. Be your child’s audience and watch and listen as they present.  The more times they can practice the more confident they will be. Make it as much like the way your child will do it at school as possible.  Sit your child on a chair and sit yourself on the floor. Put your hand up and allow your child to ask you for a question.  If there are specific greetings used practice these too.  

Some other things to try include: 

Use visual supports: These might be a real object to talk about, some photos of your child if they are talking about an outing or activity they have done, some pictures that your child has drawn about the topic or that you have printed from the internet.  

Use a planner to plan out what your child is going to say: This is like a story map and you can use it to help your child plan what they will say.  You can use pictures for children who can’t read.  Your child’s teacher may have one that they can give you or you can download them from this site

http://www.eslprintables.com/printable.asp?id=417067  (scroll right down the page for the planner).      

Once you have planned it on the planner help your child use the plan to practice presenting and then take it to school to help them do the real thing.

Use your child’s communication book to support the teacher.  If your child has limited communication skills or their speech is difficult to understand, write in your child’s communication book what your child’s topic is and some background information. This might include who gave them the item, where they got it, where they went and what they did there.  If your child will need to answer questions include answers to the questions kids might commonly ask. This will help the teacher understand your child’s presentation and the teacher can then help supportive children ask suitable questions and fill in any unknown information that your child is not able to provide.   

Try an alternative method of presenting.  If your child has very limited communication skills or is very shy discuss with the teacher whether they could present in a different way such as through a power point or slide show display, or a short video they could record at home.

Use a social story to help your child prepare for show and tell. Social stories prepare your child for what will happen and help them to know in advance what they have to do, reducing anxiety and increasing the chances of success. For more information about social stories visit http://www.thegraycenter.org/social-stories/how-to-write-social-stories  

Help your child be involved in other children’s presentations. If your child has very limited communication skills help them to ask questions of other children by practising questions in advance.  You could also write some questions on a card, using pictures or symbols if your child needs them and sending them to school with your child. During show and tell your child could use the card as a cue to ask a question or raise their hand and give the card to the teacher or another child to ask. Children with communication devices could have some common questions programmed into their device so they could ask them. Make sure you discuss these options with your child’s teacher so your child can be supported in their efforts.  

We hope show and tell becomes a valued way to develop your child’s communication and confidence.

The Talking Matters website has information on supporting children’s communication and learning with regular newsletters, facebook and twitter. The extra’s section has free downloadable information and activities for parents and teachers on a range of topics.    

Related posts:

A limited offer for Facebook friends, Twitter followers or Blog Contacts

Do you have questions about communication?  Do you have a small group of people who might like the opportunity to ask questions about speech, language and learning?  Perhaps family members, colleagues or neighbours, individuals from a play-group, discussion or hobby group, sports team, parents or teachers from your school, or even co-workers? 

Small Talk Speech and Language Therapy are offering a limited number of one-hour long, no-obligation, FREE question and answer forums. We are happy to extend this offer to any of your Face Book contacts (please forward) and will travel within a 20 mile radius of Hednesford or we can welcome your group to come to our Head Office at Centrix House. 

To take advantage of this limited offer 

please ring 0844 704 5888 or e-mail info@smalltalk-ltd.co.uk
www.smarttalkers.org.uk
www.private-speech-therapy.co.uk

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Tips for Talking from I CAN

"In the same way as your child does not learn how to walk straight away, he won’t know how to talk straight away either. He will, however, spend much of the time in his first few months, weeks and even days preparing for his first words. Communicating orally is a highly developed skill which depends on a range of abilities - the ability to understand the words being used by others; being able to think of the right word and put it into a sentence correctly; and being able to make the sounds necessary to form words. All of these skills rely on a whole set of underlying abilities that most children start to develop from the moment that they are born.
The stages of communication development are the same the world over and all children rely on those around them to help develop the skills of communication. As a parent, you will have a key role in helping your child to talk. The parent section of the talking point website (www.talkingpoint.org.uk) is full of hints and tips to help you when your child is learning to talk. There are many other useful factsheets, books, articles and programmes (some of which are listed below). This factsheet helps you with the basics – what you need to do to help your child communicate. The tips here will be useful to your child whatever their age and whether or not they are communicating at the same level as their peers:
Here are the tips:
• For young children, have fun with nursery thymes and songs, especially those with actions.
• Encourage your child to listen to different sounds such as cars, animals, the telephone
• Imitate the sounds you hear, make funny noises for your child to copy. This will help awaken an interest in sounds and help your child to understand that sounds have meanings
• Gain your child’s attention when you want to talk together. It is better to say “Ryan, please come over here”, than to say “Come over here, Ryan” because then your child will be focussed once you call his name
• Encourage your child to communicate in any way, not just through words, Actions and gestures will all help to develop words
• Listen carefully to your child and give him time to finish. Take turns to speak
• Always respond in some way when your child says something – no matter what it is that he says
• Spend some special time with your child every day. The level of talking will depend on the age of your child. Talk together when you are playing, or talk about school or make plans for the future.
• Allow plenty of gaps around the sentences that you are using to your child. This will allow him time to think about what you have said and maybe to formulate a response
• When talking with your child, use sentences that are roughly one word longer than the sentences your child uses.ie. if they are using one word, you use two; if they are using four, you use five. This will help extend your child’s sentences as they can hear what the sentence structures for longer sentences are like.
• If your child says something incorrectly, say it back the right way rather than “correcting him”. Eg. If your child says “Goggy bit it”, you can say “Yes, the dog bit it, didn’t he?”. He is more likely to change what he says in the future when he has worked it out for himself.
• When talking to younger children, try and think about how you are talking: use short sentences, vary the melody for interest, slow down slightly and pause after each sentence.
• Try to make TV time shared time – sit down with your child to watch programmes that are for children of his age".
More information is available in -
“Baby Talk : Strengthen Your Child's Ability to Listen, Understand, and Communicate “ by Sally Dr Ward Published by Ballantine Publishing Group (2001) ISBN: 0345437071;
“Listen to Your Child: A Parent's Guide to Children's Language” by David Crystal Publisher: Penguin UK; New Ed edition (June 1999) ISBN: 0140110151
“Chatterchart – a family guide to children’s communication development” Available from I CAN

Selective Mutism

There will be some children who started school in September who aren't saying anything in school. Its always very difficult for a class teacher to know if its just shyness an underlying receptive language difficulty, an expressive language disorder or whether it could be selective mutism. 


Selective Mutism occurs when children who can speak and understand language perfectly normally at home are unable to speak elsewhere e.g. school or nursery. Unusually, there are many more girls who have selective mutism. It's also apparent that when boys display this condition they often have other social interaction or learning problems as well.


Selective Mutism used to be known as elective mutism, as people including professionals believed that children were choosing not to speak, and were therefore thought to be challenging and manipulative. The term Selective Mutism reflects current understanding that the children’s silence is not something they can control. It can be seen as a type of extreme social anxiety or phobia.


Michael Jones, specialist speech and language therapist has done a lot of work on this subject. This is an extract from his excellent article featured on his website.

How does selective mutism (SM) develop?

Michael says that 'SM can begin as shyness, but for various reasons children become progressively unable to speak in public, and especially at pre-school or in school. No single cause has been identified, though emotional, psychological and social factors may play a strong part. In some cases trauma can be an important factor, perhaps in school or hospital. Some children with SM are also anxious about new or unfamiliar situations and activities, and may be overly worried about taking risks.


Children may have other behaviours, such as limited eye contact and facial expression, physical rigidity, nervous fidgeting and withdrawal. SM often develops as children get older. It may not always improve spontaneously, and in some cases can become an intractable condition that severely limits young people’s life chances.

How can children be helped?

Early identification and appropriate support is of vital importance. If a child is not speaking at pre-school or school after a period of ‘settling in’ then a Speech and Language Therapist should be consulted. The most important form of help is to establish good links between home, school and any professionals who are involved. Maggie Johnson and Alison Wintgens, two Speech and Language Therapists, have produced a practical and comprehensive book about SM. ‘The Selective Mutism Resource Manual’ offers practical and effective strategies for helping children and young people with anxiety about talking in public. Their approach to developing confident speaking is a comprehensive guide to research and literature about SM, as well as offering effective advice to parents and professionals.


Maggie and Alison identify two very important ideas: that children with SM do want to talk, but need help to become confident speakers; children need a step-by-step approach that involves the family and school working closely together'. read more at http://talk4meaning.myhomepagemanager.com/selectivemutism.php


The Selective Mutism Information and Research Association (SMIRA) support families and schools by providing information and advice. Their DVD ‘Silent Children: Approaches to Selective Mutism’ is an excellent introduction to SM and to effective strategies.

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• Selective Mutism: Diagnosis of the Week (helpingpsychology.com)
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• Selective mutism - All Information (umm.edu)