Often times, parents will ask how to engage their little one in activities that promote speech and language development. Parents may pull lots of toys and games off the shelves and ask their child to “say this” or “look at this.” This can be overwhelming for an early learner, and cause them confusion as they are first learning language. The Hanen Centre, an organisation focused on early language development, discusses one strategy that encourages interactions between parents and children in order to build foundational skills for language. This strategy, called Observe, Wait, Listen, (OWL), focuses on letting your child lead!

The first step of OWL is to observe. Take time to observe your child’s actions, facial expressions, gestures, and sounds. By doing this, you will learn a lot about what your child is interested in and what they are motivated to communicate about. For example, you may feel the need to point out something you see outside the window, but at that moment your little one is pointing to a book that fell on the floor. Take the time to notice what your child is looking at, and then look and point in that direction. “Uh oh! The book fell down. BOOM!”

After you observe your child’s actions, the next step is to wait. This gives you time to not only observe what your child is interested in, but also to give your little one time to start an interaction with you! Waiting will show your child that you are ready to communicate. Waiting can be challenging! We often want to use this time to ask our child to repeat a word after us or to “look over here.” Instead, be patient and don’t rush to say something. Give your child time to start an activity that they are interested in. Waiting shows them that you are ready to communicate when they are.

The last step of OWL is to listen. Pay attention to all the words and sounds that your little one is using. Make sure not to interrupt, and to listen to everything they have to say. This shows your child that you are interested in what they want to communicate. You may not always be able to understand what your child is telling you, which can be frustrating. Imitate your child’s sounds and actions which lets them know you are very interested in what they have to say. You are showing your child that what they are communicating is important to you! By observing these gestures and sounds, you may be able to understand more about your child’s message.

Letting your child lead can feel uncomfortable at first. You may not be used to silence or waiting for your child to initiate. With time and practice, you might find that your little one is trying to communicate a lot more than you think!

To read more about The Hanen Centre’s strategy – Observe, Wait, Listen (OWL) – you can review this helpful PDF: http://www.hanen.org/images-for-public-site/links—sample-pdfs/itttp17-18s.aspx. You can also learn more information about The Hanen Centre at their website, www.hanen.org.

 

-Post written by TCP speech therapist Amy Strohman